Looking after your hair on holiday

The time of year has come when the suit case is out and ready for packing.  In go the clothes the shoes and the swimwear but lets not forget about the hair.

Will you be going swimming ?

Chlorine not only dries hair out, it can cause split ends as well. Dry hair is like a sponge and will absorb more of the pool chemicals than wet hair. To lessen the damage, soak hair with non-chlorinated water before getting into the pool, and rinse immediately following.

Seawater acts like a sponge and draws water out of the hair, while also leaving a surface-dulling deposit if you don't rinse it away. It can also penetrate the hair shaft and have the knock-on effect of breaking down amino acids and roughening the cuticles. Rinsing or shampooing your hair as soon as you can after a dip helps, but the best protection is again a swimming hat or a specially formulated protective product.

Enjoy Sunbathing ?

Ultra-violet (UV) light penetrates the hair shaft and damages its structure, just as it does to skin. UV breaks down specific amino acids - the building blocks of protein - which hair is mostly made up of. A loss of these has been shown to have a negative impact on the natural shine and strength of the hair, leaving it duller, weaker and less elastic. You are slightly better protected if you have thick hair as the amino acids are destroyed from the outside to the core.

As well as damaging its protein structure, UV light also attacks the pigment in your hair, breaking it down, bleaching it and reducing the hair's natural defence system. 'Darker hair has greater natural protection, just like darker skin,'  'but if you chemically lighten darker hair it loses its natural protection, making it more vulnerable to UV.'

Products with UV filters or sunscreens for the hair do offer some protection. As with skin products, you need to reapply them to keep the protection constant. Ideally you should use a hat or scarf as a cover-up, and avoid exposure when the sun is highest and most damaging - between the hours of 11am and 3pm. Conditioning products can help repair and prevent further damage


So remember when your applying your suncream not to forget about you hair, as were sure your be wanting it to look nice when you go out for a few cocktails at the bar.

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