Sunscreens For Hair: "must Have" Or Marketing?

The hot summer months are challenging for hair. A two-day sunny weekend outside the city already threatens them with dryness and burnt-out strands, and a vacation at the sea is quite capable of arranging such "California highlighting" on the hair, after which only one course will be clearly indicated - to the salon to radically reduce losses (i.e.).

We have already said that ultraviolet radiation is of two types. In the same way as they affect the skin, the two types of UV rays affect the hair - in different ways. UVA radiation actively dries them, and UVB radiation destroys pigment (both artificial and natural). In fact, the sun free of charge arranges for the hair "natural" bleaching, for which blonde lovers run to the master - burnout, after which they become very fragile, dull and lifeless.

Naturally light or bleached hair is very vulnerable to ultraviolet radiation and fade easily. A dark shade is more resistant to the sun, but even without protection it can please with a reddish or light brown tint.

The danger is amplified in resort conditions: drops of water (chlorinated from the pool or natural sea), like lenses, attract the sun's rays, doubling the rate of dehydration and pigment burnout, which means loss of color, dryness and brittle hair. To prevent your hair from turning into something that looks like straw (and not only in color) after your vacation, put the following products in your suitcase.

Cleansing: shampoo

In fact, a "special" shampoo with SPF is the least of the prerequisites, because even if it contains sunscreen filters, then after rinsing on the hair, alas, there is a minimum of them. In conditions of total summer dryness, it is much more important to provide them with the maximum level of moisture. This is mainly what specialized products in orange bottles are aimed at (including those marked after sun). Didn't find SPF shampoo - it doesn't matter. Take any moisturizer that contains the following ingredients: keratins and proteins (for example, the popular "silk"); oils - coconut, mango and apricot, avocado and argan tree, all "nutty"; vitamins - E, F, group B; algae and aloe vera extracts.

Life hack: use SPF shampoo before sun exposure, and regenerating and moisturizing after visiting the beach!

Recovery: conditioner / mask

Valuable microelements of sea water have an ionic form, due to which they easily penetrate into the scalp and hair structure. But if in the first case they act for good purposes (strengthen the hair follicle, stimulating hair growth), then in the second, they greatly harm the hair. After swimming in the sea, the hair really becomes very elastic and even coarse, due to the fact that salt forms a thin crust on their surface (this effect is especially loved by owners of thin and oily hair: here you have both volume and lack of oily sheen, and fashionable careless natural styling in a couple of minutes). Everything would be fine, but salt actively flushes proteins from the hair shaft, weakens the natural defense and accumulates inside, and then, drying in the sun, begins to destroy it. Be sure to use conditioner after washing,to "patch up" the cuticle - to close its scales and maximally protect the hair from the sun and sea water. In summer, the conditioner can be replaced (or supplemented) with a regenerating or protective mask, using it every time you wash your hair.

Life hack: the final stage of a visit to the beach should be a visit to the shower - wash off the sea salt, chlorine residues and sand as soon as possible, and thoroughly blot your hair with a towel (or protect with a hat if you rinse in an outdoor booth and just plan to go to your room).

Protection: leave-in treatments

Experts advise not to focus on the "value" of the SPF - a figure that can often be found on packaging today. It is actually not as important as if it were about the "Sanskrina" for the face and body. Why? Products with UV filters in the literal sense can only work on the surface of the scalp: they are not able to penetrate into the hair and enter into a chemical reaction with its main substance (cortical layer). Therefore, when we talk about protecting hair from ultraviolet radiation, we first of all mean literal, practically "tangible" protection - enveloping each hair along its entire length with the thinnest protective film that prevents the destruction of the cuticle (and, as a result, damage to the hair shaft itself). Ideally, sunscreens for hair should contain primarily "physical" UV filters (zinc oxide, titanium dioxide,benzophenone), and secondly, caring components (oils, herbal extracts, vitamins).

Oils (coconut, almond, jojoba and even simple olive) well increase the resistance of hair to ultraviolet light: oil-based products should be applied immediately before going out into the sun.

Leave-in sunscreens, which remain on the hair before contact with water and shampoo, will maximally protect your hair. They can be used daily (and repeatedly) and applied to both wet and dry hair, depending on the situation or preference. Light fluids are convenient for working with the entire volume of hair (direct the stream strictly to the ends and / or the middle of the hair length), and creamy consistency products are used to help individual strands (wrap them around your finger like on curlers).

Sunscreen for coarse hair Sun, WellProfessionals (protects hair from ultraviolet radiation, nourishes and softens, making it healthy, soft and shiny).

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Life hack: do not forget about the SPF product even in urban conditions - it protects hair well not only from the sun's rays, but also from free radicals and various harmful impurities contained in the atmosphere of a metropolis in excess.