Summer Beating Up Your Hair? Follow These Expert Tips

I just got back from a week at the beach to restore my mind and body: endless dips in the salty ocean, laps in the pool, snorkeling for hours on end. Ahhhh. But my blissful state was upended when I went to see my hair stylist. “So, let me see the damage,” she said. My carefully highlighted hair had lost its lustre - the blonde was brassy, the ends fried.

Note to stylist: I did hear you last time, when you warned me about chlorine after I spent a mere 30 minutes in the pool at that Orlando resort. Understandably, it was highly chlorinated to deal with dozens of children swimming around.

This time, my stylist cried out, “Oh my God! What happened?” I feebly explained I’d been down the waterslide just once or twice. I guess my hair got damp when I rocketed into the water at the bottom of the slide. Who knew that even a tiny bit of chlorine could wreak havoc?

Protect your hair from the elements with a great hat.

Kyle White

Lead hair colorist at Oscar Blandi, who counts Mariah Carey and Julianna Margulies among his clients

Hair advice: White says sun exposure is the equivalent of bleach and fades color: “You need to use a sunblock every time you wash, even in winter if your hair is going to be in direct sunlight.”

Salt water and chlorine will not only fry your hair, but it will turn your blonde locks into orange straw. White advises using an oil with SPF, like Phytoplage, that will fill the cuticle of your hair so it won’t absorb chlorinated water. Rinse your hair with fresh water when you get out, then reapply the oil and put back on your hat.

Rinse hair with fresh water after hitting the pool.

If you get chlorine on your hair, an easy at-home solution is to use an apple-cider vinegar rinse that will remove chlorine deposits, take out highlight-dulling product build-up, remove dead skin cells, and unclog hair follicles.

Just as your black or bright colored clothes fade in the hot clothes dryer, heat styling fades your hair color. So if you are using heat styling tools, be sure to use a thermal protector like “Its a 10,” which is also a leave-in treatment with protein and vitamins.

After sun exposure, frequent shampooing is the second biggest fader of hair color — so cut back and use a dry shampoo (Oscar Blandi has one called Pronto). “Your scalp’s natural oils are Mother Nature’s deep conditioner,” he says.

Oscar Blandi

Hair advice: Get a trim before you go on vacation. “Playing on the beach, in the chlorine water — the ends can become dry and brittle,” he says, especially if you are going out and using hot, damaging tools like hair dryers, straighteners, or curling irons.

Alonso Salguero

Hair advice: Products can make all the difference. A deep-conditioning treatment like Kerastase Elixir Ultime cream, and another product, Aqua-seal by Kerastase covers the hair cuticle and keeps moisture in.

The simplest and easiest advice is saturating hair with water before leaping into chlorinated or salt water because hair can only absorb so much water - says Salguero - and getting it wet prior to swimming keeps some of the chemicals out.

You can also apply a glaze like the Christine Hair Glaze from Van Thomas Concepts. This protective layer helps minimize the damage and gives your hair an extra bit of defense against the elements.