The Best Tips for Keeping Your Hair Healthy This Summer

Every four to five weeks I spend a Thursday evening sitting in the salon with a glass of white wine and my longtime hairdresser. She comments on how invasive my gray has become (seriously, I’ll be 33 in September and I’m almost completely gray in the front and it’s moving rapidly to the back of my hair…but my mom was gray by 18, so I guess I’m fortunate) and how going blonde was the best idea to cover that up. One day I’ll embrace my gray and I’ll rock it like my 98-year-old grandmother and all her lovely beauty, but not until 50ish.

I sit down, we chat, we talk about our kids – geez…that makes me feel like a mom – and we fix my hair. I visit Allaboutthegloss.com to improve my hair health. She always comments that I need to do a better job of caring for it during the summer, especially since I have gone so blonde and that’s drying out my hair by itself. We just spent a long weekend in the Keys and when I came back from that, my hair was basically like hay. Dry and very strawlike; she asked me why I didn’t bring a hat. I brought 8 of them and stuck one in my pool bag every morning. I just forgot to actually wear them.

Summer is rough on my hair, especially being a Floridian. Since I know that many of us care what our hair looks like, I thought I might try and save us all a bit of money on additional salon visits, additional costs keeping our hair soft, smooth and damage-free, and I’d provide some essential tips for summer-perfect hair. I love getting my hair done, but that $150 bill every single month for my hair seems a lot like a cable bill or cell phone plan – and adding to it doesn’t seem amazing, either.

Forget the Brass

Being as blonde as I am right now, I have to work hard to prevent my locks from turning to trashy brassy yellow. I love the white-blonde, very natural look that I was born with many years ago, and I’m not paying so much money to have it turn yellow. The best advice my hairdresser gives to me during summer is to use a very gentle conditioning shampoo and condition that is good for my color. I use Frederic Fekkai shampoo and conditioner – changing up the type from time to time. Leave in conditioner is a must before you get into any water, too.

Wear A Hat

It’s fashionable to wear a big floppy hat, but it’s also good for your hair. The less UV rays hitting your hair means soft and lovely hair in a way that you cannot ignore. It’s going to help keep your color looking more natural, it’s going to keep the damage to a minimum, and it’s going to help keep your hair from becoming dehydrated as quickly. It’s just an added bonus that you’ll also protect that gorgeous face from the harsh sunlight, too.

Skip the Heat Styling

This is where I politely fib to my hairdresser and she politely pretends to believe me. She reminds me not to use heat styling every single day. I say, “Yeah, no, I totally don’t,” and she says, “Right, yeah, I can tell,” and we laugh and she admonishes me for my horrible use of heat product. It’s not an excuse, but I did cut my hair into a very chic lob and since it’s naturally curly and needs to be straightened every day to keep me looking good, I do it – sometimes more than once. She hates it, and I know it’s wrong.

Skip the Washing

Another really amazing piece of advice is to skip washing your hair every single day. It doesn’t do you any favors, and it’s not a good idea to use shampoo on the regular. Instead, you can condition it every day if you must, but skip the washing at least every other day. It helps keep your hair more naturally hydrated, which is really good for your look.

Your hair is probably part of your pride and joy. It helps you look and feel good, and it’s something you probably love. That’s why it’s so important to care for it during the summer. It might not sound like a way to save money and time in your life, but taking care of your hair in the summer is actually going to save you more time than you might imagine; it’s also going to save you a ton of money trying to fix it when it all goes wrong. We can all appreciate that, can’t we? Do what your hairstylist says – don’t be me – and you’ll save a fortune on hair appointments and products to get it back into shape and healthy again.

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