Caring for hair in the sun

All About You online 06.03.2008

We've wised up to protecting our skin in the sun, but adapting haircare routines aren't high on anyone's agenda, explains Eve Cameron

Woman with blonde hair standing in sunshine on beach It's only when the effects of the sun (and those of its summer associates - seawater and chlorine) are visible, through dryness, lack of shine and colour change, that we find ourselves wishing we'd bought some serious hair-savers alongside our SPFs.

Sun damage explained

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.

What to do

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. Blonde hair, whether natural or coloured, has very little pigment and is therefore at greatest risk in the sun

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 from UV, just like darker skin,' explains hair scientist Dr Steve Shiel, 'but if you chemically lighten darker hair it loses its natural protection, making it more vulnerable to UV.'

Blonde hair, whether natural or coloured, has very little pigment and is therefore at greatest risk in the sun. In addition to the protective measures mentioned above use products specifically for coloured hair if your hair is chemically treated, to prevent rapid colour fade.

Beat the chlorine effect

In addition to exposing your hair to the sun, at this time of year you're more likely to be swimming, be it in chlorinated swimming pool water or seawater. This too can have unwanted effects on your hair. Chlorine can make the cuticle of the hair rough so it looks less shiny and, if it's longer, it can get very tangly. Some women complain of a greenish tinge to their hair when they have been using the pool a lot. Contrary to popular belief this has nothing to do with chlorine, but rather copper or iron algicides that are used to stop the growth of algae, according to Dr Steve Shiel.

'If hair is coloured and therefore more porous, it sucks up copper from the water, which can result in a greenish effect,' he explains. If this happens to you, your hairdresser should be able to correct it, but you might also like to try rinsing your hair with soda water or tomato juice, which some experts say counteracts the green. Wearing a swimming hat is of course the best protection and if you use a conditioning product underneath, you'll be giving your hair a treatment at the same time.

Combating seawater damage

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.