May 2011

Most problems seen by trichologists involve either excessive loss of hair, thinning hair, patches of baldness, hair breakage, scaling problems or excessive oiliness and itching of the scalp. Conditions range from psoriasis, hair loss, alopecia and baldness.

As a hairdresser as well as a professional trichologist, Iain Sallis asks: Summer is coming, so how do we get the best out of our hair? Here Iain looks at the tips and treatments you can take to make sure you’ve the most luscious locks on the beach and at home this summer.

Summer months are usually wonderful for people’s skin (apart from if you burn) and general well being, but precautions need to be taken to ensure you don’t damage your hair.

Strong sun light equals strong UV radiation (the light waves from the sun...which can affect us even on cloudy days) and UV light is something that causes the chemicals in our hair to oxidise.

It’s this oxidisation process which slowly ‘bleaches’ our hair and ruins many a good colour as well as takes the condition out of it...this as well as jumping in pools of chlorinated water, the salt from the sea and of course lots of ladies ‘feel summery and so want to go lighter’, this all takes the toll on the hair so we have to give it some summer TLC!

Conditioning treatments and pre-shampoos

Conditioning treatments and pre-shampoo treatments are great for stopping that dry feeling of the hair another great way of preventing too much damage is to use an extra ‘light’ leave-in conditioning spray in your normal regime, this will allow the hair to receive a much needed ‘boost’ when it most needs it!

In the summer we expose our hair to dry atmospheres that dry out the hair from the inside out. The reason this ‘drying out’ phenomenon is because the hair is ‘Hygroscopic’. This means the hair allows it’s moisture content to equalises to the atmosphere it’s in at that time,

This means that in a dry atmosphere (such as a dry, arid day) hair will expel moisture until it is the same level as the room it’s in, or in damp atmospheres (eg mist, or an indoor swimming pool) it will absorb the moisture in the atmosphere until it is the same ...this is the chemistry which allows blow dries to work and why styled hair never lasts in damp conditions!)

Some simple rules to get the best out of your hair in summer:

Allow for your hair to naturally bleach in the sun...I would avoid getting a colour done on your hair before going away somewhere sunny, your hair will lighten and become dry and inevitably need it re-doing the moment you set foot back in this country!
Wear a hat! You can put your hair into when you’re going outside in the sun to protect it from those harmful UV rays.

The best ones on the market are pre-shampoo treatments, these are enriched with different types of oils (avocado, castor, sunflower, almond, olive) all of which are too heavy if used after shampooing but if used before, they are ideal at getting the lost moisture back!

Some of my favourites are ‘Philip Kingsley – Elasticizer’ for a leave in treatment and Beever Daily Revive/Recovery Oil for daily moisturisers.

DIY hair help! Failing all this you can make up your own masks for home/salon use!

All you need is:

2 Eggs
3oz Plain Yoghurt
1/2oz Olive oil
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2oz Purified water
1 Ripe avocado (peeled and stoned)

Whisk in a blender and your good to go! A perfect summer pre-shampoo treatment full of proteins and oil which is great for the hair!

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