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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