Your Summer Hair Recovery Guide

Hair Woe: Brittle Strands

After countless hours under the sun your strands can feel fragile, crunchy, and appear to be on the verge of splitting (yikes!). To help bring parched locks back to life, ditch your regular conditioner and swap in a hydrating hair mask. Hair masks have a higher concentration of conditioning ingredients, which work overtime to give your dry, damaged hair a stronger dose of hydration, ultimately strengthening strands over time. We love Living proof. Restore Mask Treatment, which helps retain hairs moisture, strengthen strands up to 20 times, and prevent future damage. Whichever hair mask you reach for, be sure to leave it on for at least ten minutes to allow the moisturizing ingredients to fully penetrate. For even more moisture, add a leave-in conditioning spray into the mix. Spray on freshly washed, towel-dried hair to increase hydration levels even further. We like Number 4 Super Comb Prep & Protect for its heat- and UV-protecting formula that contains natural conditioners like black currant and soy yogurt.

Hair Woe: Swimmers Hair

Not sure why your blonde turns green after a few dips in the pool? The offender is likely your strands reaction to the chlorine and hard metals like copper and iron that live in the pool water. Essentially, dyed strands are very porous, meaning they act like a sponge, absorbing anything with which they come into contact. When swimming, these heavy metals and chlorine enter your hair shaft, depositing a small amount, which oxidizes and can turn strands into a funky shade of green. To remove the yellowish green tint at home, try mixing 1/4 to 1/2 cup of baking soda into a few tablespoons of water to form a paste. Once the paste is formed, coat the affected areas with the mixture, massaging it in. Rinse with clean, cool water and repeat as necessary.

Hair Woe: Extra Oily Scalp

A grease-stricken scalp is unavoidable when temps hit an all-time high. Not only does sweat drip down your face and neck, but your roots get extra oily too. While we know you may get the urge to wash more frequently to remove sweat, grit, and grime, its actually better to use a dry shampoo in between washes to avoid further drying out your strands. Dry shampoo soaks up that extra oil and leaves your roots feeling clean sans water (read: no stripping). We love Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo for its ultrafine powder formula that absorbs excess grease without adding texture that can weigh hair down. Quick tip: spritz around your hairline and nape of your neck to freshen up throughout the day.

Hair Woe: Brassy Locks

Similarly to the negative effects of chlorine, blonde locks can turn brassy (read: an unwanted orangey tint) when met with too much sun, salt, and other harsh elements. To counteract the brassy tones, slather strands in a purple shampoo. Purple shampoos deposit violet-hued pigments into locks, neutralizing those pesky orange or yellow tones. We recommend amika Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Shampoo, which eliminates the brassiness without stripping locks of moisture thanks to the formulas star ingredient, sea buckthorn. Leave on for about two minutes, then rinse off. If your brassy locks are extra dry, mix in a small amount of the amika Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Conditioner with your preferred hair mask, which has the same sea buckthorn oil amped up with ultrahydrating shea butter.

Hair Woe: Irritated Scalp

Even with meticulous SPF application, sunburns can happen. Slathering on some aloe and avoiding direct sunlight can help repair the burns on your body, but when your scalp gets sunburned, it's a little more complicated. To soothe a scorched scalp, place a cold compress soaked in whole milk for 5-10 minutes on the burned area. Milk contains enzymes that have anti-inflammatory properties to speed up the healing process and reduce redness and irritation. When washing your hair in the following days, put aside your harsh hair cleansers and colored shampoos, and reach for those with calming ingredients that wont further irritate your scalp situation. We like Klorane Shampoo with Peony, which cleanses without causing any added aggravation thanks to Chinese peony extract which calms and rebalances your scalps pH level.

Hair Woe: Frizz

Though taming frizz is a problem we hope to solve all year-round, it tends to be a more of an issue during extreme heat and humidity. To reduce frizz and keep flyaways at bay, make sure your tresses are moisturized and coated in a hydrating hair oil or serum. Oils and serums work to penetrate the hair shaft and close the cuticle, which makes locks less susceptible to unwanted moisture seeping inthe culprit of dreaded frizzies. We like OUAI Rose Hair & Body Oil for its nourishing blend of absinthium, rosehip, and shea oils, not to mention its delicious floral scent.