Summer care for beautiful hair

Guard your tresses from the stress of the season


A sunny summer has a delightful ring to it. Brings to mind images of shimmering beaches, golden tans, bleached hair and dreamy fashionwear. Everything is bright and light.

When it comes to the UAE, the season extends for a much longer duration compared to other parts of the world. This translates into prolonged exposure and the accompanying hazards to hair and skin.

Maria Dowling, creative hair colourist and owner of the Dubai-based mariadowling salon chain, spoke to Gulf News about the perils faced by tresses here in summer. She gave a range of hair care tips for men and women that are guaranteed to better protect your crowning glory in this searing weather.

"Clients spend a great deal of money having their hair coloured to look great, then will spend hours under the scorching sun and swimming in chlorinated water. This not only fades the colour but causes the hair to weaken," she says.

"It's important that anyone with coloured hair invests the same amount of care and money in maintaining their colour by using specialist products that protect both the hair and scalp in this weather.

"But don't over-condition the hair, you have to apply conditioner only where it is needed rather than all over the hair. This is especially true if you have frizzy hair, which can also be countered with a haircut that doesn't have too many layers. It will allow your hair to flow."

Too much moisturising makes the hair go limp, a definite no-no for a great summer look.

She adds: "If you have curly hair, use an anti-frizz serum to help counteract it. But use only the smallest amount and apply it to the hair and not the scalp."

Dowling advises to reduce the number of times you use electric appliances to dry and style hair.

"Avoid using heating devices on a daily basis and leave the hair to dry naturally. Although few of us believe it, hair can also look great when left to do it's own thing. And when you do blow dry your hair, decrease the heat setting."

She says, apart from using protective products, one of the best protective measures is to always wear a hat or a scarf, which also protects the scalp, along with the hair from burning.

"As men tend to have short hair, they should always protect the scalp from the sun with a protective spray that contains a sunscreen. If you're too lazy to buy specific products, at least rub your sun lotion into your scalp.

"Men with thinning hair should be especially careful as constant sun-burns on the scalp can precipitate hair loss."

Along with shielding hair and scalp from the sun, it has to be protected from the chlorine in swimming pools, if the person swims regularly.

"If you don't like to use a swimming cap, always wet the hair before swimming and apply a protective spray, which is available locally. If necessary, use an after-swim shampoo to help remove chlorine from the hair - wash it out as quickly as possible."

Chlorine has disastrous results especially on highlighted hair, it can go green, as it's another form of bleach. Also exposure to strong intensive sunlight will fade colour quickly and dry out hair.

Dowling says: "The colour problem is better handled in a salon, while lack of moisture can be taken care of by an intensive conditioning treatment. But this too has to be done cautiously, as too many products combined with excessive sun on coloured hair can leave it stringy and dry.

"Use products specially formulated for colour-treated hair that will help maintain the colour and keep your locks in excellent condition."

Dowling says some of the other problems are also linked to the diet of an individual - the kind of foods consumed by them in summer.

Dry hair is also one of the most common symptoms of essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency. "You need to eat more nuts, seeds and oily fish such as tuna. It may also be worth asking your doctor to recommend a supplement such as Primrose Evening oil or Starflower oil."

People can also suffer from oily hair in this weather, due to increased heat and humidity. But it can also be linked to eating fatty and spicy foods, along with excessive shampooing.

She says: "I know it is difficult in this weather, but try to avoid daily washing - when you're at home, give hair a rest from shampoo. The sebaceous glands on the scalp are over stimulated, secreting more grease onto the hair. This creates a vicious circle where the more you wash, the greasier it becomes.

"Another problem with regular washing is that although the roots are greasy, the rest of your hair is stripped of oil, and the ends become dry and brittle. Use a mild ph-balanced shampoo. Wash hair without rubbing the scalp too much. "If needed, apply conditioner to the middle area and ends of the hair - never at the roots.

"And most important of all, watch your diet. Oily and fatty foods can contribute to greasy skin and scalp."

The condition and quality of hair ultimately depends on the internal state of the body.

She says: "Hair follicles lie deep in the skin and are nourished by the bloodstream, if your diet is lacking, you upset the vitamin and mineral balance in your body. Over time your hair will become dull, dry and slow to grow."

Beating this is simple - eat a well-balanced diet. Hair shows the first sign of bad nutrition from skipping meals and consuming junk food. However, you can't just eat your way out of a bad hair day. Hair takes three months to grow and that's when the results begin to show.

Brushing
- Never brush hair when wet, comb with a wide-toothed comb, working tangles out as you move from the ends towards the scalp.

Split Ends
- The only way to get rid of split ends is with scissors. There are some products that can temporarily keep ends from splitting further, but these are cosmetic products with wash-away benefits. Damaged ends grow slower than healthy, well-maintained hair, so regular trims are a must.

Thinning hair
- Thinning hair is often linked to low iron levels, something common in vegetarians. If you are worried about anaemia, ask your doctor to carry out a blood test.

- As men tend to have short hair, they should always protect the scalp from the sun with a protective spray that contains a sunscreen. At the very least rub sun lotion into your scalp.

Blow drying
- Reduce the number of times you use electric appliances to dry and style hair. Leave the hair to dry naturally. When you do blow dry your hair, decrease the heat setting.


Secialist's tips

- Hair is made up of protein and if you don't eat enough of it as part of a well-balanced diet, which includes carbohydrates and good fats such as olive oil, hair quickly looks dull.

- It doesn't matter how often you cut your hair, you can't alter its biologically determined growth rate or overall texture. So, if you have fine hair, no number of haircuts will make it thicker. However, a good cut, volume enhancing products and professionally applied colour can all help hair look more voluminous.

- If your hair is slow to grow ask your doctor to recommend a good, mult