Summer Hair: How to Stop Chlorine and Sun Wrecking Your Colour

Sun and chlorine are the two fastest ways to wreck salon colour, and summer hands you both. If you want your summer hair to hold its colour, the work starts before you get anywhere near a pool. Colour fades, blonde turns brassy or green, and the gloss you paid for looks dull by August. Most of that is preventable with a few habits that take seconds. Here is what I tell my clients before they head off.

The short version

• UV breaks down hair colour and protein, the same way it damages skin.

• Chlorine and salt strip colour and can turn blonde green or brassy.

• Wet your hair with clean water before swimming so it soaks up less.

• Wear a hat or use a UV protection spray when you are in the sun.

• A toner refresh at £35 to £40 brings faded colour back in under an hour.

Why summer hair fades so fast

Hair colour sits in the cortex, the inner part of each strand. UV light breaks down the dye molecules and the natural protein around them, which is why colour looks lighter and feels drier after a week in the sun.

It is the same UV the NHS sun safety advice flags as a skin risk, and your hair cannot tan to protect itself. Darker colours fade to warm reds and oranges, and blondes lose their cool tone and turn yellow.

Chlorine, salt and the green tinge

Chlorine is the bigger problem for most people. It strips colour and natural oils, and in blonde or lightened hair it can react with copper in the water to leave a green tinge.

Salt water is gentler but still drying, and it pulls toner out fast. Neither is a reason to skip the pool or the sea. You just need to get ahead of it.

What to do before, during and after the sun

The single best habit is to wet your hair with clean water before you swim. Hair is like a sponge. If it is already full of fresh water it soaks up far less chlorine or salt. Follow that with a leave in conditioner to seal the cuticle.

By the pool, a hat does more than any product. If you would rather not wear one, use a UV protection spray made for hair and reapply it like you would sunscreen. Rinse the chlorine or salt out as soon as you are done, rather than letting it sit in your hair all afternoon.

When you get home, switch to a colour safe shampoo and use a weekly mask to put moisture back. Skip the clarifying shampoo day to day, because it strips the colour you are trying to protect. The exception is a green tinge, when a clarifying or purpose made swimmers shampoo lifts it and a quick toner finishes the job.

A quick word if you have extensions

Extensions cannot repair themselves the way your own hair slowly does, so summer is harder on them. Chlorine and salt dry the hair out and dull the colour, and salt water in particular can tangle the wefts or loosen the bonds.

Tie them up before you swim, rinse them straight after, and keep the heat styling to a minimum when it is already hot. A bit of extra care now saves you booking a new set sooner than you planned.

When to book a colour refresh

Even with all of that, colour fades over a long summer. The cheapest fix is a toner at £35 to £40, or £20 as an add on to a cut. It neutralises brassy or yellow tones and brings the gloss back in under an hour.

A root tint is £40 to £47 and a full tint £50 to £55 if you are due a full colour anyway. For balayage that has softened over summer, a half balayage at £55 to £65 freshens the lot without doing a full head. If your blonde has gone properly brassy or picked up a green tinge, the girls can sort it, just tell us when you book so we leave enough time.

Call us on 01582 730381 or book online, and pop in for a free colour chat if you are not sure what your hair needs after the summer. We are on Hitchin Road in Stopsley, open Tuesday to Saturday.