Sun damaged hair

Can sun damaged hair be repaired?

Hair is dead tissue, so it cannot renew itself. Conditioner covers the damaged surface, and that cover is temporary, so conditioner has to go back on after each wash. The damaged length stays until it is cut off. The hair that grows in after your holiday has not had that sun.

What does sea water do to hair?

Sea water roughens the outer layer of each hair, which is where beach texture comes from. Repeated swims in the sea with no rinse and no conditioner afterwards take their toll. Coloured hair is more vulnerable, because its outer layer has already been altered. We’d rinse with fresh water as soon as you can after the sea.

What about the pool?

Pool chemicals can be hard on hair, so wash the pool water out after swimming. A swim cap is fine too. On a swimming holiday in the heat, simply wash more often. Skip conditioner before you swim, and put it on after the shampoo that follows.

What we’d do on a holiday by the sea or pool

• Wear a hat or scarf in strong sun, with long hair gathered up inside it, so it shades the lengths as well as your scalp. Our page on colour treated hair care says which months the sun is strongest in Chiang Mai.
• Keep long hair in a loose braid in the water. A braid keeps it together, which prevents tangles, and tangles are where split ends begin; our split ends page explains how.

Which describes your hair?

If the ends are dry, rough or split after a holiday, a cut is what takes them off. If your hair is coloured and you have been at the coast, our colour treated hair care guide is your next read.

If you’d like to come in, you can book here.