Welcome to our summer hair care series. Today we’re sharing 2 new tips to protect your locks during the harsh summer months.
Take Your Vitamins
“Healthy hair is shiny hair, and shiny hair healthy hair,” says Devin Toth, stylist at the Ted Gibson Salon in New York City. He suggests using shampoo, conditioners, and hair masks fortified with vitamins A, B, C, E, and nutrients such as calcium and magnesium to help repair damage, lock in moisture and boost luster from the inside out. Check the ingredient label to make sure the formula doesn’t contain sulfates—these harsh cleansers, found in many shampoos, can strip hair of its natural oils. We like Vitamin Shampoo Blueberry Avocado shampoo ($7, Walgreens stores), which is sulfate free and infused with vitamins B, C, E, and K.
Fight Frizz
Moisture in the air makes hair prone to frizzing. Even if your locks a
ren’t normally vulnerable, any damage–whether from the sun or from coloring, straightening, or heat appliances–roughens cuticles, enabling water molecules in humid air to penetrate the hair shaft, causing it to swell.
Try a silicone-based smoothing serum. “These styling products temporarily ‘glue’ hair cuticles smooth, flattening out roughness and preventing the absorption of water molecules from the air,” says Deborah Sarnoff, MD, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at New York University Medical Center. Today’s more advanced silicone is the ingredient of choice for frizz fighters because it’s nongreasy and microfine, allowing for tinier particles to deposit on hair more uniformly than previous silicone products. Work in a dime-size dollop of smoothing serum such as Citre Shine Miracle Polishing Serum ($6; drugstores), which has added vitamins.
Spritz styled hair with an antifrizz hairspray like Nioxin’s new Smoothing Reflectives Fast Control ($10; salons) to help hair stay smooth in any level of humidity. Use alone or after applying silicone serum.