How to Repair Sun-Damaged Hair

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Do you love going out under the sun? Have you noticed that your hair has become dry, dull and generally unmanageable? Do your individual hair strands snap off easily? Do you have split ends?

If your answer to these questions is a “yes,” then your tresses might be suffering from sun damage. Sun damage occurs when you expose your hair and scalp to too much sunshine. As you may know, sunlight carries harmful ultraviolet or UV rays. UV rays can penetrate the outer cuticle layer of your strands and get to your hair’s inner cortex. When this happens, your hair loses its moisture and its elasticity and becomes dry and prone to breakage. UV rays also destroy the pigments in the cortex, causing your hair color to fade away.

Sun-damaged hair is indeed worrisome. Overexposure to sunlight will make your hair appear unhealthy. But if you act on this problem quickly, you can still repair the damage the sun caused on your tresses. You can restore your hair to its beautiful and shiny self with these steps:

Use hair care products formulated for dry and damaged hair. Such products are gentle to your tresses. They’ll replenish the nutrients and proteins your hair lost. They’ll also coat your individual strands so the moisture will be sealed in and your hair will be protected from further damage.

Deep condition your hair at least once a week. Think of deep conditioning as force-feeding your hair with the nutrients that will make your hair healthy and beautiful again. Your deep conditioner will also coax the scales of your hair cuticles to lie flat against the surface of your hair again. This will make your locks appear smoother and become more manageable. Additionally, deep conditioning will bring back strength to your hair so it won’t break off so easily anymore.

Give your hair a rest from styling. It won’t help your sun-damaged hair if you continue subjecting your tresses to chemical treatments and heat styling. Styling your hair that way will put more stress on your hair and slow down its recovery process. So, if you’re not really in a hurry, allow your hair to air-dry after washing instead of blowing it dry. Also, try to take a break from coloring or using other chemical treatments on your hair.

Don’t go out without head cover. As much as possible, you should keep from going out when the sun is too hot, which is from late morning to early afternoon. But sometimes, you simply can’t avoid doing so. If you have to go out, make sure that your hair is coated with leave-on conditioner. Also, wear a hat or a scarf to cover your hair.

Sun damage to your hair is something you shouldn’t take lightly. Too much UV ray exposure will cause your hair to look unhealthy and prone to breakage. But if you act quickly, you can easily restore your hair to its natural glory, as if it was never touched by the sun at all.