Environmental elements like the sun, chlorine and humidity can wreak havoc on your hair. Safeguarding your tresses from the ultimate "Hair Nemesis" can be tough. Read on to learn how these enviromntental woes affect your mane and what you can do to prevent damage! 

 

That giant ball of glowing gas (in other words, the sun) has the ability to change hair beyond recognition.  If you color your hair, excess sun exposure can even fade beautiful hair color, leaving once-luscious locks dull, brassy and burnished.  And if that's not enough, just like your skin, hair can suffer sun damage too.  The sun's UV rays can harm the hair and scalp, potentially leading to split ends, breakage, dryness and dehydration. Hair, like skin, is made up of proteins that require moisture to in order to thrive. However, unlike skin, hair is dead. When hair's moisture is gone, it must be replaced with treatments, conditioners and hairdresses. 

 

Chlorine is another hair adversary.  It is an elemental gas found naturally in the environment. It is also added to thousands of household and consumer products, drinking water and swimming pools. Chlorine disinfects, killing germs and bacteria present in the water.  When chlorine is exposed to water or air it breaks down into other chemicals that are very detrimental to hair.  These chemicals can have a drastic effect on our hair, which is why shampoos and conditioners especially designed to remove chlorine is best to use right after swimming. (Like Lanza Swimmer's Shampoo).  Chlorine can damage the hair shaft, leaving hair rough, dry and straw-like.  And when hair is exposed to chlorinated water it penetrates the hair shaft and opens up the cuticle. This causes the layers of hair to buckle or rupture, and no longer lie in a smooth pattern. Hair is unable to reflect light, and doesn't appear shiny. Once the cuticle is disrupted, hair quickly loses moisture, and it can feel dehydrated and brittle. "Oh no!" 

Make a salon appointment for a trim at the beginning of summer. Trimming your hair decreases damage by removing unhealthy ends before you hit the sun. Make trimming your hair a habit.  Every 6-8 weeks is good.
If you've had any chemical processes, like coloring, straightening or relaxing, avoid chlorinated water for at least a week. This will minimize interactions between chemicals in your hair and the chlorine.
Use a hair spray or leave-in conditioning treatment with SPF before going outside. Mizani features a light hair spray and Thermastrength Leave-in-conditioner to provide sun protection for the hair and scalp. It maintains shine, color and moisture.
Before you take a dip, wet hair using regular tap water.  Hair will absorb the tap water instead of the chlorinated pool water and then apply an instant conditioner like Mizani Fulfyl which make chlorine difficult to penetrate. 
• Wear a wide-brimmed hat. While donning a swimming cap is good, they are not designed to keep hair from getting wet, however, it is better than not wearing anything.  (swim caps are designed for swimmers to swim through water faster) Sit under an umbrella and rest under the shade instead of baking your skin and hair in the sun.
• Keep frizz at bay using a smoothing serum with silicone, like Mizani's Spradiance, Thermasmooth Smoothguard or Mixed Chick's, Silk.

               lighten you up for summer.