3 minute read

Protect Those Luscious Locks

By Courtney gilroy

In our last article, we touched up on skincare and my go-to routine to keep my skin glowing. Now, with warmer weather here and a bunch of pool and beach days ahead of us, it’s going to be super important that we take care of our hair.

Our hair and scalp isn’t that much different than our skin. Just like we must nourish our face, our scalp needs to be properly taken care of. Something I cannot stress enough is the benefit of a weekly deep conditioning treatment for both your ends and scalp. This is even more important for any chemically treated blondes.

When you highlight your hair, the bleach alone can cause damage to it. Now, add sun exposure on top of it and you’re looking at what us hairdressers call a “chemical haircut” where your hair might start to break off. Of course, no-one wants that. So, my job is to make sure you all get the proper hair care tips in time for the summer.

First things first. Before we get into treating your hair, we need to look at what products you’re using. If you find your scalp gets greasy within a day of washing it, that could be due to your shampoo or conditioner. Basically, the pores in your scalp may be getting clogged with too much product buildup. During the summertime, it’s crucial for us to use product that can help protect our hair and scalp. Especially with more pool days coming up, the chlorine and any sulfates from products will build up on the cuticle of the hair and cause stress by making the follicle dry and brittle. So, if you know you’re going to be spending more time by the pooI this summer, I always suggest clarifying your hair at least once a week, which is the recommend treatment. Doing that, along with the proper care to moisturize your hair and scalp, provides great benefits. Two of my favorite ph balancing shampoos are the Paul Mitchell Clarifying Shampoo Three and K18 ph Balanced Shampoo.

Now, it’s important to note that a clarifying shampoo will strip your color each use. So, if you want to only use it as needed that’s okay. Maybe limit it more for those pool days or when you feel like your hair is getting greasier faster. You only need one wash with it before going back to your regular shampoo.

When picking a shampoo, it’s important to refrain from using anything with too much sulfate and silicone, or even any at all. Color-treated shampoo is especially great for summer days because all the products are already accommodating to hydrating your scalp and the rest of your hair. Here are my recommended shampoos. They range in price but are all amazing:

• Truss Professional has several shampoos and conditioners that are good for the summer such as Ultra Hydration, Blond (good for both blonde or gray hair) and for my curly hair girlies they even have a curly shampoo.

• A more expensive option (but worth every penny) can be found in the Oribe line. I personally recommend their Gold Lust, Brilliance and Shine, along with Beautiful Color. They also have a shampoo for blondes, but in all honesty, you can use a different purple shampoo that’s more affordable, such as Shimmer Lights.

All these recommended shampoos also have accompanying conditioners. I recommend using the same conditioner from the same lines because the products are designed together and will always work best when used together.

Now onto the most important part of this article – masks and treatments for your hair to beat the summer heat. Two hair masks I absolutely love and have been using for a while (especially after coloring my hair) are Truss Professional Miracle Mask and Mielle Rosemary Mint Strengthening Hair Masque. For those beach and pool days, I recommend applying one of these conditioners to your wet hair. You can do this either after you’ve finished laying out by the pool, or during. The Truss Professional Miracle Mask has ingredients that help nourish and untangle your hair. It’s made up of cold pressed vegetable oils and has those pure, natural nutrients and vitamins that our hair and scalp need.

The Mielle Rosemary Mint Strengthening Hair Masque is another favorite of mine that has brought my hair back to life after all the bleaching I’ve done. Not only is this product affordable, it’s also full of nutrients. This product is infused with biotin, rosemary, sesame seed oil, honey and coconut oil. Rosemary oil is particularly known to be good for your scalp because it stimulates blood flow to the hair follicles. While the coconut oil will keep your hair and scalp hydrated while maintaining the frizz and healing any breakage.

I always recommend deep conditioning your hair at least once a week during the summertime, especially if you already know that you need to take extra care of your hair and scalp to prevent any breakage.

Hope everyone has an amazing summer full of luscious healthy locks! Make sure you follow me @talkcurlytome_ on Instagram for more tips and tricks, and message me with any questions you may have.

Meadowlands Area YMCA

The Meadowlands Area YMCA held their annual gala at Il Villaggio. For more information, visit www.meadowlandsymca.org.