Summa summa summa tiiiiiiime!! Well…almost summa time lol

The weather has definitely changed (FINALLY) and temperature’s rising which means we’ll be hitting the pools, beaches, vacationing and spending more time out doors **SIDEBAR--unless you are like me and TERRIFIED of these damn 17-year cicadas that are supposed to be out on the east coast soon. I WILL be indoors until they are gone…lol) If you live on the west coast, you really don’t understand what its like to “have seasons” like us East coasters lol and why its such a huge deal when winter is over! oh how I miss Cali…sunshine and warm weather ALL year round….ima be back there soon though! #GodWilling

Any who, a few readers reminded me that I need to make a post about summer hair care tips (duh!) because different temperatures and climates definitely call for different hair care needs. Check out some summer hair care tips below! If you have some other tips, leave them in the comment box!

Oh and one thing I want to highlight, knowing your hair’s porosity is HUGE in warm weather. Check out this post and do some Googling for more info on that. Knowing your hair’s porosity will help determine what products and hair practices work best for you.

Dry Climates

1. Ditch Products with Drying Ingredients i.e. alcohols (the bad ones), heavy fragrances - It’s already a challenge to keep your hair moisturized in dry climates so don’t make it harder for yourself! :o)
2. Seal Your Hair! -- I know you’ve seen me mention this a billion times because it is so essential! Always apply a heavy butter like shea or mango or an oil like coconut, olive, jojoba or sweet almond to help seal in the moisture. This is ESSENTIAL if you have highly porous hair because dry climates will suck out all the moisture of your hair (stay away from humectants as well!)
3. Try the Green House Effect! — Check out this post to see what this moisture “treatment” is! You can also try the baggy method which is similar to the GHE but not quite. The baggy method is where you apply a conditioner or moisturizer on your hair AFTER you’ve washed and conditioned (GHE uses oils). You put a plastic cap on your hair and leave it on for however long you wish (I do it for up to an hour or so).
4. Co-Wash more often! – Using regular shampoo may actually dry out your hair so try washing with conditioner instead. This way, you will retain moisture and natural oils while still cleansing your hair and scalp of sweat and build-up (the key is your SCALP!). If you feel like co-washing doesn’t clean your hair well enough, try washing with a moisturizing shampoo bar like any of these a couple times a month. Always follow with a good conditioner!
5. Do Steam Treatments! — Again, the key is to keep your hair moisturized and steam treatments are a GREAT way to do this!

Humid Climates

1. Embrace the humidity! — Humidity can be a blessing or a curse….I see it as a blessing in the summer! Humidity means BIG hair which I love! Also, it helps moisturize your hair. If you don’t like humidity, then stay away from products that contain humectants (i.e. glycerin, aloe vera, honey) because it will attract MORE moisture to your hair and make your hair even bigger. BUT if you don’t care, then humidity is actually great for humectants….moisture! For those with highly porous hair, you will probably experience more frizz so keep that in mind.
2. Wear more Wash-n-Go’s – Besides the fact that your hair will dry faster, it’s another opportunity for your hair to lock in the moisture!

ALL Climates

1. Drink LOTS of water! -- This is a given. It’s hot, you sweat, you lose water so you want to make sure you rehydrate and replenish by drinking more! Water is essential for your body AND hair inside and out! My fav ways to get my daily doses are drinking coconut water or putting sliced cucumbers and lemons in iced water! Sooo refreshing and yummy!
2. Oil or condition your hair BEFORE you go swimming! -- I know this seems messy and sort of counter intuitive but doing this will coat your hair and act a shield against chlorine and salt water (remember water and oil don’t mix! Same concept with sealing your hair…) Conditioners help because it helps fill in the gaps in the hair shaft (especially protein conditioners) and will help reduce dryness and breakage. This is especially important if you have color in your hair! You can also invest in a cute swimming cap like these or these :o)
3. Don’t forget the Suncreen… for your hair! – Believe it or not, you need to protect your hair as much as you should your skin! There are a lot of natural oils and butters that are natural UV protectors! Mango butter is especially my favorite but you can also use sesame oil, macadamia nut oil, shea butter, cupuacu butter to name a few. You can also look for products that are labeled as heat protectants or UV protectants.
4. Use a Moisturizing Shampoo – Hopefully you already are doing this :o) But if you haven’t yet, try using a shampoo bar. You know I am a HUGE advocate of them. Also, you may need to change the frequency of how often you wash. I find that I tend to wash more frequently in the summer because my scalp sweats and becomes oily faster and some people swim more often which leads to my next tip…
5. Clarify Your Hair — If you swim in chlorine or salt water you will want to make sure you clarify your hair. Rinsing your hair with plain water will not get rid of chlorine and salt. Most shampoos will get most of it out but it is still a good idea to thoroughly clarify at least once a month to sort of “re-set” your hair. It is also good to clarify if you sweat a lot or have an oily scalp. You can clarify with apple cider vinegar, bentonite clay, castile soap, black soap to name a few. There are lots of products marketed as clarifying so just check the labels! Oh and of course, most shampoo bars contain clarifying ingredients (another reason why they are damn near perfect hehe)
6. Use products with Proteins – Proteins will help patch up the hair shaft which means if you have highly porous hair, it will help keep moisture retained longer which is good in Dry climates. If you live in humid climates, this will help keep frizz down to a minimum! You can also try protein treatments like the Cherry Lola or make your own concoction using yogurt, eggs, beer, etc.
7. Deep Condition more often – For obvious reasons, it will help restore any damage from the sun and heat, and it will also help retain moisture in your hair! This is great opportunity to use a conditioner that contains proteins (I LOVE Aubrey Organics GPB Conditioner) and to also do the baggy method which I mentioned above. The key is to allow the conditioner time to penetrate DEEP into your hair shaft.
8. Wear braids or twists! — Back in the day my signature summer style was corn rows. It’s so easy to maintain, your hair is protected and it keeps your head cool. Try rocking some cute braids, corn rows or twists this summer and you really won’t have to worry much about anything accept keeping your own hair moist using a spray or oil! Plus it makes vacationing so much easier and you don’t have to bring a bunch of products with you :o)

and if all else fails… you can always wear a cute hat, scarf or turban wrap! :o)

Hope this helps and gets you ready for the summa, summa, summa time!!