Everyone hates the dreaded first sunburn of the summer. You know it’s going to happen. You lather up the sunscreen, coating every inch evenly before stepping into the shining heat and hope for the best kind of glow.
But an hour after you come back inside, the glow turns pink and red and begins to ache.
Picture what that same sun is doing to your hair. You know, the stuff on the very top of your head. If you color your hair, the damage could be even worse.
Hair is covered in cuticles. They look kind of like fish scales up close, coating each strand and protecting the inner protein of the hair. Every time you color your hair, you open those cuticles up and close them. This allows the color product of choice to get into the hair and alter the molecules that determine your hair color.
This happens regardless of what kind of color you are putting on your hair, darker or lighter. But as any super light blonde can tell you, bleach can be potentially more damaging to the hair than the darker shades. The process to pull the color molecules out of the strands can be a bit more intense, requiring a stronger chemical process to open the cuticles wider to make that happen.
When you go darker, the chemical process to open the cuticles to deposit color doesn’t require the same level of intensity. It doesn’t open the cuticle as wide and the cuticle is able to close a bit better. However, because the color isn’t as deeply placed into the follicle, it can fade quickly, especially in the sun.
When you are done with the color process and the product is rinsed out, your stylist will use an appropriate shampoo and conditioner to neutralize the ph levels of the hair and help close the cuticles of the hair, sealing the color molecules in.
Sun and heat open the cuticles of the hair as well.
It’s not as drastic of a process as chemical coloring, but it does. It can cause darker colors to fade more quickly and lighter shades to suffer more damage. Both are damaged by the sun’s rays and frequent time spent in the sun will further harm your hair.
So what can you do to protect your color?
Use sunscreen for your hair.
Now we don’t recommend coating your locks with a greasy tube of sunscreen, but we can recommend some great products that have the same effect. Kérastase’s Chroma series is specifically customized to protect your color from the sun, preserve the shine, and add a healthy amount of moisture.
Our favorite from the series is the Chroma Thermique. Suzi, the salon owner, loves that this one product can add shine and moisture without weighing it down. Have your stylist try out some of these amazing products on your next visit!
Protect your color, protect your hair.
(All Chroma products are 20% off this month!)
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