You can leave your hat on

This month Jonathan shares his tips for keeping your hair hydrated and healthy during the summer. Whether you’re planning ahead for weekends on the beach or looking to reverse damage that’s already been done, read on to learn how to prevent and heal sun-damaged hair with just a few simple tips.

Go big or go home

Hats are back and bigger than ever, AND I couldn’t be happier about it. Proving that the supersized straw hat is going to be sticking around for a while, Kylie Jenner kick-started her recent holiday by posing in nothing but floppy headgear by Jacquemus. Giving us serious hat envy with this oversized number she posted the sizzling nude photo on Instagram. She of course broke the internet again. Yawn!

On a serious note, the reason I am so ecstatic about this trend, is because it just MIGHT mean that my clients will listen to me about keeping their hair covered all summer and I won’t have to spend most of my work life trying to reverse the damage they have done to their now sun frazzled locks. God give me strength. If I tell them to wear a hat for the health of their hair, it goes in one ear and out the other. Now, if I mention that fashion influencers, editors and A-listers alike have all been swapping their regular-sized headwear for the extreme oversized straw hat, they will be joining the waiting list for the Jacquemus 'La Bomba' before I’ve had time to catch my breath.  

Wearing a hat (especially one with a broader brim) can be invaluable for defending against sun-damaged hair and is also one of the best ways to protect your scalp. You see there’s more to sun damage than a few days of discomfort; a burn puts you at risk for skin problems later in life. The effects on your hair are less dire, but notable. Both UVA and UVB rays can damage the cuticle structure, leaving strands fried, splitting, and subject to breakage. If your hair is dry, colour-treated, or previously damaged from over-processing, (everyone in Marbella basically,) it will be more vulnerable to UV rays.

 When combined with salt water or chlorine, the results can be disastrous. You have been warned so don’t come crying to me if you don’t take my advice and end up with locks so dry and brittle that a horse could mistake them for hay.

Listen up

While I am at it, I might as well give you a few more suggestions for getting through the summer months with your hair still attached to your head.  Take advantage of the pool showers and wet your hair with clean water before you get in the pool. This trick lets your hair absorb less chlorine—or salt water, if you're dipping in the ocean. Then give it another rinse after you're done swimming.

While your hair is feeling a bit delicate, it’s best to go easy on it. Brush occasionally, and very gently preferably use a saw-cut comb.

For those of you whose paws can’t be pried away from the straighteners make sure you ALWAYS use a heat protective spray beforehand such as Redken Pillow Proof Express Primer €16,88, which protects hair up to 450° F.

Prevent (and reverse) damage with a mask once a week to maintain moisture. First, I would recommend washing your hair with the Redken Diamond Oil Shampoo €14,74 to soften the hair and leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing. Then follow with a mask. I love Kerastase Masque Force Architecte €38 which is a treatment mask for weakened and damaged hair. My other favourite is Kerastase Masquintense €38, an intensive nutritive treatment which delivers optimal nourishment.

THE MANE MAN

And fellas don’t think you will be getting away scot-free either.  Most men subscribe to the no-frills school of hair care. But when it comes to summer, a slapdash approach will only set you up for follicular failure. If your hair is dry or brittle you may want to try switching washing your hair to an every other day schedule. Go easy with the towel drying, a gentler approach to drying will prevent breakage.

For summer, you want a style that’s easy to maintain and isn’t affected by heat or humidity, so I highly recommend going short. It’s also much easier to rinse chlorine out of a shorter style. For those of you with shaved heads, you will need to protect the entire area with SPF. This is especially important for fine or blond hair.

OK folks that’s my summer rant over. Well for now anyway.

One to watch

This month my favourite colour work was Lauren’s subtle but oh so clever transformation on her client, beautician and makeup artist Jess Miles.

Jess had a buildup of old brown colour with a natural light brown root. Her overall expectation was to go blond, which for a hairdresser can be challenging. How many times do I have to say it, if you want to do a massive colour change like this and not watch your hair vanishing down the sink of the back wash, it needs to be done in stages. Slowly slowly catch a monkey. Which is of course what Lauren did. She created a mixture of balayage using a stronger pre lightener and baby lights to blend and lift the hair and of course she protected the hair with Olaplex. In between she used a semi-permanent colour to blend in the natural root with the warm brown Jess had on her hair already.  Once processed the hair was glossed using different tones to even out the warmth of the balayage and the soft baby lights. Lauren finished off with a Kerastase mask to give the hair an extra boost of moisture and shine.

Don’t just take it from me how fab this hair make over was, let’s hear from the client herself.

‘I’m used to being a little underwhelmed every time I leave a hair salon,’ admitted Jess,’ As the result never matches up to my expectations. I can truthfully say that this is the first time ever I have been completely thrilled with the outcome.  I arrived at Reflections with a brassy toned brown tint on my hair which had grown out about two inches down my roots. When I sat down and told Lauren I wanted to go lighter with balayage I actually felt sorry for her as the words came out of my mouth. I immediately knew it was going to lot harder to achieve that I had thought. Lauren talked me through what she was going to do and explained what we could realistically achieve in the first session.  I was completely gob smacked when I was shown the final results. Lauren had managed to get rid of the brassy tone of the brown, match my roots without going any darker and make the ends of my hair a beautiful golden blonde AND it felt healthier than when I had arrived, even after having bleach put on it! I will definitely be returning to Lauren at Reflections, she truly is a balayage queen!’