Good (and ethical!) summer hair advice from Hairy Jayne

Posted on 11th July 2021

Hairy Jayne handmade hair care products are made here in Bristol with wholesome, honest ingredients. The recipes are created with completely vegan, cruelty-free and highly biodegradable ingredients that are as natural as possible. Sustainability is what dictates the packaging used, and plastic is avoided wherever possible.

All of the products are formulated and made by Jayne – a former hairdresser who has been caring for hair for many, many years.

Hairy Jayne’s advice for happy hair in the water and in the sunshine

Hairy Jayne hair towel wrap — Hairy Jayne Quick Dry Hair Towel

Hairy Jayne hair care bars — Hairy Jayne Quick Dry Hair Towel

Summer is here at last, with more people wild swimming than ever before. Swimming, especially wild swimming in nature, has so many health benefits. It’s a physical workout as well as doing wonders for stress levels and overall mental health.

Swimming may be a healthy pursuit for mind and body, but it’s actually quite stressful for your hair – let alone all the extra time in the sunshine over the summer which has a damaging effect too.

Sun and chlorine are the worst culprits when it comes to summer hair damage. Any length of time spent with your hair in the sun can be compromising to its condition. It’s best to keep it out of the sun for prolonged periods of time, just as you would with your skin. Chlorine removes the natural oil from healthy hair and causes chemical reactions within it. Both can change the colour of hair, weaken the strands and cause split ends.

Jayne’s five top tips for summer hair care

1. Cover your hair up to protect it

When in the sun or in the water, cover your hair with a hat or swimming cap if you can. Or if you’re really not a hat person, wet your hair and then coat it in leave-in conditioner and leave to dry. This creates a bit of a barrier between the UV rays, salt or chlorine and your hair strands.

2. Prevent harmful chemicals from getting in

Your hair is absorbent, so wetting your hair with fresh water before getting in the pool or sea will prevent it from soaking up too much harmful chlorine or salt. If you’re wild swimming nowhere near a tap, apply a hair oil instead. This will waterproof and protect the strands as oil repels water and creates a barrier.

3. Keep shampoo to a minimum and conditioning at maximum level

No matter how you spend your summer days, even at a sandy beach or on a muddy riverbank, resist the urge to wash your hair every day. Shampooing too often strips your hair and makes it dry (unless you use a pre-shampoo treatment oil first). Stick to your usual shampoo schedule with a gentle sulphate free shampoo to keep your natural hair oil production regulated. See if you can get away with a rinse and condition (co-wash) to freshen your hair instead of doing a full wash.

If you’re swimming in chlorine, always rinse immediately straight after swimming, don’t let it sit in your hair. Shampoo your hair with a sulphate free shampoo. Always follow up with a deep conditioner afterwards to prevent dryness and leave it in if you can – rinse it out when you’re back from the pool.

4. Lock that moisture into your hair

Use a treatment conditioner regularly as a mask to replenish moisture lost through sun, sea or chlorine damage. Use hair oils to seal the moisture in and add a protective coating. A hair oil will protect your strands while you’re in the water and you can leave it in your hair for as long as you like!

5. Avoid hair dryers and delay your hair colour appointment to keep damage to a minimum

Ditch the hair dryer and let your hair dry naturally in the warm air. Invest in microfibre hair towel if you have the sort of hair that stays dripping wet for too long or needs some taming while it’s drying. Hair has enough to contend with in the summer with UV rays, sea salt, chlorine and constantly being tied up, so it’s best to give it a break from hair colouring, too. Let the actual sun give you the sun-kissed look you’ve been paying for. Or if you usually go for an all-over colour save the refresh for the autumn.

If you follow these summer hair care tips, you’re less likely to be spending your sunny days time wrestling with tangles and knots, or facing a big chop at the hairdressers come September! And if you’re a regular swimmer, Hairy Jayne has a hair care bundle just for you, which includes all of the products mentioned.