The struggles of summer

Summer is such a great season, picnics in the park, hiking and biking, beautiful bronzed skin, sun kissed hair, and of course all the delicious foods like barbeque, watermelon, iced tea, and burgers (or in my case veggie burgers).  With all the amazing and beautiful gifts summer gives us, it does come at a price, like sun burns, chlorine hair, dry hair, dry skin, and hair color lightening. This week I break down some hair and skin struggles that we experience during the summer and how to prevent/fix these problems.
                      
Hair Struggles

• Dry hair- Living in a dry state like Utah we are constantly battling dry hair all year long, there are a couple ways to combat dry hair. First try not washing your hair every day, your hair and scalp needs the natural oils your body produces, over washing your hair strips those oils and can cause dry hair. If you have a humidifier use it while you sleep, this will add moisture into the air which your hair (and skin) will absorb while you dream away. Another solution is to purchase a leave in conditioner, this adds extra moisture to your hair, use after you wash and condition your hair. My favorite leave in is UNITE 7Seconds Leave in Conditioner.
• Swimmers hair- If you’ve ever gone swimming you know what this is. This is when chlorine is built up on your hair and it causes your hair to turn slightly green or leave a filmy texture behind. Chlorine also can dry out your hair if you swim regularly. The solution is to wear a swimmer’s cap, if you don’t have one or simply don’t like wearing one, apply hair conditioner on your dry hair before swimming. The conditioner coats your hair, so the chlorine can’t penetrate your hair shaft. If you do have excuses build up of chlorine purchase a clarifying shampoo, this is a more aggressive shampoo that strips away excess build up. The UNITE Weekender Shampoo and Malibu Swimmers Treatment work amazing to remove chlorine buildup.
• Sun bleached hair- Tired of your hair getting lighter during the summer? The intense UV rays cause our hair to lighten naturally, the best way to prevent this is to wear hats or purchase a leave conditioner with UV protection. UNITE 7Seconds Leave in has UV protection that will protect your hair from the damage of UV rays.

                      
Skin Struggles

• Dry skin- Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! After laying out all day in the sun your skin is dehydrated, not only should you be applying body lotion on your skin, you also need to drink lots of water! Your skin needs to be rehydrated inside and out. If you spend a lot of time in the sun you should be keeping hydrated. Drinking excess amount of water and applying body lotion on daily will keep your skin youthful and healthy.
• Sun burns- The worst part about summer! Sun burns! This can be prevented by applying sunscreen daily, if you do not apply sunscreen on your body daily, at the very least apply it to your face. Purchase a face moisturizer that has an SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of at the very least 20. Even if you’re inside a lot, the commute to work, or even 10-20mins a day in the intense sun can cause damage, so wear sunscreen to protect yourself. Also! Don’t forget to put it on your scalp or wear your hair parts, your scalp is extra sensitive to the sun, so protect it. If you have a sunburn take a cool shower to calm your skin down and then apply Aloe Vera to sooth and protect your skin. There is also a vast number of products on the market for after sun skin care that you may purchase.
• Makeup remover- During summer there are so many concerts, music festivals, and outdoor events where men and women apply massive amounts of makeup for. For example; Burning Man, Gay Pride, the Arts Festival, pub crawls, the list goes on. For those who don’t wear make up typically, here is how to remove your makeup without purchasing makeup remover. However, if you do buy makeup remover, I recommend the Neutrogena Makeup remover wipes. The best home products for removing makeup is coconut oil and lotion, the oil content in these products help remove the makeup and moisturize the face. Take a spoonful of coconut oil and apply all over the face, rub it into the skin and it’ll start removing the makeup, rinse your face, then wash your face, and moisturize. If you’re using lotion do the exact same method.

Take these tips and tools to keep your hair and skin healthy during this summer season, if you have any tips or solutions you’ve discovered for summer problems add them in the comments below.

Until next time, much love!
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DJH