Summer Hair Care Tips

I have a love-hate relationship with summer when it comes to my hair. I love letting my hair down and soaking up the sun by the pool, but when I'm sweating it out in traffic my head feels like a sauna, and no matter how many times I wash my hair or how high I have the air conditioner blasting, my hair feels gross. When I was living in Houston I had to deal with hot and humid summers, but now that I live in eastern Oklahoma I'm face with dry heat. I went from having to deal with oily, sometimes frizzy hair to dry hair, so the following are some summer hair care tips I've picked up, as well as what's hot in terms of hairstyles for this summer.

What I recommend for people with dry hair is to skip a day of washing it, but if you're like me and can't really do that without feeling dirty try a dry shampoo. Oily hair is harder to manage, at least for me it was. What I did to control my oily hair was shampoo and condition every morning, let it air dry and try to avoid using any hair products. Air drying keeps in enough moisture without making your hair feel greasy. Oily hair can be the result of an oily scalp or the type of shampoo and conditioner you use. I have fine hair so when looking for a shampoo I go for ones that help strengthen, prevent breakage, and add volume. I've noticed that Dove and Tresemme shampoos and conditioners don't work too well for me during the summer. It actually made my hair oilier and heavy. Shampoos and conditioners that I do recommend for just about any hair type are Pantene Pro-V and Redken. No matter what your hair trouble is they have a product for it, and I've found them to work the best. If you have very dry hair I'd recommend Redken's Smooth Down Butter Treat, it helps add moisture to your hair without weighing it down.

Taking care of your scalp is another way to care for your hair. Healthy hair starts at the roots. Always wash your hair out thoroughly, leaving in products will build up and gather up at the roots. This can lead to itchy scalp, dandruff and bacteria. An unhealthy, dirty scalp can keep your hair from growing out properly, possibly even causing you to shed more hair than usual. Some easy summer hair care tips to remember is to wash and rinse thoroughly. Massage your scalps when washing, don't scratch it. If you blow dry or use any type of heat on your hair often, try giving your hair a break during the summer. If you must use hot styling products use a protecting spray or serum, like Dove's Heat Defense Therapy Protect and Shine Mist. In fact if you plan on spending a lot of time out in the summer heat I'd suggest using a protecting spray, it's probably one of the best product for hair in the summer. Don't forget to wear a hat!

Summer hair is all about letting it down, loose, and free. Some of my favorite summer hairstyles are the tousled, beachy look, loose curls, wavy hair, and the side braid that Lauren Conrad likes to sport. I may not be a fan of her show but I love her hairstyle. The side braid is very versatile in that it can be worn down or up. Another look I love is wavy hair. Wavy hair is easily accomplished by just braiding your hair while it's wet and unbraiding it when it dries. Summer is also a great time for highlights. My favorite way to get natural highlights is to use Sun In. It's a spray that's applied to damp hair, the rest is just letting it air dry and letting the sun do the rest of the work. Easy right?

So put away all those hot styling products and let your hair loose. Give your hair a break from all that curling, straightening and blow drying. Go natural and carefree, it's summer!