Summer is a hard season for your hair. Between trips to the beach, high ponytails to beat the heat, or dips in the pool—your hair has been exposed to more oils, heat, sweat, mineral deposits and chlorine than in any other season. These chemicals can become embedded in your hair and cause buildup that can have a long-lasting impact on your hair—but don’t worry, we’ve got the deets on how to get your locks healthy and revitalized.
Kristen Glynn, a stylist at our Upper West Side location, says, “It is very important to remove buildup. When there is buildup on the hair it won’t allow conditioner to penetrate as well. This makes the conditioner significantly less effective. As nutrients are being blocked from entering the strand, the hair can become brittle, tangled, and damaged.”
How do you know if your hair is suffering from a buildup issue? Glynn says, “A way to recognize chlorine buildup is when wet hair has a slimy feel to it, mainly at the bottom where the hair is most porous. When dry, the hair can appear to have a metallic look to it, almost like a shimmer.”
And buildup causes issues bigger than just a metallic look—it can make expensive services like color and texture treatment less effective. “Color results can be very unpredictable as a result of buildup. Texture and color treatments take time and money so it is important to remove buildup before you begin.
“The best strategy for beating buildup is to prevent it in the first place,” Kristen says. “Aveda Sun Care shampoo is a great hair AND body shampoo that can be used regularly to help prevent buildup. Also, applying conditioner prior to swimming will prevent as many sediments from adhering in the first place. After swimming, rinsing your hair with fresh water—or better yet, sparkling water—will also help minimize buildup.”
If you’ve got some buildup already, what’s the next step? According to Scott J Creative Director and master stylist Hauns Korpela, it depends on the source of the buildup.
If most of your water exposure is on a lake—mineral deposits are the culprit. “Mineral deposits make the hair feel harder, dry and brittle by depositing and coating the hair. Using a detox shampoo on dry hair, then adding just a small amount of water to bring to a creamy lather, then letting it sit on the hair for 15-20 minutes will help break down the mineral deposits. Shampoo hair two times after rinsing and then replenish with a high-moisture conditioner to help bring back the softness and luster to the hair.” Aveda’s Dry Remedy Moisturizing Conditioner or Moisturizing Masque would be perfect for this process.
If you’re more of a beach babe and have been splashing around in the ocean, wetting your hair before and after you spend time in the sea can prevent buildup from happening in the first place. Also, a detoxifying shampoo followed by a reconstructive conditioner can eliminate the issue. Kristen recommends Aveda products to treat buildup concerns at home. “Aveda’s Damage Remedy and Dry Remedy have excellent masques that can be used once a week to revitalize your strands.”
Sometimes you just need to turn things over to the professionals, and the stylists at Scott J. are here to help you there. “Our in-salon Botanical Treatments work amazingly well to restore summer-damaged hair. They penetrate deep within the hair strand to restore whatever summer has thrown your way,” Kristen says.
If you’re worried that hot-girl summer has your hair headed for a hot-mess autumn, give us a call or pop in for a treatment at any of our four locations in Manhattan, or our Brooklyn location. Let us kick that buildup to the curb!