You’ve booked the trim. You’ve kept up with your toner. You’ve even started using a heat protectant like it’s your job. So why does your hair still feel like it’s fighting the weather every time you step outside?
Summer is brilliant for a lot of things — it is not brilliant for hair. Between sun exposure, chlorine, salt water and the kind of humidity that undoes a blow dry in about four minutes flat, your colour and your style are working overtime just to survive the season. The good news is that a few small changes to your routine make a genuinely noticeable difference.
Why Summer Hits Your Hair Differently
It’s not just you — hair really does behave differently once the temperature climbs. UV rays fade colour in a way that’s easy to underestimate until you catch your reflection three weeks into the school holidays and wonder where your toner went. Add in more time outdoors, more washing after sweaty days, and more exposure to chlorine and salt water, and it’s no wonder summer hair can feel like a different beast entirely.
None of this means you have to choose between enjoying the sunshine and keeping your hair looking its best. It just means your usual routine probably needs a summer specific tweak.
Sun, Colour Fade and What Actually Helps
Colour treated hair fades faster in direct sun, and warm tones and blondes tend to show it first. A UV protecting spray or leave in treatment before a day outside genuinely helps, and it’s worth reapplying if you’ve been swimming, sweating, or just out and about longer than planned. Think of it the same way you think of SPF for your skin — it’s not overkill, it’s just sensible.
Chlorine, Salt Water and the Great Holiday Hair Panic
Every year it’s the same story: someone comes back from holiday convinced their hair has turned green, gone straw like, or simply stopped cooperating altogether. Chlorine and salt water are both drying, but there’s a genuinely simple trick that helps more than people expect — get your hair properly wet with clean water before you get in the pool or the sea. Hair that’s already saturated absorbs less chlorine and salt than dry hair does. Follow it with a proper wash afterwards, and you’ll save yourself a lot of the usual post holiday hair panic.
Humidity vs Your Blow Dry: Who Wins?
Honestly, most days, humidity wins. But you can tip the odds back in your favour. Heavier products that work beautifully in winter tend to feel greasy and weigh hair down once humidity increases, so summer is a good time to switch to something lighter and more humidity resistant. It won’t make your blow dry bulletproof, but it will hold a lot better than fighting a heavy winter product against a warm, sticky afternoon.
When It’s Time for a Colour Refresh
If your colour is already looking a bit tired from the sun, catching it now is much easier than waiting until it’s properly faded. A quick refresh part way through summer tends to be a smaller, simpler job than a full correction in September, and it means you actually get to enjoy your colour for the rest of the season rather than just tolerating it.
A Few Honest Questions We Get Asked
Do I really need to rinse my hair before swimming?
Yes, genuinely. It sounds too simple to work, but wetting your hair with clean water first means there’s less room for chlorine or salt water to be absorbed. It’s the easiest change on this list and one of the most effective.
Is it worth switching my whole hair care routine for summer, or just tweaking a few things?
A few tweaks is usually plenty. Swapping to a lighter styling product and adding UV protection before sun exposure covers most of what summer throws at your hair, without needing a complete routine overhaul.
My colour has already faded a bit from the sun — is it too late to fix?
Not at all. A refresh partway through summer is a much smaller job than waiting until autumn, so it’s genuinely worth booking in as soon as you notice it rather than putting it off.
Can I still get my hair coloured or cut just before a summer holiday?
Yes, and it’s a great time to do it — just factor in a bit of extra protection once you’re away, since fresh colour is more vulnerable to fading in the sun than colour that’s had a few weeks to settle.
Book Your Summer Reset at Luxe Hair and Beauty Lounge
Whether you’re in Radstock, Midsomer Norton, Bath or anywhere in between, if your hair needs a summer reset, we’re here for it. From colour refreshes to cuts, styling and nail treatments, book an appointment or take a look at our price list, and let’s get your hair back on side for the rest of the season.