Hello my dear curly heads 

Over the last few days, I've received lots of messages from you about summer, sun and water and their impact on our curls. I would therefore like to use this curl post to give you some valuable tips on how to properly care for and protect your curls during this time of year. 🌞 

Sun protection goes beyond the hairline

The UV rays that we protect our skin from with sunscreen also affect our curls. As you probably know, curls need more care and attention than straight hair. Especially in summer, when the heat strips curls of moisture, which is far from ideal for us curly heads. What's more, the sun's rays can damage the keratin structure of the hair, making it brittle. And as if that wasn't enough, the UV rays also generate free radicals that further attack the hair.

So how do we get our tresses through the most beautiful season "safely"?

The most important thing is to provide our curls with sufficient moisture. The best way to do this is to use a moisturizing leave-in or conditioner and seal it into the curls with a little oil. The oils of argan, avocado, jojoba, almond and coconut provide a small but natural sun protection, as they contain vitamins that protect our curls from the harmful rays. Among the oils, grapeseed has the highest sun protection factor. Another advantage of oils is that they protect the curls from free radicals.  

Click here to find a selection of protective oils 

There are some protective products that are actually designed to protect curls from heat damage when blow drying, these products are also great for protecting your curls from the heat and drying out in summer, more on this below.     

The most effective way to protect your tresses is and remains a sun hat or headscarf.

Curls protect against salt & chlorinated water  

If we go swimming in a pool with chlorinated water, we should first soak the curls well with "fresh water". Because curls are like a sponge, they soak up the water and this should never be chlorinated water. The same applies to salt water. After soaking the curls, comb in a leave-in that protects the curls and seal them in with a little oil.

You can find a selection of protective leave-ins here 

Even if the curls in summer on the beach, especially with fine wavy hair, give these beautiful beach-waves, it is anything but good for the hair, because the salt roughens the outer hair structure, which feels nice and grippy, is actually harmful to the hair, especially with dry, damaged curls, as salt leads to split ends and hair breakage, the curls also lose their stability and elasticity, it is best to rinse the curls again with fresh water after the bath.       

I prefer to use a fat/oil based leave-in and comb it into my curls after showering to protect them from drying out & chlorine & salt water. 

I hope this helps you and your curls stay safe and healthy through the summer!

If you have any questions, please write to me, I am always happy to help.

Cordially 

Rosa Maria