The sun is shining and birds are singing. Its official Beauties, summer has arrived! While you’re having fun in the sun and making memories with loved ones, the sun’s harsh rays are damaging your hair. If you intend on swimming in a pool or the sea (think chlorine and salt water) your hair will be even more damaged. If you don’t take extra care of your hair, at the end of the summer your hair will go from looking like Aphrodite’s and end up resembling Medusa’s.You may end up with dry hair that feels like straw, breakage, split ends and a bird’s nest on your head that would take half an hour to untangle. I’ve been there, got the haircut and never going back. Here are a few of my hair care secrets to keep my hair soft and healthy all summer.

Moisturising Conditioner
When it comes to hair care, I always preach about the amazing qualities of conditioner. Without it, I may as well be bald. The sun dries out your hair, as well as chlorine and salt water. So if you’re in the sun and swimming, at the end of the day, your hair may feel a bit crunchy. Your hair will be stripped of its moisture, so your regular conditioner may not be enough. It’s best to change your conditioner. I tend to leave mine on for at least 10 minutes to maximise the results. Look out for a deep mosturising conditioner that’s aimed at dry hair and has ingredients such as shea butter or coconut oil.

Deep treatments
In order to keep my hair moisturised I use a deep treatment on my hair at least once a week, sometimes twice a week. I use conditioner-based and oil treatments on my hair. I shampoo my hair, put on my treatment and wrap my hair with cling wrap. I keep forgetting to buy a new shower cap so I use cling wrap. It works, as does a plastic bag. I leave it on for at least 15 minutes. Sometimes I leave it on for hours, but that’s when I’m not going out.

Rinse and style your hair as normal. My conditioner-based treatments are store bought, but I mix my own oil treatments. I have no preference, because each of my products reacts differently. One treatment makes it easy to detangle hair, the other makes my hair unbelievably soft and after using my homemade hot oil treatments my hair is sleek and shiny. My wish for Christmas is that I can find one product that does all three.

Here’s my favourite oil treatment recipe:

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 tablespoon Almond Oil (You can use Sweet Almond oil, but I prefer using the medicinal variety)
1 tablespoon Honey

Create a double boiler with two small cups or bowls. It shouldn’t be too hot, but warm enough for the honey to mix into the oils. Remember not too warm you don’t want to burn your scalp. Your hair should be damp when applying it and cover your hair with a shower cap or cling wrap.

For best results leave this treatment on overnight and if you do I suggest sleeping with a towel over your pillow. All you need to do is rinse your hair. If you’re struggling to remove the oil, do not use a sulphate shampoo on your hair as it will strip your hair of the oils you’ve just applied. Use conditioner instead, leave it on for 15 minutes, then rinse and style your hair as you normally would.

I hope my hair care secrets work as well for you as they do for me.

Sheena, the beauty editor, also has an oil treatment recipe, have a look in her beauty diary to see hers.

Article by: Odette http://www.beautybulletin.com/blog-directory/our-bloggers/o-so-inspired