Protecting your hair on vacation: tips and best hair care for summer

Sun, beach, sea… Vacation is finally here! A time that does wonders for your mood, but everyone who loves caring for their hair asks themselves: how can I take care of my hair in summer so I don’t return with a disastrous mane? Yes, the sun, pool chlorine, and ocean salt all take a toll on your hair!

In this article, we share our tips for preparing your hair before your vacation, along with our 3 must-have hair products to pack in your suitcase, so you can be the most beautiful mermaid on the beach!

Sun, Beach, and Pool: why do they damage hair?

Sun and hair

The sun that caresses our skin is a real dopamine booster, but also a sneaky enemy for both skin and hair. The dangers of UV rays are well known for the skin, and we all instinctively protect ourselves. But their effects on hair are much less understood. Yet, UV rays are just as harmful to hair. They degrade keratin, making hair dry, fragile, and brittle. That’s why summer hair protection is essential to prevent hair from becoming rough and lifeless after sun exposure.

Pool and hair

Chlorinated pool water is a real disaster for hair, affecting both lengths and scalp. Highly irritating, it damages the hair fiber by penetrating the cuticles and attacking keratin. The result: hair becomes dry and weakened after swimming.

As for the scalp, it also bears the brunt of the chlorine: it becomes irritated, weakened, and totally unbalanced. The result: your hair can turn greasy in summer due to excess sebum production, or on the contrary, very dry, with dandruff and itching.

Fortunately, it’s possible to protect your hair before swimming and fight these issues with hair oils, such as Jojoba oil or the Renovator oil complex.

Sea water and hair

The same goes for seawater. With its high salt content, along with minerals and other elements, it negatively impacts hair health.

Salt from the water draws moisture out of the hair fiber, making it dry, rough, and brittle. Applying a layer of oil to your hair before swimming creates an effective protective barrier. By forming a protective film around the hair, the oil helps retain hydration inside. The salt then targets the protection layer rather than attacking the hair directly.

How to prepare your hair before vacation?

Hair detox for healthy and purified hair

This is the first step in your preparation. A hair detox helps purify the hair and remove all residues, traces of chemicals, or other impurities that suffocate it. If the cuticle is clogged and made impermeable by impurities, treatments and protections won’t work effectively. Detoxing sets a healthy foundation, allowing you to fully enjoy the next step: neutral henna.

Neutral henna, protection, and intense shine

Neutral henna is an essential protective hair treatment to do before vacation. This type of henna doesn’t color the hair but offers many benefits: strengthening, shine, strength, and softness—all in a single application. Neutral henna coats the hair and creates a protective layer. This barrier, in addition to beautifying the hair like a gloss, will be your shield against chlorine, sea salt, and sun exposure. Neutral henna can be applied at a Hairborist salon. It’s also a great opportunity to trim your ends before heading on vacation, which is an important step to prevent split ends.

Adapting your hair routine for summer

As explained earlier in the article, summer pleasures tend to dry out and damage hair, so it’s important to adjust your routine to compensate for this loss of hydration and nutrition. Incorporating a nourishing oil treatment before shampoo, using a more intensive conditioner than usual, and applying a repairing mask as part of your regular routine will help keep your hair in top shape throughout the summer!

The 3 essential hair care products to pack in your suitcase

All these tips are great, but practically speaking, what should you put in your suitcase? To help you out, here are the 3 must-have natural summer hair care products to take on vacation and keep your hair looking like a mermaid’s:

Renovator: The most powerful blend of hair oils

Renovator is a blend of specially selected plant oils designed to nourish and hydrate dry, damaged hair without weighing it down or greasing the scalp. It’s convenient to pack because Renovator can be used both as a treatment and a protective oil.

For deep treatment: After a day at the beach, before your shower, do a Renovator oil bath and leave it on for 15 minutes before shampoo. This intensive, organic treatment will repair all the damage from the day. It leaves hair repaired, supple, soft, and incredibly shiny—perfect to dazzle everyone from the terrace! Grab your sunglasses!
For protection: Just before swimming, spread Renovator throughout your hair. If you want to boost protection and your hair is long enough, braid it to enhance the protective effect. The oil will form a barrier against aggressions and keep your hair in top shape.

Sweet Care: The best conditioner for dry hair

Sweet Care is an organic conditioner formulated to hydrate and nourish dry, dehydrated hair—whether fine or thick, everyone will love it.

This conditioner contains powerful natural ingredients, such as:

Mallow flower: a wild flower with protective and regenerative properties, ideal for treating and preventing split ends.
Aloe vera: a well-known plant! Its hydrating and highly healing properties repair the hair fiber.
Roman chamomile: nourishing, reparative, and protective, this tiny flower is a real asset for summer hair care.

Karité: The repairing and healing hair mask

Karité is the ultimate nourishing and repairing mask. Formulated as a lush, creamy, and voluptuous organic mask, it’s the richest on the market. Designed specifically for very damaged or even desperate hair, it combines shea butter, castor oil, aloe vera, and more—bringing together the best hydrating ingredients. No wonder it’s a favorite among many of our partner hairdressers.

By adding it to your routine between shampooing and conditioning, you’ll benefit from a deep treatment as intensive as a salon treatment.