How to preserve the summer beauty of your hair at the start of the school year?

For many, the hottest time of the year is synonymous with beauty respite: between the heat and the water, you wear less makeup and don't do your hair every day. In short: we are more natural in summer, compared to other seasons. But there you have it, all good things come to an end and – as the days keep getting shorter – you just have one desire: to extend your summer beauty assets by all means. Here we take stock of those things that make our hair more beautiful during the summer period and the alternatives that can be found for them once the last day of summer is behind us.

Reflections in your hair

When you return from vacation, after sunning well and enjoying the sea and / or the swimming pool, you have certainly noticed that your hair tends to lighten. Whether you are brunette, chestnut or blonde, it's the same story: your hair is adorned with multiple highlights once summer is installed. Part of the reason for this is that UV rays cause the melanin in the hair fiber to fade, making the hair lighter. Add to that prolonged exposure to the chlorine and salt found in swimming pools and the sea, and you've got the perfect combo for brightening. During the holidays, the hair can thus go up to a quarter or a semitone.

How to prolong this effect?
First of all, know that this lightening is irreversible, once your hair is lightened, there is no going back: your hair fiber will not regain its initial color. On your side, you can always accentuate those highlights that you love so much! To do this, all you have to do is make an appointment with your favorite hairdresser, who you will ask to do a sun sweeping effect in your hair. It will then take care of sprinkling your hair with reflections even more intense than those naturally obtained.
Warning : Be sure to take good care of your hair before doing anything to it: the fact that they have lightened is also indicative of weakening of the hair fiber.

Natural alternatives:
There are also solutions that will allow you to lighten your hair naturally, without resorting to the use of chemicals. Of course, the result will be much less immediate, but you can all the same – gradually – achieve a very satisfactory result, while sparing your hair. Here are some natural options available to you:

• The lemon is a natural lightener that can be used in different forms and to be used sparingly and applying a treatment afterwards (it tends to dry out the hair). You can either simply use its juice – the acidity of which will act directly on the hair fiber – by spraying it all over your hair before drying it in the sun, you're done. Another alternative: lemon essential oil, to add to your weekly oil baths and masks for gradual lightening. You can mix a few drops with a coconut or sweet almond vegetable oil, for example, for a most nourishing lightening treatment.
  Warning, we remind you that essential oils should be used with precaution, prohibited for pregnant women and kept out of reach of children.
• Honey which – in addition to the hydrating properties that we know it – has a real lightening power on the hair. You just need to mix it with a silicone-free conditioner or a treatment, in order to obtain a more pleasant texture to work on, before leaving it on your hair. Warning, there is no point in adding lemon juice to this preparation, thinking of increasing the effects tenfold, because on the contrary, the acidity will tend to cancel out the lightening power of honey.
• Chamomile also helps achieve clearer highlights without damaging hair. You can use it as an infusion, either sprayed directly on your hair, or mixed with other ingredients such as aloe vera gel or vegetable glycerin for example. Note that you can also directly use care products made from chamomile for an equally satisfactory result.

Our shopping selection

• Klorane Blonde Highlights Chamomile Shampoo

• Organic lemon essential oil from So'Bio étic

Babacom empty vaporizer – available from 9.99 euros on amazon.fr

A wavy hair as we love them

Summer is also the time when our hair has the most texture, by the way, this famous effect wavy that everyone is talking about is characteristic of this time of year. Obtained naturally after a day at the beach during which salt, wind and sun take care of your beauty, the wavy hair is particularly appreciated, and not only in summer! It's simple: no one is indifferent to this hairstyle which smells like the holidays and gives a relaxed yet elegant character to the hair!

How to prolong this effect?

Only here, once the vacation time is over, the wavy hair no longer happens naturally, or at least without doing anything. To do it at home, different techniques are available to you depending on the nature of your hair:

• If your hair already has natural waves, then you can simply discipline it with styling products. There are loads of them and some are even made with salt water (when we told you this hairstyle smelled like the holidays!). Simply apply the product of your choice to your damp hair (or dry, depending on what is indicated on the instructions), then come and crumple your lengths between your hands. You can then tilt your head forward and fix everything with a little blow of the hair dryer, use a diffuser if you feel it necessary.
  Warning, if you are using a salt water-based spray, be careful not to use it too frequently as this can quickly dry out your hair fiber.
• If you have fairly straight hair, in this case we would recommend that you use a heating device more, as using styling products will not necessarily have the desired effect. Indeed, even passing them through a hair dryer, your waves may fall very quickly.
  A hair straightener will do just fine, although there are now devices specially designed for it. wavy. We recommend that you avoid performing this technique on hair that has just been washed, the waves may slip, the movement is generally much better the day after shampooing. Above all, don't forget to apply a heat protector beforehand and you can get started: separate your well-untangled hair into several parts before waving it with your hot iron. Once the hair has cooled (and not before!), You can then do a final brush stroke to make sure your waves are not too defined, set everything and here is the result!

The natural alternative:

Know that certain styling techniques can achieve this famous effect wavy that makes us all dream without having to use heat. For example, you can simply make one or more plaited braids (depending on the thickness of your hair), all on damp hair, before letting it dry overnight. You can also separate your hair into several parts, before winding the strands thus obtained on themselves, until you obtain small macaroons that you can attach using bobby pins. Then untie your hair when you wake up and you're done!
Note that – although several heatless waving techniques are possible – however, we do not recommend the use of curlers, as you may end up with a result that is too tight to be called "wavy".

Our shopping selection:

• Babyliss easy waves curling iron

• René Furterer Style Thermoprotective Spray

• Queen Beach Salt Infused Texture Spray Bed Head by Tigi

Now you have everything you need to keep hair as beautiful as it is on vacation all year round!

Read also :
– Tutorial: 3 ways to achieve a pretty wavy hairstyle
– These photos that will convince you to fall for a honey balayage
– A balayage for your brown hair? 20 reasons to succumb

Hairdressing tutorial: make a wavy hair with a straightening iron

Video by Romane Lepetit