This Hair Stylist Shares Her Top Tips For Sun Damaged Hair
We all know that feeling post-summer where our hair starts to look and feel a little worse for wear. All sorts of tangled, it’s dry and dehydrated, most likely brittle and breaking and possibly on the verge of forming dreadlocks. The cause? Sun damage.
Unlike our skin where we’ve been told to slip, slop, slap since the very beginning, it’s a different story when it comes to treating and protecting against sun-damaged hair.
To help, we spoke to one of our favourite hair stylists, Tarryn Cherniayeff (formerly Mob Hair), to share some of her expert advice to not only recognise, but help you treat, sun-damaged hair
How to treat sun-damaged hair with Tarryn Cherniayeff
Tarryn Cherniayeff
What does it mean when someone says they have sun-damaged hair?
Much like sunburn on the skin, sun-damaged hair is caused by too much exposure to UVA and UVB rays. Where the natural protein responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of the strands, keratin, starts to deteriorate.
How can you tell if your hair is sun-damaged?
‘Sun damage typically comes in the form of discolouration where when you’re unable to maintain your colour’, says Tarryn, ‘for example, if you're finding your blonde looking drab or your freshly brunette colour fading quickly after your salon appointment.’ Telling us, ‘You might also have dry, brittle or prickly strands, even split ends or a certain frizziness’. But the easiest, and simplest way, she says is ‘to look for colour fading, that’s probably one of the easiest ways to tell if your hair is sun-damaged and your colour is washing out quickly,’.
Is everyone susceptible or is one particular colour or hair type more prone?
‘Everyone!’ says Tarryn, ‘it may be different for each hair type based on your home care routine, your colour history and even genetics but yes every hair type.’ And if you thought your goldie locks were immune... ‘‘Some have to work harder at maintaining hair health more than others, typically blondes and those with fine hair.’ she says.
How do you prevent sun damage?
First and foremost, ‘wearing a hat!’ Tarryn tells us, ‘much like your skin it needs protection from the sun. We often forget about it and it’s such a shame because healthy hair takes better to colour and styling’.
How do you recommend we treat and restore sun-damaged hair back to health?
‘My first point of call is to start wearing a hat,’ says Tarryn, ‘and secondly, if it feels as though you're already at the sun-damaged level I would start with a restorative moisture mask. Much like sun damage to your skin, you need a boost of hydration. Then I would get a trim and start a UV protective routine.’
Do you have any favourite products or treatments in particular?
‘Living in Australia we have some of the harshes UV in the world and luckily we have some amazing products that combat just that. The Sachajuan before sun and after sun is an all-time fave and also the Kerastase Soleil range is my go to as well!‘
When looking at these products, are there ingredients we should be looking for or avoiding?
‘You definitely want an SPF in there! As for avoiding, I’d say anything that contains alcohol and as a general rule of thumb, avoid heavily silicon-based products. If you're using these regularly you may end up with a build-up and end up splitting your hair or have trouble with colour fading. A hot tip with the ingredients on the back of the bottle; the higher up on the list usually means the most percentage in that product. If you find one that has a type of silicon but its low on the list and it’s water-based, your fine to go ahead’ says Tarryn.
