Holiday Hair Tips

I am so, so careful with my hair now when I go on holiday to hot places because I totally ruined my barnet on a holiday to Croatia a couple of years ago.  I stupidly didn't bother applying a protective spray or taking care of my hair properly and that resulted in my hair experiencing REALLY bad breakage at the roots.  I had so many 'sticky up' bits that earnt the nickname 'Mo' for months afterwards (as in Mohawk!).  It was so embarassing and no amount of serum or hairspray concealed the problem.  My poor hair took about 8 or 9 months to recover completely from the damage.  Here's a close up of a pic that was taken when I got back...

So now I take EXTRA special care over my locks when I jet off to a warmer climate.  I just wanted to share some of my tips for making sure your hair looks great on holiday and doesn't get damaged by the sun like mine did!

First up, here's some ideas of how to wear your hair when you're heading down to the beach on holiday:

I will be experimenting with all of these hairstyle ideas when I'm on my honeymoon.  Whatever the style, I think the most important thing is that it looks laid back and doesn't take hours to achieve.

Here are my tips on smart holiday hair care:

• Everyone wants their hair to look effortlessly great on holiday so it's best to get your hair coloured a couple of weeks before you go to ensure your hair has time to replenish itself before you subject it to the sun's rays.  It's also a good idea to get a trim at the same time as these are the oldest parts of your hair so they are also the most parched.  If you get a trim, the ends of your hair are less likely to get frazzled.  You could also get a deep moisture treatment at the hairdressers while you are there to make sure your hair is as hydrated as it can be.
• It's best to take a more hydrating formula of shampoo and conditioner with you because your hair will require more moisture than usual.  Concentrate the conditioner on mid lengths to ends if you have fine hair though as you don't want your roots to go limp and lank.  Also go easy on the serum as this will also weigh your hair down.
• If you find that you have gone a bit overboard on the protective spray or serum and your hair looks or feels greasy at the roots, you can always apply a dry shampoo like Batiste to give your hair it's volume back.  They also have a formula for darker hair colours to avoid that 'grey' look.
• I often apply my protective spray/cream on my hair in the morning and pull my hair back into a ponytail.  This protects your scalp from being burnt as well.  Always try to let your hair dry naturally if you have the time.  Obviously don't go out in the sun with soaking wet hair as it will be more likely to frazzle.
• You can also twist sections of your hair up into a loose chignon during the day after applying your protective product and hit the beach.  Then at night time when you want to look more dressed up, you can let your hair down and reveal really pretty soft waves.
• I always use an intensive treatment every day on holiday after a day in the sun - you can do this after a shower or apply it on dry hair and leave overnight.  Although this would seem like overkill in any normal circumstance, this is the time when your hair really needs a chance to repair itself.
• I like to wear a hat or head scarf on the beach to protect my hair and scalp but this can result in really bad hat hair! If you are heading out directly after being at the beach, the best solution is to spray some root volumising spray on your hair then whack some rollers in at the roots to give your hair body and lift.
• I never ever use straighteners or any other kind of heated appliance on my hair on holiday.  I might use a hairdryer if I'm really in a rush but ultimately I try and avoid it.  Using heat on your hair just stresses it out even more and will increase any damage so it's good for your locks to give them a break from that type of thing.  Call it damage limitation!
• If I'm on a particularly long flight, I like to treat my hair by applying a hydrating leave in conditioner before I fly to ensure that my hair doesn't become dried out by the aeroplane's dry, stale air.  That way, you will arrive with your hair feeling great.
• If you forget your protective spray/cream for your hair, then an alternative is to mix your leave in conditioner with your body SPF.  It will have the same effect and will buy you time until you can find a shop that sells what you need.
• I never use hairspray on my hair when I know it will be subjected to alot of sun because this results in the product being 'baked' into your hair and this can be very drying.

I hope these tips were helpful and if you have any tips of your own or great summer hair products to recommend, please let me know in the comments box below!