Say Happy Mother's Day With the Gift of Beautiful Hair
March 1, 2021
To protect your hair in summer, rinse with clean water and apply a leave-in before you swim so your strands absorb less chlorine or salt, wear a hat or a protective braid in direct sun, use a UV protectant, clarify after the pool, and book regular color and extension maintenance to prevent fading and dryness. That is the short version. Below, I will walk you through exactly why summer is so hard on your hair and how I help my clients keep their color rich and their extensions healthy all season long.
I am Shannon Reiley, founder of LightStyling Hair in Longmont, Colorado, and the first Colorado-certified Natural Beaded Rows (NBR) stylist, trained by NBR creator Danielle White. I have spent years watching what our high-altitude sun, chlorinated pools, and mountain-lake weekends do to color-treated and extension hair. The good news: a few simple habits protect all of it at once.
Most summer damage comes from three things: UV rays, chlorine, and salt water. They work in different ways, but they all leave hair drier, more brittle, and faster to fade. Understanding each one makes it much easier to prevent.
Your hair is mostly protein. Human hair is 65 to 95 percent keratin, and UV light literally degrades that protein, with UVB rays roughly 2 to 5 times more damaging than UVA (Source: J. Photochem. Photobiol. B, 2004, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1011134404000375). That protein breakdown is why sun-exposed hair feels straw-like by August.
The flip side is encouraging: protection genuinely works. In one study, UV-protected hair held onto its strength while untreated hair lost 14.32 percent of its tensile strength (Source: Polymers, PMC, 2024, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11902160/). A UV protectant is not a nice-to-have. It is the difference between hair that survives summer and hair that snaps.
Chlorine and salt are both drying, and they are especially rough on lightened and blonde hair. Chlorine can bind to the hair and pull a green or brassy cast into blondes, while salt water draws moisture out and leaves strands rough and tangled.
This matters even more for extensions. Extension hair has no living scalp feeding it oil and no melanin being replenished, so lighter shades fade and dry out faster than your natural hair does (Source: Perfect Locks, https://www.perfectlocks.com/blogs/all-tressed-up/the-hair-extensions-summer-survival-guide). If you want to understand why extension hair behaves differently, here is a plain-language guide to what NBR extensions are and how they are installed.
Sun protection is the single highest-impact thing you can do this summer, and it is easy. Here is what I recommend to my clients:
For product specifics, I lean on the professional products I trust, a quality leave-in paired with a dedicated UV protectant, because they shield the cuticle and lock in moisture on high-exposure days. You can also find my current summer picks among our summer hair care products.
Yes, the sun fades color. UV breaks down the dye molecules the same way it breaks down protein, and heat opens the cuticle so color washes out faster. To keep your color looking freshly done:
Toning appointments are your best friend in summer. A quick gloss neutralizes brass and refreshes tone without a full color service, which keeps your hair healthier over the season.
Extensions can absolutely go to the pool and the lake with you. You just need a before-and-after ritual so chlorine and salt never sit on the hair. My NBR and hand-tied clients follow the same simple steps whether they wear hand-tied versus machine wefts.
For hot tubs specifically, I recommend keeping your wefts out of the water when you can, because the concentrated chlorine and heat are especially harsh on extension hair. If you do get in, wet your hair with clean water and apply a protectant first, then rinse and condition thoroughly the moment you are out and dry the beads fully. Curious how the investment holds up season to season? Here is a breakdown of how much NBR extensions cost and why proper care protects that investment.
You do not need a ten-step regimen. Here is the routine I actually recommend:
Summer speeds everything up: fading, dryness, and grown-out color. For most of my clients, a color or tone refresh every 6 to 8 weeks keeps summer brass in check, and extension maintenance moves (the beads and wefts get adjusted as your natural hair grows) stay on their usual schedule. A mid-summer trim removes the dry, sun-worn ends before they travel up the strand. When you are ready, you can book a hair appointment in Longmont and we will build a plan around your hair and your summer.
How do I protect my hair in summer?
Rinse with clean water and apply a leave-in before swimming, wear a hat or protective braid in direct sun, use a daily UV protectant, and clarify then deep-condition after pool days. Regular color and extension maintenance rounds it out. These habits protect natural hair, color, and extensions all at once.
Does chlorine damage color-treated hair?
Yes. Chlorine is drying and can pull a green or brassy cast into blonde and lightened hair, and it strips moisture from color-treated strands. Saturating your hair with clean water and adding a protectant before you swim greatly reduces how much chlorine your hair absorbs. Clarify and deep-condition afterward to rebalance.
Can I swim with extensions?
Yes, with a little prep. Wet the hair with clean water and apply a leave-in before you get in, braid or bun it, then rinse and condition right after and dry the wefts fully. The key is never letting chlorine or salt sit on the hair. Follow that ritual and your extensions will stay healthy all summer.
How often should I get a summer trim?
Most people do well with a trim every 8 to 12 weeks in summer, and sooner if you swim frequently or spend long days in the sun. Trimming removes dry, sun-worn ends before the damage travels up the strand. Extension wearers should follow their stylist's maintenance schedule alongside trims.
Does the sun fade hair color?
It does. UV light breaks down both the protein in your hair and the dye molecules, so color fades faster in summer, especially at the part and hairline. A daily UV protectant, a hat on high-exposure days, and cooler-water washes slow that fading significantly. Regular toning keeps your shade looking fresh.
Summer should be about lake days and long evenings, not stressing over your hair. If you want a personalized plan to protect your color, extensions, and natural strands this season, I would love to help. Come book a free consultation and we will keep your hair looking fabulous all summer long.
