It’s getting to that lovely time of year, the kind of time the sun starts to shine a little more, and weather gets a bit warmer… and you start to get excited about your holiday! Between us at Kelly Anza we have a few holidays planned, and we can’t wait, but the one thing that always gets us talking (as well as how many pairs of shoes we can fit in our luggage allowance) is holiday hair care. When battling it out with the sun, sea and the swimming pool, hair can undergo some hell of abuse – especially when you’ve probably just bought travel sized bits that your not used to. So we thought we’re rally around for all our best tips and put them into a Hair Survival guide to keep your locks looking sexy this summer!

Before you Leave

When planning on what toilettries to take on holiday, take into account your hair type and what treatments and services your hair has undergone recently. Do you have highlights, lightened or brittle damaged hair? Remember to take a treatment with you, such as Paul Mitchell’s Super Strong. This will help stop your hair breaking off in the heat and keep it feel smooth. Have very coloured hair that’s at risk of fading? Why dont you pop in and pick up one of our colour care Take Home Kits. With travel sized bottles of shampoo, conditioner and reconstructive treatment, this is the ideal thing to take home – the bottles are bigger than average travel sized products, but aren’t too bulky so you can only take what you need. Do you tend to over straighten or blowdry your hair? Give your hair a break and leave your straighteners at home – this will give a chance for your hair to repair it’s self and it will mean you can’t reach for those stylers! Remember, taking plenty of conditioner and hair care products should be one of your top priorities, because it will save you money in the long run – we’re sure you’d rather not come back from your relaxing beah break in a panic about your hair! And don’t panic about getting your colour done right before you go – whilst we’re sure you want to look gorgeous on your holiday, it will be ruined in the sun and be a waste of your money. Instead, why don’t you come in for a consultation a few weeks before you go, and we’ll recommend some good inbetween treatments and a good hair-care routine for your hair on holiday. 

On the Holiday

On your holiday, your hair is the last thing you want to be worrying about, so here’s some tips and quick fixes to help manage any nightmare hair…

• When out in the sun, the best way to protect your hair from the sun is to wear a hair or a headscarf. This will protect it from some of the harmful UV rays – think of what your skin would be like with no SPF, you don’t want this on your hair do you? Going for a boho look? Just use a colourful sarong, fold it up a few times and tie it up like a bandana – cool and protected. Want something a bit edgier? Topshop and other high-street shops sell some of the coolest straw trilbys, perfect for keeping your hair fresh and the sun out of your eyes.
• Before heading out to the pool or the beach, apply a sun protection spray onto your hair. There are tonnes available, but for an easy fix, just mix some conditioner (we recommend particularly moisterizing ones, like Paul Mitchell’s Instant Moisture Daily Treatment) with some high-factor suncream and run through your hair, before tying up out of the way. This will help keep your hair protected from the salt, sun and chlorine, and help keep it moisterised.
• Have your highlights gained a slightly green tinge from the swimming pool? Don’t panic! Just rub a large dollop of Tomato Ketchup (we recommend the cheapest you can find…) through your hair and leave for a couple of minutes. The red of the ketchup will counteract the green leaving you with gorgeous blonde locks again.
• Hair feeling a bit flat after lots of washing and conditioning? Don’t stop the conditioner – instead just spray some of Bastiste’s Dry Shampoo through the roots of your hair to dry them out a little and give your hair a little lift. This is a bit of a wonder product as it’s very cheap and available in most high street chemists – and it now comes in black, so dark haired girlies aren’t left looking grey!
• Panicking without your straighteners? Just pop some conditioner and mousse in your hair (Or Paul Mitchell’s Sculpting foam, which is gorgeously conditioning with great hold) and scrunch it up for beach-sexy waves.
• Worried about the ends looking frazzled? Book in for a slight trim before and after your holiday – har grows faster during the summer, so if you want to keep your cut looking sharp and sexy, even more regular trims are definately a good idea!

Elle McPherson covers up in a straw hat.

On your Return

The day you get back, wash your hair, smother on an intensly moisturising and strengthening treatment, and leave it in over night. Your hair will not only have had to put up with the heat and holiday, but any stress from your journey home can leave your hair feeling fried. Leaving a conditioning treatment in over night can help repair this. Worried about your faded colour? Don’t hesistate to book in to the salon straight away, and then they can help  cure your colour and have a consultation about the condition of your hair – whilst if you’ve followed the above tips your hair is probably okay, you stylist might be able to recommend a product to help you manage it.

If you have any tips or tricks for you holiday hair, don’t hesitate to email us at salon@kellyanza.com, and we’ll add them to our list.

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to check back next week for our next How To!