In recent blogs we have covered UV protection of the eyes and skin. Most commonly overlooked in UV protection is the hair. So before we leave our feature month on UV protection, I thought a quick reminder to protect your locks was timely.
Because our hair does not suffer from obvious sunburn symptoms like our skin does, it is easy to overlook that UV rays do significant damage to the hair structure.
Radiation is responsible for the photo oxidation of amino acids in the hair cuticle. The keratin bonds start breaking, resulting in dry brittle hair that no longer withstands the normal forces of combing and brushing. The hair breaks.
Hair color is also largely affected by UV damage. And I don’t mean just color treated hair. UVB fades both natural and chemical colors. The longer, deeper penetrating UVA rays reach down into the hair cortex to destroy color pigments that create natural hair color.
Hair that is already damaged from swimming pool chemicals, over shampooing, color treatments and perms are more prone to damage from UV.
Fortunately, like skin protection products, manufacturers have identified key active ingredients that coat the hair shaft or penetrate into the hair to filter out harmful UV rays. These ingredients should be noted when selecting UV protection hair products. This helps to filter out the marketing hype from those products that do afford good UV hair protection.
So if your hair is looking a bit dry and dull at the end of summer, it may be time to invest in some after sun hair care products and buff up on your knowledge on:
Nicola
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