SPF For Your Hair?!?

We all know that being in the sun can cause damage to our skin. But did you know that sun can also cause damage to our hair too?! I guess the thought has always been in the back of my head that it was possible seeing how my hair can get really dry in the summertime. So I started to do a bit of research to see what type of damage sun can cause and what I can do to protect my hair.

Did you know you can actually get a sunburn on your scalp if it is exposed to sunlight long enough? And in Texas it literally takes 15 minutes of sun exposure to cause you to get burned. I've found out the hard way about sunburns on the scalp. About a year ago my family and I decided to go to Turner Falls in Oklahoma and Lake Texoma (just North of McKinney) for a little swimming in the lake. I wore corn rows (for the first time) as a protective style and my scalp got sunburned so badly. If I had put more thought into it I would have put an SPF on my scalp but I had never heard of anyone doing this before that day.  After feeling enough irritation and itching my husband suggested that I put sunblock between the braids. Ah Ha! he is a genius. LOL my scalp felt immediately better. So that got me to thinking if it was safe to just put a bit of sunblock in my hands and rub into my hair. Later I found out that people do this all the time and by doing a little bit of goggling I found (thru womenshair.about.com) that there is an even simpler way to go about this.  But before I get into that recipe let me tell you how else the sun can damage the hair.

Causes of Sun Damage:

 -Dry hair

-Frizzy hair

-Split ends

-Fading hair color

Things you can do to protect your hair from sun damage:

-of course wear a hat or scarf when possible

- use an SPF shampoo and conditioner (which is not enough on it's own to protect your hair) and other products made for sun protection that is for the hair

Now for the recipe! I ran across this recipe on a women's hair care site. Dilute 2 teaspoons of SPF (it says SPF 25 but I never buy anything that low) with one cup of water in a spray bottle and simply spray the concoction on your hair and comb through hair with a wide tooth comb throughout the day while you are in the sun. Another rule of thumb when dealing with anything that dries out your hair is to remember to do deep conditioning treatments once a week to once every other week to maintain moisture in your hair.

This is me with my burning scalp

Hats and Shades are the best ways to protect yourself in the sun