Summer is here, and with it comes the harshness of heat, UV radiation, and chlorine. You’ve just spent precious dollars having your hair colored or highlighted so you could look your best-whether it’s sunbathing beside the pool or playing 18 holes at your favorite golf course. Watch out, though; hair damage and strange, unwanted colors can quickly change your look. Fear not: There are a few precautions you can take to avoid costly visits to your stylist for the re-do’s.

Precautions Against the Sun

Use a hair conditioner that contains a sunscreen. This will help block the harmful UV radiation and protect the color and hair strands. Ask your stylist to recommend any necessary shampoos, conditioners, or leave-in treatments such as Redken’s Sun Shape shampoo. The shampoo contains sunscreen, anti-oxidant vitamin A palmitate, natural oils, and proteins that moisturize and provide UV protection.

Avoid like the plague hair lightening products that are applied to the hair and rely on the sun’s radiation to "bleach" the hair. Most of these hair-lightening products contain some form of peroxide or metallic crystals, which can cause severe damage to your hair, including brittleness and breakage. Also, the resulting color may not be natural; orange, green, or pink hair is common. If the product contains metallic crystals and you perm your hair, the hair will very likely break.

Removing these products from the hair can be a challenge. Some shampoos containing "chelating agents" can help remove the metal deposits that have penetrated the hair shaft, but even the best of these are fairly weak.

Precautions Against Chlorine and Seawater

Seawater contains metallic salts, and swimming pools are loaded with chlorine. Unless you take the right precautions, you could be heading for the "greenies." I recommend using a clarifier once or twice a week to remove the toxins and mineral deposits from your hair. The clarifier will not only remove chlorine or seawater salts, but also particles from car emissions and other environmental pollutants. Be warned: Clarifiers are very strong and shouldn’t be used on a daily basis.

Also very efficient in protecting hair are Swim Cream and Sun Milk, two leave-in treatments from the Redken Sun Shape line that provide sun absorption and protect your hair from damaging minerals and chlorine. Not only that, but they help detangle your hair and keep it looking shiny.

You can help prevent green hair before it begins. Make sure you saturate your hair with regular water before you dip into the pool. Adding a little conditioner to your hair will help. Also, wash your hair thoroughly immediately upon exiting the pool before you hair has a chance to dry. This helps minimize absorption of the chlorine, toxins, and mineral deposits.

Or, if you don’t want to go to all this trouble, you could always turn to the ever-fashionable bathing cap.

Being in the sun can be stressful on your tresses, but not if you learn how to protect yourself. Follow these simple tips to make your summer enjoyable and worry-free. TPW