Uh oh, it’s summer.  You know what that means…. Heat and humidity, both of which can wreck havoc on your luscious locks.

For those of us who use heated styling products (curling irons, flat irons, hair dryers, etc), our ends also split much faster, and look less than beautiful.

What are some simple solutions to lighten the stress on your hair?  Look no further!

• Use a sulfate-free shampoo.  Such as Pureology, or for a less expensive version that’s still excellent, Pravana.
• Use professional hair care products.  Why?  Because it’s a higher concentration of product, as well as contains considerably less wax.  Unprofessional products add shine to your hair by giving it a slight wax coating — you can literally use a razor or fingernail and get the wax off your hair, if you’re really curious about it.  Professional hair products are also much better for colored hair — and who doesn’t have colored hair these days?
• Before heat-styling your hair, use a heat-styling product.  Pretty much every professional line carries something like this!  I personally love Chi Silk Infusions.  A  little bit definitely goes a very long way, so don’t put too much in your hair or you’ll end up looking greasy.  It also helps make your ends look less split!
• Ends are fraying?  Use hair wax!  Just a dab on the ends will make them shinier, less dull, and look less split.  But do make sure to get into a salon ASAP to get those trimmed, or else they’ll continue splitting!
• Use a good repairing conditioner.  I love the one in the green bottle by Pureology.  It smells a little funny, but for those of you who use hair styling products, the smell of your shampoo and conditioner is completely irrelevant.  This will keep your ends in tact for as long as you can manage, as well as repair the damage caused by coloring and highlighting the hair!
• Shampoo your scalp, not your hair!  Hair is already a dead organism, the living parts are sitting right inside your pretty, little head.  The oil is coming from your scalp, and to keep your hair healthy in appearance, you first need a healthy scalp!  Shampoo the scalp first, and then use the suds to cleanse the rest of your hair.  If using a professional product, as much as a nickel should be plenty even for long hair.  I know, it sounds crazy!  In the same respect, condition the ends of your hair instead of your scalp.  This will save you as well from looking too oily!  The ends of your hair are also what really need it!

Simple steps, yes?  Beauty products are easy to come by — check out your salon.  Many will have specials (buy 2 get 1) on their own personal line, which will generally work really well.  Otherwise we have beauty megastores like Ulta, which carries tons of professional hair care, and often has specials as well.