Fine Natural Hair Routine for Summer: A Week by Week Guide

woman with fine natural hair looking introspectively

Updating my fine natural hair routine for summer is something I make a point to do every year. The heat changes what my hair actually needs, and what worked in the cooler months won’t always hold up once the humidity hits. Below is my summer hair regimen for fine natural hair, broken down by frequency, so you can use it as a framework for your own.

Key Takeaways

Update your fine natural hair regimen each summer to meet your hair’s needs with changes in heat.
Follow a daily regimen: light spritz in the morning, scalp massage at night, and style it appropriately.
Perform weekly care, including pre-pooing, deep conditioning, and co-washing if you swim.
Incorporate a bi-weekly protein treatment to maintain strength and avoid breakage during summer.
Monthly, clarify your hair to remove buildup from products and sweat accumulated from outdoor activities.

For the most part, my hair care regimen has been pretty consistent. Consistency is key to growing and maintaining healthy hair. At the same time, you have to review and tweak your regimen as the temperatures change from extreme cold to extreme heat and vice versa.

Because I keep my hair stretched, the season does not dictate changing that. I no longer do wash-and-gos due to the tangling that occurs. Well, never say never. I may revisit doing 1 or 2 wash and go’s throughout the summer, but for now, to retain length but still sport my curls, I’ll do braided root twist-outs on my stretched hair.

It’s the day-to-day maintenance that determines the effectiveness of my regimen, and I’ve broken down my fine natural hair summer routine below so you can adapt it to your own hair care needs.

Daily Summer Hair Care Routine for Fine Natural Hair

woman with natural hair laying in the summer sun

This summer hair care routine for fine natural hair focuses on keeping strands moisturized, strong, and manageable without weighing them down.

Morning

In the morning, take down your hair, very lightly spritz with a spray leave-in conditioner, smooth your edges, fluff and be out. Simple. This is for those days when you are on day 2 or beyond of a curly style. For me, that’s the braid/twist out.

Evening

At night, massage the scalp with a hair growth oil applied with an applicator. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to grow your hair. Using a hair growth oil helps to keep your natural flow of growth healthy.

Depending on whether you want length or fullness, do one of the following before bed:

Band your hair in 2 loose ponytails
Put it up in a pineapple (high ponytail)

The final step before bed is to tie your hair down with a satin scarf. Alternatively, just tie down your edges. That’s what I’ve been doing since I’m post-menopausal and still feel too much heat at the top of my head. Then, I’ll just sleep on my satin pillowcase.

Weekly Summer Hair Regimen for Fine Natural Hair

A consistent plan for summer hair care for fine natural hair should include more than just wash day. Weekly maintenance plays a major role in preventing dryness and breakage during the hottest months of the year.

Wash Day

Pre-poo with an oil mixture (I prefer a coconut oil blend) before shampooing to protect and add strength to your strands before the wash
Shampoo, then deep condition or co-wash (for days when I have little time and just need a light conditioning)
After washing, smooth your hair’s cuticles with a lightweight oil while still in the shower, followed by your leave-in conditioner. Argan oil is a great summer option since it gives your hair a healthy sheen and locks in moisture without weighing fine hair down.
Proceed with your style of choice. Check out these cute summer braided styles.

Mid-Week Co-Wash

In addition to wash day, add in at least one mid-week co-wash during the summer if you swim. No pre-poo or deep conditioning needed for this one. Swimming can cause your hair to feel particularly dry. Use a co-wash product that is formulated to moisturize AND cleanse your hair, not just any ole conditioner.

Bi-Weekly Summer Hair Regimen for Fine Natural Hair

In addition to your weekly routine, do a protein treatment every other week to keep your fine strands strong and nearly breakage-free. If your hair is super fine like mine, regular doses of light protein are especially important in the summer because humidity can cause too much moisture and throw off your protein-moisture balance.

Monthly Summer Hair Regimen

Once a month, clarify your hair with a mixture of bentonite clay wash and apple cider vinegar if you find you have a lot of product buildup from gels.

Also, in the summer, you are sweating more and spending more time outdoors, so keeping track of clarifying helps make sure you are removing all the added dirt, grime, and buildup your hair accumulates from the heat and outdoor activities.

A Note on Reviewing Your Regimen

Reviewing and adjusting your fine natural hair routine for summer each year can help you maintain healthy hair, reduce breakage, and better manage humidity as the seasons change.

What works for your hair in the winter will not always work in the summer, and vice versa. Getting into the habit of reviewing your hair regimen twice a year at minimum will make a noticeable difference in the health of your fine natural hair over time.