Summer Natural Hair Care Tips: 5 Key Areas to Focus On
Summer natural hair care tips – written with the type 4 natural in mind
General Summer Tips for Natural Hair
Before we get into the 5 key areas to focus on for your summer natural hair care, I wanted to also offer you some general tips. These are the things that everyone should do, regardless of hair type.
Sun Protection
Protecting your hair from the sun is as important as protecting your skin. The UV rays that the sun emits can be very damaging to hair, causing it to dry out. With long exposure, your hair will not only be dehydrated; it will be more prone to breakage.
Different hair products can protect your hair from the sun. You can even use certain oils like carrot seed oil and red raspberry seed oil.
However, the easiest (and cheapest) form of protection is to just wear a hat. Tuck your ends in and keep moving.
Hydrate Inside and Out
It’s no secret that staying hydrating is a healthy thing to do any time of the year. In the summer, it’s even more important because the heat can cause you to dehydrate quickly.
Hydration for summer hair care isn’t limited to making sure your hair is moisturized. Although that’s important too. Complete hydration ensures you:
- Drink enough water – 1/2 your body weight in ounces per day is the recommendation
- Consume fruits and vegetables with a high water content (watermelon, berries, mango, romaine, celery etc)
- Deep condition your hair regularly (at least weekly). Yes, deep conditioning is a must for hydration.
- Moisturize your hair based on your porosity level. See:
Do Not Air Dry
While it may be tempting to just let your hair air dry after washing it, professionals recommend against it, and now I understand why.
When you allow your hair to remain wet for a significant period of time, the strands are under stress from the weight of the water sitting in and on your hair.
Also, when you air dry, your hair is more prone to drying out.
I used to always air dry in the summer, and my hair would feel dry if I didn’t heavily coat it with a hair butter.
So, do your hair a favor and just use a cool-to-warm blow dryer. Especially when you are doing wash and go’s throughout the summer. Use the diffuser attachment on your dryer and dry your hair.
Drying your curls will make them appear less frizzy, more voluminous, and much healthier.
Add In At least One Co-Wash
While I’m not normally an advocate for regular cowashing and I certainly don’t think it should replace shampooing, it can give your hair a nice boost of moisture in the summer.
The only caveat is that you use a cowash product, not just any old conditioner.
You’ll want to use a cowash that is formulated to moisturize AND cleanse your hair.
I. Recommended Healthy Hair Products
Now that we’ve gotten some general summer hair care tips for natural hair out of the way, I want to offer you my personal recommendations of healthy hair products to use throughout the warmer months.
Consider these the hair cosmetics that will have your hair looking good and feeling even better:
Olaplex – Especially No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo
I can’t say enough good things about the Olaplex brand. If you swim and your hair is exposed to chlorine a lot, this is one hair product you want to keep in your arsenal.
In fact, for us curly girls, I also recommend using No. 0 and No. 3 as well – at the very least. And, if you are using heat (minimally, I hope), No. 7 is a great heat protectant. Read my entire Guide to Using Olaplex for curly hair.
Creme of Nature Pure Honey Shrinkage Defense Curl Activator
With summer being wash and go season and all, you need a good curl cream to define curls.
I’ve tried quite a few of them and while there are many that are great curl defining products, in my opinion, none of them provide your curls with the moisture AND super curlage-ness (my word lol) that this product does. Just check it out (this was like day 3 hair!):
Naturals Choice LLC Flaxseed Gel
If you are more of a gel person to set your curls in the summer, I highly recommend this Etsy seller’s flaxseed gel.
You can get it customized with dried Butterfly Pea flower or dried Hibiscus flower. I’ve tried both and don’t see the difference (probably because I wasn’t paying attention) but they are both very moisturizing and don’t leave too much crunch in your hair.
For educational purposes (as provided by the handmaker):
Butterfly pea flower combined with flaxseed gel benefits the hair by helping hair retain its natural color, restoring shine, promoting hair growth, and collagen restoration.
Hibiscus combined with flaxseed gel benefits the hair, reducing hair loss, reducing premature graying, adding volume, conditioning, preventing frizz, preventing split ends, and adding moisture.
II. Recommended Summer Hair Care Essentials
In addition to the hair products, there are other hair care essentials I recommend all naturals have to care for their hair in the summer and beyond. Think of these as your tools and accessories.
You may want to use more, but this is my list (not minimalist but not maximalist either):
- RevAir reverse air hair dryer – dries natural hair in a stretched fashion quickly and gently
- A good hair dryer that has a diffuser attachment. I’m not partial to any particular brand, but this is the dryer I own.
- Puff Cuffs – I’ve been using these since their inception. Some say these are like banana clips, but I beg to differ. They are much more gentle and also don’t pop out of your head. You need these if you are doing wash ‘n go’s, twist outs, or braid outs and want to pull your hair up and out of your face.
- Mulberry silk hair ties and scrunchies. Yes, you can use satin also, but trust me on the silk. It’s so much better.
- Edge brush – not really mandatory, but essential if you like your edges to be polished
- Spray bottle and applicator bottle – these are needed to create any mixtures you may need for your scalp and hair
You likely have many other hair tools and accessories at your disposal that you use year-round. These are just the items I think you should definitely have specifically for your summer hair care.
III. Scalp-Related Skin Care Solutions for Summer
Next up, I have a few skin care solutions for your scalp. In fact, I’d be negligent if I didn’t share these because everyone knows that to maintain healthy hair, you need a healthy scalp. That is where the hair grows from after all!
Problem: Sweating and dirt build up
Due to the crazy amount of sweating that can happen in the summer, you’ll want to make sure you keep your scalp free of dirt and oil buildup. The issue is you don’t want to wash your hair too often either.
The solution: Blot excess sweat from your scalp with a clean, dry cloth and use a scalp refresh spray/spritz containing rose water to keep it fresh. You can spray rose water on a cotton ball and dab your scalp as well. This works perfectly when your hair is in braids.
Problem: Sebum distribution
Also, for those of us with natural hair, we have some serious sebum production happening at the scalp. This is a wonderful natural moisturizer for our hair, but the issue is that sebum has difficulty making it down the hair shaft. So, we have to help it out a bit.
Solution: Keep your hair stretched and every few days, massage your scalp and gently smooth any oily substance (sebum) down the hair strand.
Problem: Itching and Irritation
The summer heat can often bring with it a bit of scalp irritation, leading to itchiness. This can be caused by allowing certain hair products like gels and other stylers onto the scalp.
Solution: Create a mix of 5 drops of tea tree essential oil to 4 ounces of a lightweight carrier oil like Jojoba oil (the closest oil to your natural sebum). Use the pads of your fingers to gently massage into your scalp to alleviate the irritation.
Alternatively, you can use witch hazel on a cotton swab if you don’t want to use anything oil-based.
IV. Summer Updo Hairstyles
Styling your hair in an updo is a smart move in the summer since it gets your hair off of your neck. It’s also protective, so you don’t have to worry about your hair being snagged when you are engaging in sports or other “risky” activities.
Here are some cute updos I’ve done on my medium-length fine natural hair that will work perfectly for summer.
Discover 25 Easy Summer Hairstyles for Fine Natural Hair – medium length to long hair
IV. Routine: Sample Steps for Summer Natural Hair Care
Now it’s time to put it all together. You’ve got your hair products, your essential hair tools, and all the summer natural hair care tips you need to protect your hair and scalp.
So, what does this look like in a routine? There are many ways to establish your hair routines and they should definitely coincide with your lifestyle. For example, if you work nights, then your routine may look very different from mine.
The routine below is just an example incorporating the recommendations I offered above. Feel free to make adjustments.
Daily
- Drink the recommended amount of water throughout the day
- Consume 3 -5 servings of hydrating fruits/veggies
Friday: Scalp Care
- Nightly scalp massage with a lightweight oil blend of Jojoba oil and tea tree oil
- Protect hair before bed
Saturday: Wash Day
- Pretreat hair with Olaplex No. 0 and No. 3
- Shampoo with Olaplex No. 4
- Deep condition with a deep conditioner of choice
- Use Olaplex No. 7 or another heat protectant before blow drying hair with RevAir. Then, proceed with styling
- If doing a wash ‘n go, apply Creme of Nature Pure Honey Activator cream, define curls, and dry with a hair dryer using the diffuser attachment.
- Secure curls with a silk scrunchie before bed (either in a high pineapple or low ponytail)
Also, don’t forget to protect your hair at night, depending on how you are styling.
Monday: Scalp Refresh and Sebum Distribution
- Refresh scalp with a light spritz of rose water
- Stretch hair and massage scalp, distributing sebum down the length of the hair
- If going outdoors, wear a hat or use a UV-protective hair oil.
Wednesday: Mid-Week Refresh
- Cowash hair if needed (useful if you have gone swimming or if your hair is feeling particularly dry)
- Blow dry hair with ReVair on warm and twist/braid into a protective style
This intentional hair care routine, along with the other tips provided above, will help you breeze through summer, retaining your length while enjoying the great outdoors.
