Slathering our bodies with sunscreen is second nature for most of us by now, but many people don’t know that our hair actually needs sun protection too — especially if you’re like me and are so pale that your scalp sometimes gets burned (ouch!!!). In fact, the same UV rays that damage skin can also penetrate the cuticle and oxidize hair color (ie blonde hair can become brassy, brown hair can become reddish…), and even if your hair isn’t colored exposing it to the sun without protection will cause it to loose some of its vibrancy and become frizzy and rough (basically putting to waste all the time and money invested in all those Kerastase products all year-round). To that end, Redken recently came-out with New Color Extend Sun Collection which consists of After-Sun Shampoo ($13 for 10.1oz), After-Sun Mask ($15 for 8.5oz), and Sparkling Shield ($16 for 5oz — this is a leave-in conditioner), all of which are formulated with Hydra-Shield Complex to give hair broad-spectrum protection against UV rays. They’re also formulated with a new patented UV filter, Soplexyl for UV protection, and Mango Oil to help prevent dryness. My only complaint about the collection (which has a wonderfully light, non-fruity, refreshing smell), is that I wish they had a regular conditioner. My routine as of now is that I use a mask once a week and the other times I use a smidgen of regular conditioner and a smidgen of leave-in conditioner (I cannot live without Kerastase Chroma Riche!). So I’ve been mixing and matching my Chroma Riche hair care products with the Color Extend Sun ones and so far so good — I just got my highlights done when I was in Madrid and I’m relieved that they will be protected from the sun!
Hi Sharon,
I’m going to be going to Spain on the 16th and I was wondering if you could tell me what type of weather they have there? Our family goes there yearly, as my husband is a Spaniard and has family and friends there. Usually we’re done in Southern Spain, but this year, because of all the great deals on hotels and airlines, we decided to do something different. I have naturally curly hair and I also use a flat iron on it. It’s pretty thick and holds a blow out really well, so I was thinking of getting a blow out before I leave. Is it humid there or is a drier kind of warm like in Southern Spain? I could really use your opinion because I don’t want to waste my money on a blow out only to have it “poof” back to it’s curly state.
Thanks so much for taking the time….
It’s hard to say because weather/humidity can change so much depending on when you go, but when I was there (early to mid-may), I used anti-frizz from living proof and from fekkai (I use both all the time when I’m in NYC and did not use more than average), and had absolutely no problem with frizz..hope that is helpful!
I used this recently on a cruise to the Bahamas- I LOVE the conditioner, though I can’t say if it did anything to prolong my color (which is vibrant red- good luck keeping that!) The conditioner was ultra concentrated- whereas I usually use a shot-glass full of conditioner, this one coated my long, fine hair with just a quarter sized dollop. When my hair dried it was soft and shiny (even after swimming in the ocean all day) and not at all weighed down!