How damaging is the sun anyway?

[Fethenwen]

It's been so sunny here! :cheese: I have been more outside than indoors. But today I noticed that my hair is super poofy and looks dry.
I got really surprised by this because we do have a lot of humidity.
But I wonder if my hair got damaged by the sun? I did not have my hair covered while outside.

I also wonder how damaging the sun really is, is it worse than... say blow-drying your hair on a warm setting?

[Ishje]

I was wondering exactly the same last week, even though I have been in the sun quite a bit my hair still feels nice.
and I am trying to get my hair a bit lighter with sunlight.
I will keep an eye on this topic.

[jojo]

The sun is as damaging as any heat. Ive trashed my hair many a times through not protecting it, I have been putting heat protection spray on my hair during a recent heat wave and it worked really well.

[Fethenwen]

^ So it's the heat that's damaging and not the sun per se? So if the weather is cool but sunny there shouldn't be any damage?

[Kherome]

Nope, it is not only the heat, but the UV rays actually break down the hair, just the same way they do paint on a house or car, or destroy pvc pipe etc. UV is hard on everything, including hair.

[Fethenwen]

Ok, I'm glad I like wearing scarves! :p Should have thought of that a few days ago.

[Panth]

There's also the wind and the humidity or lack of, which can dry the hair out - the wind plus salty air is a major cause of skin issues resulting from being at the beach ... so I guess it could also affect hair too.

But, on the flip side, you should have an adequate amount of vitamin D now, which many people are purportedly deficient in, that should help your general health and thus your hair. ^_^

[Fethenwen]

There's also the wind and the humidity or lack of, which can dry the hair out - the wind plus salty air is a major cause of skin issues resulting from being at the beach ... so I guess it could also affect hair too.

But, on the flip side, you should have an adequate amount of vitamin D now, which many people are purportedly deficient in, that should help your general health and thus your hair. ^_^
Indeed ^^ I've heard that vitamin D can also be absorbed through the head.

[Madora]

Please, long hair fans, do you and your hair a favor, protect those delicate strands - and your scalp - by wearing either a WHITE hat or thin WHITE scarf or bandana.

White repells some of the rays (but not the others). A scarf or hat will also protect your scalp from sunburn, something you sure don't want!

Remember..WHITE, not a colored hat/scarf. Your hair will thank you!

[Peggy E.]

Listen to Madora - She speaks the truth and is wise!!!

NEVER subject your hair to direct sun! The same rays that damage your skin do a serious piece of work on your hair, too. Tuck it up and under a hat, a scarf, whatever feels comfortable and doesn't look too geeky.

Even if it does look "geeky," take this to heart: The living in the sun tanners of not so long ago used to make fun of the girls who protected their skin - they weren't "healthy looking." And skin cancer is????

You won't get skin cancer on your hair - but you very well can on your scalp. Do whatever you need to do to protect yourself from exposure to the sun - hair as well as skin.

[Annibelle]

What if you only walk from your house to your car, etc? If you aren't in the sun often-- just for short little distances? Should you wear something on your head then?

[QMacrocarpa]

^ So it's the heat that's damaging and not the sun per se? So if the weather is cool but sunny there shouldn't be any damage?
No, it's the UV rays rather than the heat that are doing the damage (like with sun damage to the skin), so you could still get damage on a cool day. The sun's rays are most intense around the summer solstice, and midday sun is more intense than early morning or later evening sun, hence the Australian anti-skin-cancer public service announcement advising something along the lines of "Slip under a tree between 11 and 3" (with daylight savings time, solar noon is about 1 PM, halfway through that time window).

[wvgemini]

So for someone who loves being outside, and doesn't mind wearing something on her noggin, but still wants it to look cute, where can one find some fun scarves? :) I have some rainbow hair wraps that I really like right now, but it would do me to expand a bit.

[gthlvrmx]

I'm thinking a nice satin or silk scarf is fine to be out, you can even make it yourself! :)

[HannahDelicious]

I have decided to delurk myself to say that I have a parasol. Well it is technically a sun umbrella, which just means that it is designed more for function than design. I like it a lot.

[oktobergoud]

I use sunspray for my hair! Not normal sunspray but a special one for hair :P It's full of cones though, so if you're not using cones, I guess it's not an option. But if you do, I can really recommend it! It doesn't make my hair heavy (I have fine hair!) and I feel it protects it :)

[Mamakash]

So for someone who loves being outside, and doesn't mind wearing something on her noggin, but still wants it to look cute, where can one find some fun scarves? :) I have some rainbow hair wraps that I really like right now, but it would do me to expand a bit.

Coveryourhair.com has pretty pre-tied bandanas. I've had good service from them, as well. I wear these all the time and they do save my hair from damage!

[katsrevenge]

Try looking on sites aimed at women who often cover their hair culturally like Arabic and Indian/Pakistani cultures. Those ladies have some lovely head wear!

A Turkish hijaab is generally just a silk square anyways, so tying is very versatile. (and they are long.. which may be helpful for longer hair.)

[ilovelonghair]

I henna, I heard that it protects against sun light, is that true?

[clairenewcastle]

Summer sunlight has damaged my hair badly in the past so as I garden and walk a lot I've learned to always cover my hair in the summer with wide-brimmed hats, baseball caps, bandanas and scarves - doing so has made a huge difference to the texture of my hair.

I found that those "sun protection" sprays for hair don't work. At all. They are full of cones, alcohol etc and any product left on the hair in the sun will increase the amount of sun damage.
The only answer for me is to cover up my hair.

[Madora]

Clarenewcastle speaks the truth! Cover up your hair! It isn't worth the grief to get a sunburnt scalp..or CANCER!

Accumulation of being in the sun w/o being properly protected can lead to cancer of the skin.

My mom used to garden every day, not wearing anything on her head. She ended up with several lesions that were in the beginning stages of cancer. Luckily, each one was excised in time.

After that, she wore a large garden hat!

[dulce]

I developed early basil skin cancer in my 50's.Luckily it was caught early and removed leaving no scar on my cheek.If it is not caught early ,you can face disfiguring surgery on your face to remove it and sometimes multiple facial reconstruction surgeries after.It is no picnic.If you get melanoma you can die .

[BlazingHeart]

Please, long hair fans, do you and your hair a favor, protect those delicate strands - and your scalp - by wearing either a WHITE hat or thin WHITE scarf or bandana.

White repells some of the rays (but not the others). A scarf or hat will also protect your scalp from sunburn, something you sure don't want!

Remember..WHITE, not a colored hat/scarf. Your hair will thank you!

No! Other way around. The darker colored the better for blocking UV rays. http://www.skincancer.org/sun-protective-clothing.html

"Darker-colored fabrics are more effective than lighter at blocking out the sun. For instance, the UPF of a green cotton T-shirt is 10 versus 7 for white cotton, and a thicker fabric such as velvet in black, blue or dark green has an approximate UPF of 50." (from the site I linked above)

Now, undyed cotton (which is kind of a tan color, not white) does have some special properties that make it block more UV. The best bet for something lightweight is going with something dark and shiny, so like dark silk, because the shine is also protective.

[Darkhorse1]

VERY damaging.

My hair was destroyed within my first year of teaching. I wish I'd known the full effects of the sun before that. I wore hats just to protect my head, but my length suffered tremondously. It went a very brassy red hue (I have very dark hair), and was dry and split. It recovered in the winter, but then was more damaged again. Within 4 years of working outside, I treated myself to cover my gray, and was shocked at the difference--how light my hair had gotten. As well as dry/damaged.

My best advice is to coil hair up and keep it under a hat. There are many now that have SPF protection, but even using water on your hair will keep it safer. If you color your hair, they have sunblock for that, but only for hair color treated (to prevent early fading)

Dark colors absorb heat though---so, lighter colors if you have issues with heat as lighter colors bounce the sun off. They do make sun protected clothing, and hats as well. SPF 15 and up.

[ilovelonghair]

How bad is sea water (together with sun that must be horrible)? I guess that's also very damaging. I never get swimming pool water on my hair, I think that's the worst of all.

[luxepiggy]

Prolonged sun exposure is definitely worse than blow-drying on the warm setting. The potential damage from blow-drying is mechanical in nature: wear & tear occurs mostly on the hair cuticle due to overly rapid moisture loss.

Sunlight, on the other hand, damages hair at the molecular level and affects not only the outer cuticle but also the cortex itself. UV radiation causes weakening of the protein structure through the oxidation of specific amino acids, in particular the oxidation of cystine to cysteic acid. Lengthy sun exposure can result in a 20%-40% weakening of the hair.

If you're curious, this article from a peer-reviewed journal goes into detail about the specific mechanisms of sunlight-induced photodamage: Oxygen Radicals from Photoirradiated Human Hair (http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc2000/cc051n03/p00169-p00182.pdf).

[Sundial]

No! Other way around. The darker colored the better for blocking UV rays. http://www.skincancer.org/sun-protective-clothing.html

"Darker-colored fabrics are more effective than lighter at blocking out the sun. For instance, the UPF of a green cotton T-shirt is 10 versus 7 for white cotton, and a thicker fabric such as velvet in black, blue or dark green has an approximate UPF of 50." (from the site I linked above)

Now, undyed cotton (which is kind of a tan color, not white) does have some special properties that make it block more UV. The best bet for something lightweight is going with something dark and shiny, so like dark silk, because the shine is also protective.

I think Madora is recommending light colors for scarves so as to deflect heat while offering sun protection :D She has contributed in other threads stating a preference for white scarves to keep cool since dark colors of the same fabric type trap heat. Your point about shiny dark fabric is valid too

[EdG]

The sun is pretty damaging. I can tell from the plastic items and garden hoses left outdoors in the sun. I believe the culprit is UV rather than just heat.

I used to be a sun-worshiper until I realized how damaged my ends were. I now avoid excess sun exposure. My skin will also likely be better off. :)
Ed

[defineinsanity]

I felt so awful about going swimming the other day and not putting it up..and forgetting the shampoo/conditioner (biggest fail) who knows what happened to it when i stepped out in the sun afterwards :/ not doing that again anytime soon :P

but yes heat protection spray for sun is the best way to go :) noone really wants to cover up constantly in the heat :P

[terpentyna]

Yeah, the sun's damaging.

Thanks to luxepiggy for the article!

Now for some info on salt water...

[growingpains]

Hmmm I personally am not too concerned about sun damage to my hair.

I am however very concerned about damage to my skin and therefore wear sunscreen daily, wear a hat if in the sun for prolonged periods, and if hatless, never wear a hairstyle (like two braids) where one part of the scalp is exposed all day. I also seek shade after a period of time at the beach (beach umbrellas etc).

I inadvertently protect my hair through this, but honestly, I don't care about the damage to my hair that much. I figure it's just hair, it's dead, and I'm not in exposed conditions for long enough to be too concerned. Summer where I live is short and I am rarely in direct sunlight for long enough for it to really matter. I go on vacation to the beach for a week or so of the year and that's the only time I really get much damage. Plus since I care about skin damage and heat stroke, the hat wearing protects the hair to some extent.

One summer I did the UV hair protectant and didn't find it helped, but my hair was dyed so hard to tell.

[curlymarcia]

I mix a little of my normal sunscreen with my hair products when I'm going to the beach, it works great. Years before using these, I always made a really big chop after going to the beach. Never tried sunscreen in hair for a long period.

[Nev]

I actually get less damage over the summer even though i'm at the beach for like 2 months, i always put in some leave in conditioner before i go outside and i never use any heat tools. plus i just leave it up in a bun.

[ilovelonghair]

I do the same. I think the conditioner helps a lot.

[Nev]

I do the same. I think the conditioner helps a lot.

i think so too, life would be horrible without it!

[EssentialJo]

Waking this thread back up for any help from fellow desert dwellers. As things start to heat up in the Southwestern U.S., does anyone have a routine for protecting their strands?

I usually wear some kind of head-covering, when outside, but also have to dress professionally and I'm client-facing when out. Also, have to weigh wearing a hat vs dreaded 'hat head'.

I read that shea butter has some sun-protecting properties but, when it gets super hot, it can be a bit greasy on my collar or sides of my face.

[SandyBottom]

Thanks for bumping this thread! Never seen it before and it's super relevant for me. I'm a sun worshiping, beach loving, play in and on the water kind of person. The sun is VERY damaging. A relative died from melanoma. I wear 50 SPF sunscreen constantly in the summer on any exposed skin and on my face year-round. Hair is in a bun most of the time and also in a satin bonnet while at the beach, on the boat, or in the garden. I recently bought a UV Buff but haven't had much of a chance to use it yet. Playing around with it, I love it! Lots of conditioner is used in the summer to protect from salt water and tangles. EssentialJo, I don't know how much protection shea butter has, but I've heard and read that coconut oil offers "some sun protection" as well. For coconut oil it's only about 4 SPF, I think...not much.

[Nefcerka]

I wonder how a UV Buff is supposed to work? I actually have one, had it for years, and the only difference I notice compared to other Buffs I have, is that it is slightly, just slightly thicker material. I always wear some tube scarf over my hair in a bun, whether in winter or summer.

Oils in hair might be a good idea, if some part of hair is exposed. Not just any oils though. I read that coconut oil can actually fry your hair if exposed to scalding sun? Or is that a myth, I don´t know really.

But I would try raspberry seed oil - it is natural and is proven to have a SPF of at least 20, some sources might say even 30-50. I am going to order it for my face in any case, since my skin became sensitive to most cosmetic products (containing parfum).

[EssentialJo]

Thanks for bumping this thread! Never seen it before and it's super relevant for me. I'm a sun worshiping, beach loving, play in and on the water kind of person. The sun is VERY damaging. A relative died from melanoma. I wear 50 SPF sunscreen constantly in the summer on any exposed skin and on my face year-round. Hair is in a bun most of the time and also in a satin bonnet while at the beach, on the boat, or in the garden. I recently bought a UV Buff but haven't had much of a chance to use it yet. Playing around with it, I love it! Lots of conditioner is used in the summer to protect from salt water and tangles. EssentialJo, I don't know how much protection shea butter has, but I've heard and read that coconut oil offers "some sun protection" as well. For coconut oil it's only about 4 SPF, I think...not much.

Thank you SandyBottom! I like the 'lots of conditioner' idea and wonder if I can wear that under a hat or with a UV Bun (will look into).


I wonder how a UV Buff is supposed to work? I actually have one, had it for years, and the only difference I notice compared to other Buffs I have, is that it is slightly, just slightly thicker material. I always wear some tube scarf over my hair in a bun, whether in winter or summer.

Oils in hair might be a good idea, if some part of hair is exposed. Not just any oils though. I read that coconut oil can actually fry your hair if exposed to scalding sun? Or is that a myth, I don´t know really.

But I would try raspberry seed oil - it is natural and is proven to have a SPF of at least 20, some sources might say even 30-50. I am going to order it for my face in any case, since my skin became sensitive to most cosmetic products (containing parfum).

Thank you, Nefcerka! I will research on the rasberry seed oil. It would be great if it is especially moisturizing as well since, even without direct sun, my hair struggles with dryness in the summer. I've even tried ways of doing a midday spritz of water in my hair to preserve moisture.

[evernia]

hmmm, when you sunbathe and put oil on your skin, you get tan faster because it makes the skin more transparent (or so my mom always used to say when she was tanning), i wonder if that might happen with hair cuticle as well?

[SandyBottom]

I wonder how a UV Buff is supposed to work? I actually have one, had it for years, and the only difference I notice compared to other Buffs I have, is that it is slightly, just slightly thicker material. I always wear some tube scarf over my hair in a bun, whether in winter or summer.

Oils in hair might be a good idea, if some part of hair is exposed. Not just any oils though. I read that coconut oil can actually fry your hair if exposed to scalding sun? Or is that a myth, I don´t know really.

But I would try raspberry seed oil - it is natural and is proven to have a SPF of at least 20, some sources might say even 30-50. I am going to order it for my face in any case, since my skin became sensitive to most cosmetic products (containing parfum).

The buff I have is recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation and uses HeiQ Cooling Technology. If you do a search online using just that term a bunch of info comes up explaining.


Thank you SandyBottom! I like the 'lots of conditioner' idea and wonder if I can wear that under a hat or with a UV Bun (will look into).

Thank you, Nefcerka! I will research on the rasberry seed oil. It would be great if it is especially moisturizing as well since, even without direct sun, my hair struggles with dryness in the summer. I've even tried ways of doing a midday spritz of water in my hair to preserve moisture.

You're welcome. When I use the conditioner, spritzing my hair first (heavily) is exactly what I do before applying the conditioner. It's like having a deep conditioning treatment while i go to the beach and bake in the sun!:cool:

[jenniferrae]

I had a really bad habit (for a few summers) of sitting in the sun for an hour or two on weekends, on purpose, to try and lighten my hair naturally. The top layers that got lightened have significantly more breakage and the underneath layers that are still darker are notably silkier and grow longer with less damage at the ends. I even had cut layers into my hair because the bottom length never needs a trim as much as the top layers. I committed last October to stopping that habit for good, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how the texture of the top layers improves over the next few years.

[Nefcerka]

The buff I have is recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation and uses HeiQ Cooling Technology. If you do a search online using just that term a bunch of info comes up explaining.



Thanks!
I see they have certification of sorts, but I´m not sure I believe this marketing. I see little difference between that UV Buff and a regular one :shrug: Can´t say it´s any better at keeping off sweat, or sun. It´s a dark color and sun-protecting clothing should generally be white or light-colored, shouldn´t it?

[SandyBottom]

:hmm:I don't know and started to search for answers. Maybe it has something to do with the weave of the fabric? A tighter weave blocks more of the UV rays. I always thought you should go for light colored or white clothing in the sun also, not so much for sun protection, but for keeping cooler. When researching this, the information was contradictory. Apparently some studies have been done which concluded that dark blue provided the best protection!?, and then other sources stated white/light colors. I get overwhelmed by information overload. Quite literally TMI and I shut down.

[LongHairFaerie]

I had a really bad habit (for a few summers) of sitting in the sun for an hour or two on weekends, on purpose, to try and lighten my hair naturally. The top layers that got lightened have significantly more breakage and the underneath layers that are still darker are notably silkier and grow longer with less damage at the ends. I even had cut layers into my hair because the bottom length never needs a trim as much as the top layers. I committed last October to stopping that habit for good, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how the texture of the top layers improves over the next few years.

Even with keeping my hair in a braid and being a normal sun-exposed child, I still have a broken, sun-lightened, crunchy top layer and a long, smooth, "silk" underlayer. My bad "top-to-bottom" former brushing technique wasn't helping, either. I'm debating whether or not to trim it any more beyond my usual S&D.