The Ultimate Guide to Summer Hair Hydration
Summertime and the living is easy—except, unfortunately, for your hair. Strong UV rays, excessive heat, and too much time spent in a chlorinated pool or salty ocean can zap strands of moisture, leaving hair looking and feeling dry, frizzy, and distressed. This is why embracing a summer hair care routine rooted in protective, nourishing hydration is critical. Cue: Aveda’s hyper-hydrating, superfood-packed Nutriplenish™ collection.
Why is my hair so dry?
Let’s start with what dry hair looks and feels like, as you may unknowingly be dealing with dehydrated strands. Dry hair usually lacks shine and softness, tangles easily, and can feel rough to the touch. Sound like your hair?
If your hair is dry, it’s because it has become depleted of lipids, a critical part of your hair shaft that protects and coats each individual strand. Lipids keep hair healthy, shiny, manageable, and strong. You lose lipids as a result of normal wear and tear, usually via three common causes:
THE ELEMENTS
While nature is a life-giving force, it can be distressing on your hair. UV ray exposure, extreme heat, high humidity, and wind can all suck vital moisture from hair. In the summertime, all of these forces are usually heightened—along with additional dehydrating factors, such as exposure to harsh chlorine and drying saltwater.
OVERWASHING
Washing too frequently can strip hair of its protective natural oils—especially curly and textured hair, which can be more prone to dryness. During the warmer months, overwashing can occur easily as we shower away sweat, salt, and sand.
HOT STYLING TOOLS
Heat styling with a blow dryer, a flat iron, or a curling iron—or all three—can have distressing effects, leaving hair looking dry and depleted. We often turn to heat styling to tame sun-frazzled strands, which can only exacerbate overly dry hair.
What is an effective dry hair treatment?
Remedying dry hair is actually a two-step process: It involves both hydrating the hair shaft and then sealing in moisture in order to leave strands looking healthy, shiny, and strong.
STEP 1: HYDRATING THE HAIR SHAFT
Penetrating and nourishing hair from within the hair shaft is an important step to replace lost natural lipids and amp up moisture levels. Proteins, humectants and natural humidity in the air can all increase hair hydration.
STEP 2: SEALING IN MOISTURE
Sealing the hair cuticle (the outermost layer of the hair) is also critical for retaining moisture. Ingredients like plant oils and butters can help to do this, assisting in water retention by creating a physical, protective barrier between the hair cuticle and any outside factors.
The hair hydrating power of Nutriplenish™
As the days get warmer, lean on our ultra-hydrating, 100% vegan Nutriplenish™ collection for hydrated, visibly healthy hair all summer long. Whether you have tight, textured coils or stick-straight strands, our high-performance haircare collection delivers perfect-for-you hydration, moisturization and drying effects from UV rays.
Nutriplenish ingredient image featuring pomegranate, coconut and mango.
Our Nutriplenish™ system is powered by superfoods such as organic pomegranate oil and coconut oil, plus lipid-rich mango butter to hydrate in two ways: Penetrating dry hair to restore lost lipids and wrapping strands in nutrient-dense moisture that lasts through summer’s longest day.
Nutriplenish™ also empowers you to soak up the sun—any time of year. Since UV rays can deplete hair of its all-important hair lipids, utilizing UV protection to defend against the drying effects of the sun is paramount for keeping hair lustrous and lush. Two Nutriplenish™ collection products—our leave-in conditioner and NEW daily moisturizing treatment—utilize superfood sand ginger as a naturally derived UV filter to shield hair from the drying effects of the sun by absorbing UV rays.* Whichever 100% vegan UV filter you choose, both no-rinse, stress-free formulas will leave strands looking lustrous all summer long.
Discover your Nutriplenish™ regimen
Give sunlight the greenlight this summer with our Nutriplenish™ collection. Formulated with 100% vegan ingredients, our superfood-enriched hair care system offers customizable hydration across the texture spectrum—from 1A to 4C—to infuse dry hair with essential hydration. Here’s how to choose the right products for your hair:
• Nutriplenish™ light moisture features lightweight formulas with fast-absorbing oils to smooth and hydrate. Perfect for fine-to-medium hair, light moisture is also ideal if you’re looking for softness and manageability and like to wash daily for freshness.
• Nutriplenish™ deep moisture features decadent formulas with 50% more plant-powered butters** for intense hydration. Perfect for medium-to-thick hair, deep moisture is also ideal if you’re looking for richness and like to leave time in between washes to keep hair hydrated.
Need help finding the right Nutriplenish™ routine for you? Take the Aveda Hair & Scalp Check for personalized product recommendations based on your hair type and texture.