After a summer filled with time spent poolside, lounging at your favorite beach, relaxing on your building’s roof deck, and gallivanting on your family’s boat I hope everyone is feeling well rested and thinking, “Wow, did we do any work this Summer?” While your brain may have been on vacation for the past few months, your fun in the sun was wreaking havoc on your hair.

Sun, salt, sand, wind, chlorine, and humidity all make your hair a bit haggard, but you don’t need me telling you this–that’s probably why you’re reading this post! There are a few different measures you can take to mend your tresses, but each one starts out with getting a trim–this allows you to be treating healthy hair, not wasting your time on the dead and mangled ends. After the trip to your stylist you should start doing treatments on your hair; the frequency that you do it is up to you, but I recommend starting off with once every other week to see how you like it. Depending on how fried my hair is feeling, I bump up my treatments to once a week or sometimes twice in one week, never more. To maintain your mending mane, start applying a conditioning product after you shower.

The Products Listed:

• mmmmmmmmmm1. Bumble & Bumble Mending Masque
• mmmmmmmmmm2. Bumble & Bumble Quenching Masque
  mmmmmmmmmm3. Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
  mmmmmmmmmm4. L’Oreal Professional Absolut Cellular Repair
  mmmmmmmmmm5. Moroccan Oil Original Oil
  mmmmmmmmmm6. Sebastian Potion 9 Styling Treatment
  mmmmmmmmmm7. Sebastian Whipped Creme
  mmmmmmmmmm8. Bumble & Bumble Quenching Complex
  mmmmmmmmmm9. Bumble & Bumble Mending Complex

Why I listed these specific products:

After working in a fashion-forward salon for about a year here in DC I had the opportunity to try nearly every product I listed. I say “nearly” because the only 2 I have not tried were the B&B Quenching Masque and Quenching Complex. I never bothered to try them because my hair has always been too damaged–the Mending Masque and Mending Complex were much more beneficial to my needs than the Quenching series. I have tried and loved (nearly) each one of these products. All are available for purchase in salons, with the exception of…

The one I didn’t mention: Coconut Oil. I will be doing an in-depth post on coconut oil at a later date, but for hair treatment purposes:

– Scoop out a spoonful and work it into your dry hair, starting from mid-hair shaft and working it through to your ends, really focusing on your damaged ends. Many people suggest sleeping with your hair like this in a braid or bun and washing your hair in the morning. I prefer to shower at night, so I apply this at about 3-4pm and shampoo as usual before bed. Note: this oil starts in soft-solid form and melts with the heat of your hands; don’t be alarmed that it isn’t a liquid when you buy it.

– For a lighter treatment: wet or dampen your hair first and follow the same instructions.

You can find coconut oil in your local health food store and at Whole Foods.

With regular maintenance you should start to see a noticeable difference in your hair within a month or so.

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