How to Protect Colour-Treated Hair in Summer
If you colour your hair, summer is the season that undoes a lot of the work. UV exposure fades colour faster than almost anything else, particularly for blondes and anyone with red tones. Chlorine strips colour and deposits a greenish cast on lighter hair. Salt water dries out the hair shaft and opens the cuticle, letting colour molecules escape. And if you're travelling somewhere with particularly hard water (or you live in Galway), the mineral deposits compound all of it, leaving hair looking dull, discoloured and feeling heavier than it should.
None of this means you can't enjoy summer with coloured hair. It means you need a slightly more intentional approach than you'd use in winter. Here's what that looks like.
Wet hair before getting in the pool or the sea. Dry hair is porous and absorbs whatever it comes into contact with first. If you wet it with fresh water beforehand, it absorbs the clean water and has less capacity to take on chlorinated or salt water. Follow it up with a leave-in treatment and you've created a real barrier between your colour and the elements.
Most people apply SPF to their skin and think nothing of their hair. But UV exposure degrades the hair's protein structure and lifts colour molecules out of the shaft the same way sun bleaches fabric. For colour-treated hair, that means fading between appointments, brassiness in blondes, and dullness across all shades.
The Darling Milky Hair Screen is the only thing you need in this category. A leave-in spray with next-generation UV filters and baobab extract that protects colour and conditions the hair at the same time.
Apply it before heading outdoors, before swimming, and after styling. Lightweight, works on all hair types, and probably one of the most underrated products we stock.
Step 2: Cleanse SMART
Regular shampoo isn't always enough to remove chlorine, salt and mineral buildup from colour-treated hair, and the wrong formula will strip colour at the same time. You need a cleanse that removes what's built up without taking colour with it.
The Remi Magnet is a brilliant option here and worth calling out as an Irish brand. It's a clarifying detox shampoo designed to deeply cleanse the scalp and hair while maintaining balance and comfort. It removes buildup, resets the scalp, and is gentle enough for colour-treated hair. Use it once a week as a reset wash, or after a swim.
K18 Peptide Prep Detox Shampoo
The K18 Peptide Prep Detox Shampoo does similar work but with the added K18PEPTIDE protection, removing 99% of product buildup, 95% of sebum and 76% of copper deposits in a single wash while actively protecting the hair's protein structure throughout. The clean canvas it creates means everything applied after it performs better. A good option to alternate with the Remi depending on how much your hair needs in a given week.
The Color Wow Dream Filter
The Color Wow Dream Filter is worth adding into your pre-shampoo routine, particularly if you're travelling somewhere with hard water. This pre-shampoo spray removes mineral deposits, calcium, magnesium and copper, that are the main culprits behind dull and discoloured colour-treated hair. Spray it on dry hair before shampooing, leave for a couple of minutes, then wash as normal. Immediate difference in shine and colour clarity.
the Color Wow Dream Clean Kit
For your everyday wash between resets, the Color Wow Dream Clean Kit is the one to have on rotation. A clarifying shampoo and hydrating conditioner duo that removes buildup while leaving hair soft and manageable, specifically designed for colour-treated hair without stripping or dulling. Sulfate-free and leaves nothing behind to interfere with colour.
Step 3: Repair what summer breaks down
UV exposure, chlorine, salt and heat styling all break the same internal bonds in the hair. Over a summer that accumulates. The hair becomes weaker, more prone to breakage, less elastic and harder to style. Bond repair addresses this at a structural level rather than just coating the surface.
The K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask is the most impressive thing we stock for this. The patented K18PEPTIDE reconnects broken polypeptide chains and disulfide bonds at a molecular level, which is the actual source of the damage, rather than just smoothing the surface temporarily. Apply it after shampooing, skip conditioner at this step, leave for four minutes and don't rinse it out. Most people notice a real difference in texture and strength after two to three uses. Use it every four to six washes or whenever your hair feels particularly depleted.
The Epres Bond Repair Treatment is another strong option in the same category. A leave-in bond repair treatment that strengthens the hair structure and reduces damage over time. Good to alternate with the K18 mask or as an alternative for very dry or heavily processed hair.
Step 4: Condition and treat
The Sea and Solu Moisture Melt Hair Mask is our go-to for deep conditioning. Apply after shampooing, leave for a few minutes and rinse. You can feel the difference while it's rinsing out. Use it once or twice a week depending on how much your hair is going through.
The K18 Molecular Repair Hair Oil is what to apply as a finishing step, morning or evening. It adds shine, tames frizz and provides heat protection while the K18PEPTIDE continues the repair work. A few drops through mid-lengths and ends on damp or dry hair makes everything look finished.
The right brush reduces breakage significantly, and summer is when this matters most because the hair is more fragile from UV, chlorine and heat.
Meet The Belle Brush.
The Belle Brush Treatment Brush is so useful for applying masks and treatments evenly, which means you're getting more out of every product you use. Apply your mask with this rather than your hands and the coverage and absorption are noticeably better.
The Palm Brush is the everyday detangling brush, compact, ergonomic and gentle, designed to smooth and reduce frizz without the friction that causes breakage. Good for daily use and perfect for travel.
The Smoothing Brush handles flyaways and frizz for ponytails and buns, which is where a lot of summer hair ends up. We love that it's small enough to throw in your bag, for those emergency "throw the hair up" moments!
And if you want the full edit in one, The On The Go Edit bundles the key Belle Brush tools in a travel-friendly format that makes sense for summer.
Finally, the silk scrunchies. This is a small change that makes a real difference. Elastic hair ties create friction and tension that breaks colour-treated hair, particularly at the point where the elastic sits. Silk scrunchies do the same job with a fraction of the friction. The Belle Brush Silk Scrunchies Thick are great if you're wearing your hair up regularly in summer.
Never brush wet colour-treated hair in summer. The combination of water and UV damage makes the hair more fragile and brushing it wet causes breakage that compounds over a season. Use a wide-tooth comb or your fingers to detangle from ends to roots while conditioner or leave-in is still in the hair. That's it.
The information in this article is intended for general educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
