Sunlight's Effect
Relaxing in the sunshine may be a great way to spend the day, but think twice before going out with color-treated hair. Sunlight exacerbates the damage already caused by dying and bleaching hair, leaving color faded and hair brittle, dry and frizzy. The sun can lighten natural hair a shade, but it lightens colored hair up to four shades. The best way to avoid this unwanted damage is to moisturize and cover up.
Coloring Your Hair
Hair dye uses a variety of chemicals, typically ammonia and peroxide, to open up an individual strand of hair. The dye molecules then enter the shaft of the hair, changing its color. Bleaching works in a very similar way, except that instead of inserting color molecules into a strand, the molecules already present are separated to lighten the hair. However, this is extremely damaging to your hair, and if it's not cared for properly, it leaves hair feeling coarse, dry and filled with split ends.
Protecting Hair
The best way to avoid damage caused by sunlight is to keep your hair covered when outside. Some good options are hats, scarves and hoods. If this isn't an option, or if the damage has already been done, deep conditioners and hot oil treatments can help reverse some of the damage by moisturizing dry, frizzy strands. Some of the best conditioners even have sunscreen in them, which helps shield hair from the sun's rays.
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