Reverse Summertime Hair Struggles With These 7 Expert Tips

Between dryness from prolonged sun exposure and chemical damage from all those trips to the pool, summertime can take a serious toll on your hair. Luckily, Redken’s Acidic Bonding Concentrate, available at Ulta and your local Redken salon, is here to save the day.

This four-step system (consisting of a pre-treatment, shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in) contains citric acid to penetrate the hair cuticle and a patent-pending bonding care complex to help strengthen your strand’s weak hydrogen bonds. With a formula that works for all hair types, this regimen leaves your hair feeling instantly smoother, stronger, and more conditioned. 

Here’s how you can support your hair post-summer with these products, plus more tips and tricks.

Fortify Your Hair With the Right Products

Redken’s four-step Acidic Bonding Concentrate line gives dry, damaged, summer-worn hair the nourishment it craves from the inside-out. You’ll see results after just one use, and consistently healthier-feeling hair with continued use. The regimen includes an Intensive Treatment, shampoo, conditioner, and Leave-In Treatment that penetrates your hair cuticles using citric acid, then fortifies the weak hydrogen bonds in your strands with its proprietary bonding care complex. In addition to making your hair feel 14x smoother,** this combination of ingredients leaves hair deeply conditioned but still lightweight and healthy-feeling.  

Put Extra Focus on Conditioning

Sun and chlorine damage can sap your hair of healthy moisture, causing dry strands to be more prone to breakage. When used in combination with the rest of the Acidic Bonding Concentrate lineup, the Acidic Bonding Concentrate Conditioner helps penetrate the hair cuticle of your strands to hydrate hair from within. The result is an intense conditioning effect that leaves your hair feeling instantly healthier. Consumer testing revealed that Acidic Bonding Concentrate users experienced intensely conditioned hair, with 88% reporting fewer visible split ends††  and 2x less breakage.*

Protect Your Hair From the Sun

Continued exposure to the sun’s intense UVA and UVB rays can weaken the cuticles (or surfaces) of your strands. Wrapping your hair in a scarf or tucking it up into a baseball cap or wide-brimmed hat prevents the sun from beating down on your hair. When you don’t have a hat handy, keep your hair tied up in a loose bun, braid, or ponytail to limit sun exposure.

Trap Moisture in With Hair Oil

Using an emollient product like a mask or hair oil can help dried-out cuticles trap moisture and smooth split-ended flyaways. After you get out of the shower and lightly towel off your hair, use a spritz of Redken’s Frizz Dismiss Anti-Static Oil Mist, which will instantly smooth your hair without weighing it down.†

Visit the Salon for Regular Trims

Getting regular trims is imperative for your hair’s health at any time, especially in the summer when it’s at its most vulnerable. Visit your stylist every few weeks for a light trim during warm-weather months to help curb split ends and keep your hair strong. As an additional protective measure, use Redken’s Acidic Bonding Concentrate Leave-In. Even adding this one product to your existing hair care regimen can reduce visible split-ends by up to 88%.††

Consider a Hair Gloss 

If you want to color your hair during the tough warmer months, opt for a gentler ammonia-free color treatment to preserve your hair’s strength. Consider using a hair gloss like Redken’s Shades EQ Hair Gloss, a demi-permanent hair color that fades naturally up to help you avoid visible roots. These products give your hair color the perfect mid-summer refresh with the added bonus of conditioning your locks. Maintain your hair health post-color with Acidic Bonding Concentrate, which uses citric acid to balance your hair’s pH.

Switch up Your Hair Tools 

Coming out of summer, the goal is to treat your hair as gently as possible. With that in mind, you’ll want to add some tools to your vanity — and swap some others out. Rather than using a fine-tooth comb or brush, opt for a gentler wide-tooth comb, which is less likely to break tangled, dry strands. Instead of using a round brush — which encourages you to pull and sculpt your hair — use a flat-topped one. 

If you choose to use heat tools, which can be tough on your hair, try adding the Acidic Bonding Concentrate leave-in to your hair routine. This product can protect your hair against heats up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.††

Show your post-summer hair some love with Redken’s Acidic Bonding Concentrate regimen. 

_{* When used as a system of Acidic Bonding Concentrate Shampoo and Conditioner vs. non-conditioning shampoo (L’Oreal Product Test: Date: August 7, 2020)}

_{** When used as a system of Acidic Bonding Concentrate Shampoo, Conditioner and Leave-In Treatment vs. non-conditioning shampoo (L’Oreal Product Test :Date: August 6, 2020)}

_{†Based on expert tests results, N=66}

_{†† Vs. non-conditioning shampoo}