Summer Sundries

The sun comes out, the temperature rises...beckoning you outside into the fresh air...only to dry your hair, burn your skin and fade your nail polish. Ah....summer! So, how do you protect and maintain your appearance in the hot summer months? Here are some tips:

Protect Your Hair From the Sun:

Hair stylists used to advise customers to switch to a clarifying shampoo in the summer to remove impurities like chlorine and product build-up. But that's all changed now. Instead, skip the clarifying shampoos that dry out the hair and opt instead to:

• Pre-soak your hair before entering the pool to reduce the amount of chlorinated water your hair takes in.
• Give your hair a summer shampoo break. Opt for an every other or every third shampooing day during the dry summer months.
• Increase your conditioning. On non-shampoo days, you can still condition. Or, apply conditioner to your hair before swimming or relaxing in the sun.
• Rinse your hair with cool or cold water at the end of your shower to seal the hair cuticle.
• Apply jojoba oil to the ends of your hair to soften and soothe them.
• Cover up - pick out a pretty summer hat, a cool bandana to cover your hair while in the sun. Or, sit in the shade under an umbrella.

Get Pretty Hands and Feet -- Top Nail Polish Colors for Summer 2010:
What's more sweet than a fresh manicure and pedicure. Try one of these hot summer colors on your next trip to the salon.

• Bright Pink - try Opi's Elephantastic Pink for a fun, bright summer pedi

• Tiffany Blue - who knew blue would be such a popular nail color this year? China Glaze has a pretty soft shade called For Audrey that's worth a try.
• Light Turquoisey Green - Want to try something different and stand out from the pack? Chanel started the trend with their Jade nail polish and Essie has picked up the mantle with their new Turquoise and Caicos polish.
• Totally Taupe - it's not just the color of draperies any more! Try Chanel's "Particuliere" or Rimmel's "Steel Gray"

Serious Skin Savers:
Dermatologists recommend applying at least 2 teaspoons of sunscreen to your face alone. And, don't forget to reapply sunscreen every two hours and each time you emerge from the pool. I personally love the spray on sunscreens. Try Coppertone Sport in 30 all the way up to 70 SPF.

Have you seen the new powder sunscreens? Very cool! Why not give this one a shot - bareMinerals SPF 30 Natural sunscreen

Or, maybe use a tinted sunscreen for light coverage and sun protection. I use Dr. Brandt UV SPF 30 Face Tinted sunscreen.

What are your favorite summer beauty tricks?


Photo Credit: (top)sciondriver's photostream on Flickr (middle) jronaldlee's photostream on Flickr