Beauty Expert Reveals Which Summer Hair Damage You Can—and Can’t—Reverse

If you’ve come back from your summer holiday wondering why your hair suddenly feels like straw, tangles more easily or simply refuses to behave like it did before you went away, it may not be your imagination.

September is the peak time for noticing the cumulative effects of summer on our hair.

Days spent swimming in chlorinated pools or seawater, hours of UV exposure, more frequent washing and repeatedly reaching for hairdryers, straighteners or curling tools before going out can all leave their mark.

And while some of those changes can be improved relatively easily, others cannot technically be “repaired” at all.

According to Danielle Louise, beauty expert on Fresha, the world’s leading beauty and wellness booking platform, the biggest mistake people make after a summer holiday is treating every change in their hair as the same problem.

Danielle says “People often come home from a holiday and suddenly realise their hair doesn’t feel like their hair anymore. It might feel straw-like when you wash it, tangle constantly, look frizzier, appear lighter or brassier, or you might suddenly notice lots of split ends.

The important thing is understanding that ‘summer damage’ isn’t one single thing. Sun, chlorine, seawater, washing and heat can affect the hair in different ways, and on holiday you’re often exposing it to several of them every single day.”

What your summer holiday actually did to your hair

A typical day on holiday can be considerably more demanding on hair than a normal day at home.

You might spend several hours in strong sunlight, swim in a chlorinated pool or the sea, leave your hair to dry naturally in the sun, wash it before dinner and then blow-dry, straighten or curl it.

Repeat that routine for seven to 14 days and hair can understandably feel very different by the time you return home.

Sun: the reason your hair might suddenly look lighter

UV exposure doesn’t only affect skin. Prolonged exposure to sunlight can affect the proteins and pigments within hair, potentially contributing to dryness, changes in texture and colour fading.

Danielle explains:

If your hair looks noticeably lighter after your holiday, the sun may have contributed to it. People with colored or highlighted hair can particularly notice fading, brassiness or changes in tone after spending a lot of time outdoors. The outer surface of the hair can also become more weathered, which contributes to that rougher feeling people often notice when they get home.

Chlorine: why your hair can feel like straw

Regular swimming in chlorinated pools can leave hair feeling noticeably drier and rougher.

Danielle says:

Swimming once isn’t likely to suddenly destroy your hair. The issue on holiday is repetition. You might be swimming every day, allowing pool water to dry on your hair, sitting in strong sunshine and then washing and styling it again that evening. Bleached, highlighted or already porous hair may notice those effects more because it’s already more vulnerable.

And if blonde hair develops a green tint, chlorine itself isn’t necessarily the direct cause.

Metals such as copper in pool water can contribute to the greenish color sometimes seen on blonde or bleached hair after swimming. If you’ve come home with a significant color change, I’d avoid experimenting with aggressive DIY fixes and speak to a color professional.

Seawater: the beachy texture that doesn’t feel so good afterwards

Sea water can create the textured, tousled effect many people associate with holiday hair, but repeatedly allowing salty water to dry on hair can leave it feeling stiff, dry and tangled.

Danielle says:

There’s a reason hair can feel amazing and beachy while you’re away and then suddenly incredibly dry when you get home. Salt water can leave the hair feeling rough and dehydrated, particularly when that exposure is happening repeatedly alongside strong sunlight.

There’s also a difference between occasionally using a formulated sea salt styling product and spending hours swimming in the sea every day.

Heat: the damage you might be adding every evening

Then comes the holiday evening routine. Danielle says, this is the bit people often forget. Your hair might already have spent the day in sun, salt water or chlorine and then you’re blow-drying it and reaching for straighteners or curlers because you’re going out that night.

Do that every evening for a week and you’re adding another source of stress to hair that’s already had a fairly demanding day.

Can you actually repair holiday-damaged hair?

This depends on what you mean by “repair”.

Dry, rough or difficult-to-manage hair can often look and feel considerably better with appropriate conditioning, gentler handling and reduced exposure to further damage.

But physically damaged hair cannot biologically heal itself.

Danielle explains:

This is where the language around hair repair can become confusing. Haircare products can absolutely make damaged hair look and feel much better. They can condition it, smooth it, improve manageability, and some treatments can temporarily reinforce weakened areas.

But the hair you can see outside your scalp isn’t living tissue. If a strand has physically split, you cannot make that split end permanently fuse itself back together. Sometimes the genuine solution is a haircut.

The September Hair Recovery Plan

Rather than panic-buying a completely new haircare routine, Danielle recommends concentrating on a few fundamentals during the weeks after returning from holiday.

What to eat to support healthy hair growth

Diet cannot repair the damaged ends already sitting on your shoulders, but adequate nutrition is important for supporting normal hair growth.

Nutrient	Foods to prioritise	Why it matters
Protein	Eggs, chicken, fish, Greek yoghurt, tofu, lentils and beans	Hair is predominantly made from the protein keratin, making adequate protein an important part of a balanced diet
Iron	Red meat, lentils, beans, spinach and fortified cereals	Iron supports normal oxygen transport, while low iron levels can be associated with increased hair shedding
Zinc	Meat, shellfish, dairy, pumpkin seeds, beans and nuts	Zinc contributes to normal protein synthesis and the maintenance of normal hair
Vitamin C	Peppers, berries, oranges, kiwi and broccoli	Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation and helps the body absorb iron from plant foods
Omega-3 fats	Salmon, sardines, mackerel, walnuts, chia and flaxseed	These foods provide essential fatty acids and can form part of a balanced diet
Vitamin D	Oily fish, egg yolks and fortified foods	Vitamin D performs a number of important functions in the body, although dietary sources are relatively limited
B vitamin	Eggs, meat, dairy, legumes, whole grains and leafy vegetables	B vitamins are involved in normal energy metabolism and cellular processes

Danielle says:

If your ends feel dry because you’ve spent two weeks swimming and sunbathing, taking a hair vitamin isn’t going to suddenly reverse that.

Nutrition is about supporting the healthy hair your body produces next. For the hair that’s already grown, you’re concentrating on protecting it from further damage and improving its condition and appearance.

Do you need a post-holiday hair supplement?

Danielle explains:

I’d be wary of assuming dry holiday hair means you have a vitamin deficiency. There isn’t one magic ‘hair vitamin’ everyone suddenly needs in September, and taking more of something isn’t automatically better.

If you’re experiencing significant or prolonged shedding from the root rather than simply dry or broken ends, that’s different and worth discussing with an appropriate healthcare professional.

How often should you wash your hair after a holiday?

One of the most common pieces of hair advice is to wash it less frequently, but Danielle says there is no universal washing schedule. The scalp should ultimately determine how frequently hair needs cleansing.

Hair or scalp type	A useful starting point	What to remember
Fine hair/oily scalp	Every 1-2 days if needed	You don’t need to deliberately tolerate an uncomfortable, oily scalp to “train”   your hair
Average hair	Around 2-3 times per week	Adjust according to exercise, oil production and styling products
Dry, curly hair	Often less frequently	Prioritize moisture and use a routine suited to your individual hair and scalp
After swimming	Rinse promptly	Removing salt or pool water matters more than rigidly sticking to your wash schedule
Bleached or damaged hair	Wash according to scalp needs	Be particularly gentle with vulnerable lengths and concentrate shampoo around the scalp

Danielle says:

One of the biggest myths is that washing your hair less is automatically healthier. Someone with fine hair and an oily scalp might comfortably wash every day or two, while somebody with dry or tightly curled hair may wash considerably less often.

Your scalp still needs to be cleansed. The goal after a holiday isn’t to see how many days you can avoid shampoo. It’s to clean the scalp appropriately while being gentle with already-weathered lengths.

Hair mask, haircut or salon? What your post-holiday hair actually needs

Before spending money on multiple treatments, Danielle recommends looking at what has actually changed.

What happened after your holiday	What to try
Hair feels dry or dull	Condition consistently and introduce an appropriate conditioning treatment
Hair feels rough or frizzy	Try leave-in conditioning, gentler drying and reducing high-temperature styling
Ends are visibly split	Book a trim, as split ends cannot be permanently repaired
Hair keeps snapping	Reduce heat and chemical processing and consider professional assessment
Blonde hair has developed a green tint	Speak to a colour professional before experimenting with harsh DIY treatments
Colour looks faded or brassy	Use appropriate color care and consider professional toning
Hair constantly tangles	Increase conditioning and minimize aggressive brushing, particularly while wet
Scalp feels irritated	Simplify your routine and seek professional advice if irritation persists
You’re suddenly shedding considerably more hair from the root	Speak to a healthcare professional rather than assuming your holiday caused it

Do you need to stop using heat in September?

You don’t necessarily need to abandon your hairdryer or straighteners completely.

However, reducing unnecessary high-temperature styling can give already-weathered hair a break from additional stress.

Danielle says:

If your hair feels noticeably more brittle after your holiday, I’d reduce unnecessary heat for a few weeks.

Use heat protection when you do style it, don’t automatically choose the highest temperature and avoid repeatedly passing straighteners over the same sections.

You don’t need to completely change your life. You’re simply trying to stop adding unnecessary damage while your hair is already vulnerable.

The five-minute post-holiday hair check

Danielle recommends checking four things when you return from a summer holiday: your scalp, your roots, your mid-lengths and your ends.

If the scalp feels normal and there is no unusual shedding from the root, but the lengths feel dry and the ends are splitting, the problem is more likely to be related to the condition of the existing hair.

If you’re seeing a significant increase in shedding from the root, persistent scalp irritation or another unexplained change, it shouldn’t simply be dismissed as “holiday hair”.

Danielle says:

September is actually the perfect time to properly look at your hair rather than immediately trying to fix it with products.

If it’s dry, condition it. If you’re overusing heat, reduce it. If your ends are badly split, cut them. If your color has changed significantly, speak to your colorist.

And if the change is coming from the scalp or you’re suddenly experiencing significant hair loss, don’t just assume it’s because you went on holiday.

How to prevent holiday hair damage next summer

Danielle recommends:

• Wetting hair thoroughly with fresh water before entering a swimming pool or the sea
• Rinsing hair with fresh water as soon as possible after swimming
• Conditioning regularly throughout the holiday
• Wearing a hat during prolonged periods of strong sunlight
• Using heat protection when styling
• Avoiding unnecessary repeated high-temperature styling
• Being gentle when brushing wet, tangled hair
• Taking particular care with bleached, highlighted or chemically treated hair

Danielle concludes:

We wouldn’t spend a week in strong sunshine without thinking about our skin, yet we’re much more likely to wait until we get home before thinking about what happened to our hair.

You don’t need to avoid the sea, pool or styling your hair on holiday. Small things like rinsing after swimming, conditioning properly and occasionally giving the straighteners a night off can make a big difference.

And if you are coming into September with hair that feels completely different, don’t panic. Work out whether you’re dealing with dryness, color change or genuine breakage first, because they don’t all need the same solution.