Your biggest summer holiday stress? That your hair colour will change after too much sun exposure, too much time in the sea or too long in the pool. After all, if your hair turns yellow or green, this is definitely a hair disaster! Here’s how to protect your hair and stop this disaster from happening to you.
 
Colour fades or changes because the artificially added pigments are absorbed by the sea, the sun or the pool. It can also just be down to repeated washes. “Your hair changes colour, revealing what is known as a discoloration base, which is often green or yellow.”
 
This phenomenon tends to affect blonde coloured hair in particular, especially bleached blonde hair. “Bleached hair is more sensitive to external stresses. The colour is therefore likely to fade quicker than it does with brown coloured hair, for example. People with brown hair are less likely to see their colour fade.” However, for people who have gone from blonde to brown, there is an 80% chance that their hair will fade slightly, showing hints of red or auburn.
 
To protect yourself from this hair shocker, use shampoos and masks for coloured hair. “These encourage the pigments to last as long as possible within the hair, making your colour last longer.” You should also use sun protection on your hair when sunbathing. This keeps your hair hydrated and protects your colour from external stresses.
 
Remember that the longer you spend in the sun, the more likely your hair colour is to fade or change. “If you’re heading to the beach for just a couple of weeks, follow our advice and you should be fine. If you spend a lot longer in the sun though, you might not be so lucky. There’s not much you can do to prevent this. Go straight to your hairdresser when you get back to have your colour done again and get those pigments back in your hair.”
 
Our tip: If your colour hasn’t changed much, you don’t need to bother getting it coloured. Simply opt for a tone-on-tone colour, known as Gloss here at Jean Louis David, which will revive your colour without roots. The added bonus? This technique leaves your hair ultra-shiny!