Why Your Hair Needs Sun Protection

Most people apply SPF to their skin before spending a day in the sun, but hair rarely gets the same consideration. The reality is that prolonged UV exposure, saltwater, and chlorine can do significant damage to hair and that damage compounds over the course of a holiday week, leaving hair dry, brittle and dull long after you return.

What sun, sea and chlorine do to hair

UV radiation breaks down the proteins and pigments in the hair shaft. For colour-treated hair, this accelerates fade, particularly with lighter colours. For all hair types, extended sun exposure can leave hair feeling dry and rough as the cuticle becomes increasingly damaged.

Salt water then adds to the problem. Salt draws moisture out of the hair shaft through osmosis, and the rougher it leaves the cuticle, the more moisture continues to escape. Chlorine meanwhile strips natural oils and can cause porous, lightened, or colour-treated hair to take on unwanted green or brassy tones over time.

The effect of all three across a week's holiday is often hair that feels noticeably more damaged on return than it did before departing.

What your holiday hair routine needs to include

Your holiday routine needs four things: something to protect before or during exposure, something to cleanse gently afterwards, something to restore moisture, and ideally all of it in travel-friendly sizes that fit in hand luggage.

The Paul Mitchell Sun Travel Kit covers all of this in a compact box containing three products: the Sun Revitalizing Shampoo, the After Sun Nourishing Masque, and the Sun Protective Dry Oil.

How to use it

Sun Revitalizing Shampoo (100ml)

A gentle, moisturising shampoo enriched with Keravis and coconut oil that helps remove salt, chlorine and product build-up while restoring softness to sun-stressed hair. It contains the Paul Mitchell UV Protection System, and sits at pH 5.0, slightly acidic, which helps smooth the cuticle after exposure.

After Sun Nourishing Masque (100ml)

A rich post-shampoo treatment that deeply hydrates and helps restore strength to hair that's been through sun, wind, salt and chlorine. Formulated with panthenol, sunflower oil and wheat derivatives to replenish what exposure depletes. Use it once a week or after any heavy sun or salt exposure, leave it on for a few minutes, then rinse.

Sun Protective Dry Oil (50ml)

A lightweight, non-greasy dry oil that can be applied to damp or dry hair before sun exposure. It contains the UV Protection System along with ingredients derived from olive oil, rice oil and vitamin C. The formula is 96% natural origin and 100% vegan, and it doubles as a body moisturiser, making it genuinely multi-use for a travel bag. Spray onto damp hair, comb through, and leave in before heading out.

A note on colour-treated hair

If your hair is coloured, lightened or highlighted, sun protection for hair deserves the same priority as SPF for skin. UV exposure and saltwater are among the fastest routes to colour fade between salon visits and protecting against them means less work to restore vibrancy afterwards. The Protective Dry Oil is particularly useful here, as it can be applied before swimming or spending time in direct sun.

Get holiday-ready

The Paul Mitchell Sun Travel Kit is designed to fit in hand luggage and covers the full routine: pre-protection, cleansing and restoration. It's a practical gift option too, and available now!