Ever wondered why your hair extensions have turned a pinky orange?
You have worn the same extensions as always, but now all of a sudden your hair extensions seem to be changing colour overnight. The answer is surprisingly simple, it's your sunscreen!
With the hot weather comes the need to protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays with suncream, however many do not realise that whilst sunscreen does a great job at protecting your skin, it can cause havoc with the colour of your hair.
Sunscreens are full of different ingredients, however there are two in particular that cause big problems, and these are Avebenzone, sometimes called Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, and Octocrylene.
But why?!
Avebenzone is a very common chemical used in the production of suncream, as it protects against UVB rays as well as UVA rays. While Avenbenzone is an effective protectant against UVB and UVA rays, once exposed to the sun it only offers protection for around 30 minutes, and therefore in order to prevent this, Octocrylene is added so that it works for longer.
The exact reason that these two ingredients have such an extreme reaction when exposed to your hair is that it is an active ingredient. If it is combined with water that has a high iron content, which is most of the water we shower in, the iron in the water can cause oxidation, aka a rust stain. This is why exposing your hair to sunscreen over a number of days during hot weather will cause this chemical reaction, and the end result...pink/orange hair extensions.
So what should you do?
Put simply, there are only two effective ways to stop this from happening. The first is fully avoiding your hair extensions from touching your sunscreen. As hair extensions are usually long, they will more than likely brush against your body when you have applied the sunscreen, and as you will more than likely sweat, throughout the day the sunscreen will make its way onto your hair via perspiration. If you are wearing your hair extensions down, you are likely to run your fingers through your hair, further depositing more sunscreen residue onto your hair, as well as sweat and moisture which will continue to accelerate the process. To avoid this from happening, it would be best to keep your hair secured in a bun, so that it is away from your skin.
The second way to protect yourself from suncream staining your hair extensions is to purchase an Avenbenzone free sunscreen. These are naturally more pricey, as they are of higher quality with more expensive ingredients, but it is worth the purchase to protect your precious hair extensions.
But what if it's too late?
If you have experienced suncream staining and your hair extensions are now pink/orange, don't worry, your hair extensions can be salvaged. A Malibu C treatment will almost fully restore your hair to its original colour. A toner after the treatment may or may not also be needed.
Contact us if your needing this summer emergency repair appointment!