Hair Color Maintenance Tips for LA Summers

Los Angeles summers take a real toll on hair color, even for clients who never come near a pool. Between the sun, the drier air, and all those extra hours spent outside, color that looked flawless back in June can start fading or turning brassy by the time August rolls around.

As a high end beauty salon, we watch this happen with clients year after year, and there's genuinely good news: most of it can be avoided with a few small tweaks to your routine. Below is what actually helps, based on what we've seen work firsthand in the chair, week after week. 

Why LA Summers Are Rough on Color

The sun is the biggest factor. UV exposure breaks down hair color at the molecular level, which is why blondes can turn brassy and brunettes can pick up a reddish or dull cast after weeks in the sun. Add in chlorine from pools or salt from the ocean, both of which are drying and can strip color faster than usual, and you have a season that works against whatever you just paid for in the chair.

Heat styling does not help either. If you are already blow-drying and using hot tools in a hot, dry climate, your hair is dealing with stress from multiple directions at once. None of this means you need to avoid the sun all summer. It just means your maintenance routine needs to work a little harder during these months.

Adjust Your Wash Routine

Washing less often during summer actually helps color last longer, since color fades a little every time hair is shampooed. If you are someone who washes daily out of habit, consider stretching that to every other day and using a dry shampoo in between. When you do wash, a color-safe, sulfate-free shampoo makes a real difference. Sulfates strip color faster, and in a season already working against you, that is one variable you can easily control.

At home, a good hair mask once a week gives color-treated hair the moisture it loses from sun and heat. Our Premium Hair Care treatment, available in our salon, is built around this exact need. It focuses on deep restoration and scalp care, which matters just as much as the strand itself when your hair is under summer stress.

Know When to Come In for a Touch-Up

Root regrowth becomes more noticeable in summer simply because you are outside more, under natural light, where color differences show up clearly. If you normally book a root touch-up every six to eight weeks, summer is not the season to stretch that out further. Fading also tends to accelerate, so a gloss or toning service between full color appointments can refresh your shade without committing to a full redo.

If your color has drifted more than expected, our team can look at it in person and recommend whether a simple toner will fix it or whether it needs a fuller correction. That is always easier to judge with your hair in front of us rather than guessing from a photo.

Simple Habits That Add Up

None of this requires an overhaul of your routine. Rinsing before you swim, switching to a color-safe shampoo, adding weekly deep conditioning, and keeping up with your regular color appointments will get most people through summer with their color intact. The clients who struggle most are usually the ones who skip these small habits for a few months and then are surprised by how much fading adds up.

If you want a plan built around your specific color and hair type, our stylists are always happy to talk through it during your next visit. You can browse our full range of color services on our hair services, and if you have general questions before booking, our FAQ page is a good place to start. For everything else about visiting us, our home page has the details you need.

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