6 Tips for Keeping Your Hair Healthy While Travelling
Each year, thousands of Aussies swap out the mid-year freeze for warmer (usually Mediterranean) shores. In 2025, the Euro-Summer tradition is alive and well, as documented by half the people you follow on Instagram. But whether you’re checking in to the International Airport or roadtripping to a local winter getaway spot, your hairstylists are asking (begging!) you not to forgo your haircare while on holiday.
You’ve sorted your holiday wardrobe and you’ve jam-packed your itinerary with all the picture-perfect destinations, all that’s left is to make sure you look amazing in your vacay pics. These are our six best tips to make sure your hair looks and feels incredible for your entire holiday, AND to ensure that you return home with minimal damage and colour-fade.
Take travel sizes of your own hair products, don’t rely on hotel shampoo & conditioner.
This may seem like a no-brainer to some, but maintaining your regular haircare routine while travelling is the first step to reducing dryness, damage and colour-fade. Hotel-supplied shampoo and conditioner is great in a pinch, however, it’s difficult to know exactly what ingredients are present in their products and how they will react to your hair.
We recommend decanting your fave products into smaller containers (easily found at your local Kmart) or pick up travel-sizes to keep in your toiletry bag year round! Kevin Murphy have a full range of mini’s perfect for your next vacay!
Before swimming in chlorinated water, pre-soak your hair with clean water or slather on a hair mask.
There’s nothing worse than the feeling of enjoying a beautiful sunny day in the pool, only to then return to your room and realise your blonde has turned a stunning shade of green 😱 Chlorine is a well-known killer of bright blondes and we have seen the victims time and time again. The best action in this case is prevention and, luckily, it’s super easy!
Before your pool day, simply rinse down your hair with clean water from your bathroom, to minimise the amount of chlorine that your hair can soak up, and tie it up in a bun. If you’d like to go an extra step, leave a hair mask in to stop nasty chemicals from reaching your locks.
PS. This tip is especially important if you have extensions of any kind!
Bring along a detox shampoo to use once a week.
Depending on the length of your stay abroad, you may want to consider bringing along a great Detox Shampoo to remove build up of all kinds. Copper from old pipes, your styling products and swimming in salted or chlorinated water will leave their mark on your hair over time, so it’s important to thoroughly cleanse often to maintain strength, hydration and your gorgeous colour.
Fun fact, if you are trying to grow your hair, buildup on your roots will hinder your efforts, so make sure your scalp is thoroughly cleansed to bring on more growth!
Our go-to Detox Shampoo is from K18 - this little beauty is a mainstay in our salons and in our stylists’s own bathrooms!
Don’t forget your heat protector!
And don’t forget to use it! Whether you’re headed for a day in town or a Pinterest-worthy dinner res, we want to look our best on our vacay! But being on holidays is no excuse not to protect your hair before using heat tools. Many heat protectors can be used on both wet and dry hair, meaning that your mid-week touch up just got even better!
The best heat protector for wet and dry hair (in our opinion!) has got to be the Wella Thermal Image. It’s easy to use, perfect for all hair types and it doesn’t break the bank - a win-win-win! Available exclusively in salon.
Make sure to pack your silk scrunchie for those travel days that are just too hot to wear your hair down.
Another super simple travel tip, and yet one that so many forget! Silk is the best option when it comes to tying your hair up, whether you’re a hair-up-on-the-plane gal or it’s just too darn hot while exploring a foreign city. We’re currently obsessed with the statement scrunchie trend; for the perfect Euro-inspired look, pair an XL brightly coloured scrunchie with a (not too tight!) slick back bun.
If you want to go even further, pack a silk pillowcase or bonnet to protect your locks from overly rough hotel linens. Slip have a range of silk products to protect both your hair and skin!
Leave-in conditioners and hydrating oils will be your best friend on long-haul flights.
It’s no secret that long-haul travel is the absolute worst for sapping all the moisture out of your skin with the recycled air and limited access to water refills (especially in the dreaded middle seat!). Lately, we have seen a huge rise of influencers demonstrating their in-flight skin routines, but what about your hair? Your scalp is an extension of your skin, so you can expect that any dehydration may extend to your hair follicles.
Thankfully, Kerastase is here to save the day! If you notice that your scalp gets itchy, flaky or tight (also a sign of dryness!), we highly recommend picking up a scalp serum for instant relief. If your ends are brittle and frizzy, Kerastase’s newly reformulated, refillable hair oils will bring back some shine day-to-day. To give your mids and ends a little extra love while travelling, the Kerastase Blond Absolu Recovery Overnight Hair Serum is a stunning leave-in serum that is the perfect hydration booster before a long-haul flight.
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