How to Protect Your Hair on Holiday: A milk_shake Sun & More Guide

You've spent weeks looking forward to the holiday, you arrive, you have the best time, and then a fortnight after you get home your hair looks dull, brassy, dry and frizz-prone. Sound familiar? Holiday hair damage is genuinely one of the biggest unexpected issues we see in the salon, and it's almost always preventable with the right approach.

UV rays, chlorine, saltwater, sand, wind and the simple fact that you're washing your hair more often in heat all conspire to damage your hair surprisingly quickly. The good news is that the milk_shake Sun & More range is built specifically for this scenario, and using it consistently from day one of the holiday makes a dramatic difference. We've recommended it to clients at Revive in Codsall for years — particularly clients with colour-treated, blonde, or already-fragile hair who'd otherwise lose months of salon work in a fortnight. Here's the proper guide to protecting your hair on holiday.

What Holiday Damage Actually Does to Your Hair

To understand why protection matters so much, it helps to know what's happening when your hair meets a beach holiday. There are four main culprits, and they almost always compound on each other.

• UV rays. The sun breaks down the protein structure of your hair the same way it breaks down skin collagen. UV also bleaches both natural pigment (your underlying hair colour) and artificial pigment (your salon colour), which is why holiday returnees often see brassiness, fading or unexpected lightening. We covered this in detail in our does hair lighten in the sun guide.
• Chlorine. Pool chlorine binds to hair, especially lightened or porous hair. It can turn blonde hair green, dull colour-treated tones, and strip moisture from the cuticle. The effects build over consecutive swims — one pool day is fine, fourteen pool days is genuinely damaging.
• Saltwater. Sea salt is dehydrating to the hair shaft. It pulls moisture out and roughens the cuticle, which is why beach hair looks textured and rough rather than smooth. The "beach wave" look is genuinely just slight cuticle damage, attractive in moderation, problematic in volume.
• Heat and humidity. Holiday weather typically combines high heat with high humidity, which lifts the cuticle and lets external moisture in and internal moisture out at the same time. This is why hair frizzes and goes flat on holiday even with good styling at home.

Now factor in that you're probably washing more often (to remove sweat, sunscreen and pool/sea exposure), often with hotel shampoo which is harsh, and you can see how holiday damage adds up. The good news: every one of these factors can be substantially mitigated with the right products.

The milk_shake Sun & More Range

The Sun & More range is milk_shake's holiday-specific line, designed to address all four damage factors above in one cohesive system. Every product in the range protects against UV, chlorine and saltwater while keeping the hair detangled, manageable and conditioned through the holiday. The range uses milk proteins (milk_shake's signature base ingredient) alongside specific UV filters and protective ingredients to create a barrier on the hair that stays in place through swimming, sun exposure and heat.

The hero product of the range is the milk_shake Sun & More Detangling Protective Spray. It's a multitasking leave-in that handles UV protection, detangling, moisture and chlorine/saltwater resistance in a single bottle, which makes it ideal as the one product to take with you if you're trying to travel light.

You spray it on damp or dry hair before going outside, after swimming, or whenever you need a quick protective top-up. The 350ml bottle is generous and lasts most clients an entire two-week holiday with daily use. It also detangles, which matters because dry, salt-stripped hair on the beach is exactly when tangles are at their worst.

milk_shake's wider Sun & More range internationally includes a hair mask, sunscreen milk, sunscreen spray, after-sun mousse and after-sun lotion. Stock varies, so browse the milk_shake Sun & More products at Revive for what's currently available. The Detangling Protective Spray is the one we always have in stock because it's the most universally useful piece.

How to Use Sun & More on Holiday

Spray products only work if you actually use them. Here's the realistic holiday routine that gets the most out of the Sun & More range without making protection feel like a chore.

1. Morning, before leaving the room: Spray Sun & More Detangling Protective Spray through damp or dry hair, focusing on the mid-lengths and ends. Distribute with fingers or a wide-tooth comb. This puts a protective layer on the hair before any UV exposure starts.
2. Before swimming: Reapply Sun & More directly before getting in the pool or sea. Wet hair absorbs less chlorinated water or saltwater than dry hair, and a protective layer on top reduces absorption further. Pro tip: drench your hair with clean shower water before the swim, then apply Sun & More on top. Your hair is now full of clean water, with a protective barrier — it has less capacity to absorb chlorine or salt.
3. After swimming: Rinse with fresh water as soon as possible. The longer chlorine or salt sits on the hair, the more damage it causes. After rinsing, reapply Sun & More to re-establish the protective layer.
4. Before bed: Apply a generous amount of Sun & More to damp or dry hair as an overnight conditioning treatment. The product absorbs through the night and delivers cumulative moisture to combat the dehydration of the day.
5. Wash days: Use a gentle, sulphate-free shampoo (not hotel shampoo). milk_shake Moisture Plus Shampoo in the 300ml size is ideal for travel — it's under the size limit you'd usually pack and it's specifically formulated for the dehydrated hair that holidays cause.

Two to three uses of Sun & More a day during a beach holiday is the right rate. It's a leave-in protective spray, not a heavy treatment, so over-applying isn't really possible.

What to Pack for Holiday Hair Care

A focused holiday haircare kit takes up very little space and saves your hair from a fortnight of cumulative damage. Here's what we recommend packing.

The Essentials

• milk_shake Sun & More Detangling Protective Spray. Your main daily protection layer. The 350ml is too big for hand luggage but fine for hold luggage. For shorter trips or hand-luggage-only travel, decant some into a small spray bottle.
• A gentle sulphate-free travel shampoo. Hotel shampoo strips colour and dries hair out. Bring your own. milk_shake Moisture Plus is the obvious choice from the brand, or browse our sulphate-free shampoo collection for other options that travel well.
• A leave-in or oil for post-shower. milk_shake Incredible Milk is the obvious pairing — it adds heat protection (handy if you're styling for evenings out) and additional moisture on top of the Sun & More.
• A wide-tooth comb. Holiday hair needs gentle detangling. A wide-tooth comb is gentler than a brush on damp, salty, or chlorinated hair. Browse our hair brushes collection for travel-friendly options.
• A hat or scarf. Physical protection beats chemical protection. A wide-brimmed hat or silk scarf during peak UV hours (11am-3pm) prevents far more damage than any spray can.

Nice-to-Haves

• A deep conditioning mask for one or two intensive treatments during the holiday. Browse our treatments and masks collection for options that travel well.
• Silk pillowcase or silk hair scarf for sleeping. Reduces overnight friction damage on hair that's already stressed from the day.
• Silk scrunchies or soft hair ties. Tight elastics cause breakage at the worst possible time — when your hair is already weakened by sun and salt.
• If you're blonde: A travel-size milk_shake Silver Shine Shampoo or Icy Blond Shampoo to tone away any UV-induced brassiness mid-holiday.
• If you're brunette: A travel-size cold brunette shampoo to neutralise the warmth that sun exposure brings out in brown tones.

Holiday Hair Care for Specific Hair Types

Different hair types face different holiday risks. Here's how to tailor the approach.

Blonde and Lightened Hair

The highest-risk category. Bleached blonde and lightened hair is already more porous than virgin hair, which means it absorbs chlorine, saltwater and UV damage faster than darker hair. Brassiness, green tones from chlorine and accelerated colour fade are all common holiday outcomes. Pair the Sun & More daily routine with a toning shampoo every 3-4 days to neutralise the warmth as it appears. For more on blonde tone correction, see our existing guides on milk_shake Silver Shine and the wider purple shampoo collection.

Colour-Treated Hair (Any Shade)

Salon colour fades faster on holiday than at any other time of the year because UV opens the cuticle and lets pigment escape. Even if your colour isn't blonde, you're losing tone with every day of sun exposure. The Sun & More protective barrier helps significantly. Pair with a colour-safe shampoo like milk_shake Colour Care Shampoo (a 300ml travel version is ideal for holidays). Browse our shampoo for coloured hair collection for other options.

Dry or Coarse Hair

Already moisture-deficient hair gets worse on holiday because of the dehydrating combination of sun, salt and frequent washing. Use the milk_shake Moisture Plus duo as your daily wash routine and layer Sun & More heavily for daytime protection. A weekly deep conditioning mask while you're away makes a real difference.

Fine Hair

Fine hair benefits from the Sun & More spray because it's lightweight enough not to flatten the roots while still providing protection. Avoid heavier oil-based UV products if your hair is fine — they can weigh hair down in heat and humidity. For more on fine hair routines, see our how to add volume to fine hair guide.

Curly and Coily Hair

Curls are particularly thirsty in dry heat and salty air. The Sun & More spray works well as a curl refresher between full washes — spritz on damp curls, scrunch through, let air-dry. The detangling element is especially valuable because curly hair gets tangled fast in beach conditions. Layer with a curl-specific leave-in cream if your hair likes richer moisture.

Hair Extensions

Human hair extensions need extra holiday care because they can't produce sebum (the natural oil that keeps your own hair moisturised). They dry out faster in sun and salt than your natural hair does. Use Sun & More daily on the extension lengths, focus on the mid-lengths and ends to avoid the bond area, and consider braiding the extensions loosely for swimming to reduce tangling. We've covered hair systems and extensions in detail in our hair oil guide.

What to Do When You Get Home

Even with the best holiday routine, your hair will need recovery when you get back. Two weeks of daily Sun & More can't completely undo the cumulative damage of UV and chlorine, but proper post-holiday care brings the hair back to baseline quickly. Here's the recovery routine:

1. First wash back: Clarify with a deep-cleansing shampoo to remove chlorine residue, salt buildup, and sunscreen transfer. Browse our clarifying shampoo collection for options. Use once, then return to a gentle everyday shampoo.
2. That same week: Apply a deep conditioning mask. Holiday-exposed hair is dehydrated at a structural level and benefits enormously from a proper mask treatment. milk_shake Moisture Plus mask, Maria Nila Structure Repair Masque or Amika Hydro Rush Mask are all strong options depending on whether your hair is more thirsty or more damaged. Our how to deep condition guide covers the routine in detail.
3. For the next 2-3 weeks: Switch to your most hydrating shampoo and conditioner combination. The hair you're washing has been through a fortnight of stress and needs gentler-than-usual care to fully recover.
4. If you're blonde or have brassy tones: Use a toning shampoo more frequently for a couple of weeks to correct any UV-induced warmth. Our how to stop blonde going brassy guide covers this.
5. If your colour has visibly faded: Book in for a gloss or refresh rather than a full colour. A gloss is gentler on already-fragile hair and refreshes the tone without lifting again. Get in touch if you'd like to discuss timings for a post-holiday touch-up.
6. Get a trim. Holiday-stressed ends are usually due a small trim. 1cm off the ends post-holiday tidies up the worst of the salt and sun damage and helps the rest of the hair look refreshed.

Holiday Hair Care FAQs

Can I just use my normal leave-in conditioner instead of Sun & More?

You can, but you'll get less protection. Standard leave-in conditioners aren't formulated with UV filters or chlorine/saltwater barriers. They moisturise, but they don't actively defend against the holiday-specific damage factors. Sun & More combines those defences with the conditioning, which is why it's more useful for the actual holiday context.

Does sunscreen for skin work on hair too?

No. Sunscreen is formulated for the chemistry of skin, not hair. Some sunscreens contain alcohols and emulsifiers that dry hair out, and they don't bind to the hair shaft the way hair-specific UV protectants do. Use a dedicated hair UV protectant.

How often should I wash my hair on holiday?

Less often than you think. Wetting your hair (in the pool, sea or shower) without shampoo is fine and even helpful. But actually shampooing every day strips natural oils and worsens dehydration. For most clients, washing every 2-3 days on holiday gives better hair than daily washing, especially when paired with daily Sun & More reapplication.

Will Sun & More make my hair sticky in heat?

No. The formula is specifically designed for hot, humid conditions. It's lightweight enough not to feel coated even at 35°C, and it doesn't react to heat or humidity the way some heavier leave-ins can. Apply lightly and reapply as needed rather than over-applying once.

Is the milk_shake Sun & More range vegan?

The core milk_shake range uses milk protein as a base ingredient, which is dairy-derived rather than vegan. Sun & More follows that formulation pattern. For fully vegan UV protective options, browse our vegan shampoo collection — Maria Nila and Amika both offer vegan products with UV protection that work alongside the same holiday principles.

How much Sun & More should I bring for a two-week holiday?

One 350ml bottle is plenty for two weeks with daily use. For shorter trips (a long weekend), decant some into a 100ml travel bottle so it fits in hand luggage and reduce what you're carrying.

Can children use Sun & More?

Yes. The gentle formula is suitable for children's hair, which often gets the worst holiday damage because kids spend more time in pools and the sea than adults do. Apply to towel-dried hair before they head out for the day and reapply after each swim.

What about UV protection for hair extensions?

Essential. Hair extensions don't recover the way growing hair does because there's no follicle producing new keratin. UV-faded extensions stay UV-faded until you replace them, which means UV protection on extensions saves you real money. Apply Sun & More daily to the lengths of extensions, focus on mid-lengths and ends, avoid the bond or weft area where the spray can interfere with adhesives.

Will Sun & More protect against salt damage from sweat (not just sea)?

Yes, in part. Sweat salt is much milder than seawater salt, but it still dehydrates hair over the course of a hot day. The Sun & More protective barrier helps minimise sweat absorption alongside the chlorine and seawater protection. Particularly useful if you're hiking, running, or sightseeing in hot climates rather than just beach lounging.

Do I need to reapply Sun & More after every swim?

Ideally yes. Each swim removes some of the protective layer, and reapplication restores it. If you're popping in and out of the pool repeatedly throughout the day, a quick rinse and reapply after each session is the gold standard. For a single longer swim, applying generously beforehand and reapplying once after is usually enough.

Browse the full milk_shake collection at Revive, our wider heat protection collection for products that pair well with UV care, our leave-in conditioner range, and our treatments and masks collection for post-holiday recovery. We're a working hair salon, not a faceless reseller, so if you're planning a holiday and want help building the right kit for your specific hair type, drop us a message and we'll talk you through it — and book you in for a recovery appointment when you get back if you need it.

Free UK delivery on every milk_shake order at Revive Hair Artists.