Imagine carefully covering your entire body with sunscreen…except your head. Often forgotten, the skull is just as vulnerable to sunburn, as explained by trichologist (dermatologist specializing in the study of hair) Anabel Kingsley to Glamor UK magazine. “Our scalp is skin, and it can be damaged by the sun just like the skin on our face, arms and legs,” she explains. In the short term, this can cause problems such as redness, pain and subsequent flaking, but repeated sun exposure and sunburn can lead to skin cancer on our leather. hairy. “Skin of the skull that heats up and painful sunburn: this is the hot head syndrome.

To protect against this during a heat wave, nothing beats a hat (preferably with wide enough brim to also protect the neck and ears). For those who do not have any on hand (or on their head), applying a sunscreen adapted to the scalp or a sunscreen mist may be enough. While it helps protect the head from the sun, hair is UV sensitive! “UV rays act on the hair in the same way as bleaches; they break down their protein structure, leaving strands weaker and more vulnerable to breakage and further damage, says Anabel Kingsley. Apply a water-resistant cream containing UV filters to prevent this. »

If by chance hot head syndrome strikes, it is advisable to first drink water and take an anti-inflammatory medication in case of pain, then to regularly apply an after-sun moisturizing lotion on the scalp.