Problem with Chlorine Pool

Hello! I've been browsing these forums for quite a while, and have really learned a lot. So, I've decided to make an account.
For the past month, I've been swimming nearly every day in a chlorine swimming pool. I wash with a Lush shampoo bar, and use Outrageous conditioner (I hate it, but I'm determined to use it up). I get a TON of breakage, and my hair is oily and dry at the same time.

Swim caps unfortunately do not stay put (the latex ones, anyway) and ponytails end up ripping at my hair. The end is past hip, but the bulk of it is at bsl-waist (crazy v-slope in hair that is being grown out) and ponytails just don't cut it anymore.

Does anyone have a particular style, or product they use to keep hair nice? My hair grows very slowly, so this breakage is very frustrating. I thought that the LHC would be the best place for advice.

Thank you, Smoogle : )

If I had such long hair (lucky you!) I would try a braided bun high on your head. I have one in right now, and it's a very tight and compact style, which probably does a good job of keeping water out. You can heavily oil your length with coconut oil (you don't have to do the first few inches of hair if you don't want your hair to look greasy) the flip your head upside down, braid it tightly, wrap the braid around itself into a coil sitting on your head, and secure with spin pins.

I also wet my hair with tap water before I go in, so you could even dip your head into the sink or something once your hair is braided and bunned (this style, IMO, is easier to do on dry hair).

Try leaving your hair in a braided bun for two days in a row! I spent a week at my grandmother's house, and their chlorine pool made my hair super hard to comb/very dry, so the less you touch your hair, the better.

I know a lot of swimmers like to coat their hair in conditioner or oil and then secure it under a swim cap. I don't know about how to keep them on better though, I'm not a swimmer. :C

The best you can do against chlorine is, before getting into the pool, coat your hair with oil (any will do) or conditioner, put your hair under a swim cap, or if you can't manage that, a bun. It doesn't really matter if you wet your hair before swimming or not.

Afterwards, if you used oil you may need shampoo or conditioner to remove the excess. If you used conditioner you can just rinse it out. Then to completely remove chlorine without damage, rinse your hair with an antichlor. An easy place to get an antichlor rinse is from the fish section of the pet store. Dechlorinators for aquarium water contain antichlors. Dilute that in some water and rinse your hair with it. You can also get antichlors from dye companies, brewing supply stores, and photography stores. See here for more info. Antichlors are superior to acids for neutralizing chlorine.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by earthnut

The best you can do against chlorine is, before getting into the pool, coat your hair with oil (any will do) or conditioner, put your hair under a swim cap, or if you can't manage that, a bun. It doesn't really matter if you wet your hair before swimming or not.

Afterwards, if you used oil you may need shampoo or conditioner to remove the excess. If you used conditioner you can just rinse it out. Then to completely remove chlorine without damage, rinse your hair with an antichlor. An easy place to get an antichlor rinse is from the fish section of the pet store. Dechlorinators for aquarium water contain antichlors. Dilute that in some water and rinse your hair with it. You can also get antichlors from dye companies, brewing supply stores, and photography stores. See here for more info. Antichlors are superior to acids for neutralizing chlorine.

---

+1 on the antichlors. I use InstoChlor from Jungle Labs (Aquarium supplies). 1/4 tsp treats 20 gallons of tapwater so that is the amount I use in a 1 ltr plastic cup of water. I rinse my hair in the showr, slowly pour the treated water making sure I get it on all of my hair, rinse, then cleanse as usual.

I don't swin often, but when I go to the pool I put a lot of coconut oil on my hair, then wet it on tap water, that way when your hair goes to the chlorine wates, it is already soaked in tap water and won't absorb as much chlorine, and the oil helps keep the water out. Then I normally french/dutch braid it. I hope it helps!

I was watching the synchronized swimming and apparently they use knox gelatin in their hair to keep it in place and it's supposed to protect it too.

Wow! Thanks so much for all the replies! I never thought about oiling my hair.
The swimcap I tried didn't stay on, but I vaguely remember seeing one specifically for long hair, so I'll see if I can get one.
Again, thank you, everyone. I damage my hair every year from chlorine, so hopefully it'll be different this time!

-Smoogle

Hi !

On this page, the tester tried different way to protect hair from chlorine and checked the results with a microscope.

You should read it :)

http://scienceyhairblog.blogspot.fr/...-chlorine.html