swimming

[elvenelk]

Is it ok to swim everyday? This could cause damage no?

Usually my hair wont get wet everyday. with swimming this is going to change. Will it be better to choose another form of daily exercise?

[Becs]

I swam everyday for years and years. When I didn't take any precautions, yes it did cause damage. But once I actually started to care about my hair I took preventative measures which really helped. Before I would swim I would oil my hair with olive oil, then wet it with fresh tap water (this way the hair soaks up fresh water and can't soak up as much of the chlorinated water), and then I'd put a swim cap on. I used latex caps because silicone would always slide off my head. If you were to want to you could also wear two caps. I would do that at swim meets a lot and my hair generally wouldn't even get wet when I did that. However, it can be really uncomfortable if you wear two caps for a long time which is why i would never do it for practice. But overall I think employing these measures allowed me to swim while minimizing damage as much as possible. So if you want to swim, I'd say go for it. Swimming is awesome and your hair can be fine if you take proper precautions (yes there may be a tad of unavoidable damage but I can say from experience it isn't bad. I grew from a pixie to waist/hip while swimming 5 days a week)

[elvenelk]

This sounds like it could work. but Oiling everyday seems like I could over do it.. I tend to wash hair once a week!

Is there a particular double cap you could recommend?

Thanks Becs

[Becs]

You definitely don't have to oil if you don't want to. I just think it adds another layer through which it is more difficult for the chlorinated water to penetrate. However even if you don't oil I'd definitely recommend first getting your hair wet with fresh water. As far as what I would wear when I double capped, I would just wear 2 normal latex caps one on top of the other. I do want to note that when I was swimming, I did shampoo my hair every time I swam because even with precautions I felt like I probably got at least some chlorine in my hair, and I though it would be better to get it out rather than let it sit. But again, if that's not something you want to do you totally don't have to.

[elvenelk]

Thanks for the tip. Do you think the long hair cap is better or normal cap?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HVETJV4?psc=1#customerReviews

Do you think this one would be good?

[Becs]

I personally wouldn't use that one because it's silicone and I hate silicone caps. Like i said they just slide right off my head for some reason. But other people love them, so you could try it if you wanted. Also, those ear flap things are weird and I can't see that I'd like that. For what it's worth, I can get all my BCL hair into a normal latex swim cap pretty easily

[elvenelk]

I should have listened to you.. :roll eyes: I did two lengths and felt water in my ears. I got out of the pool and took the cap off and rinsed my hair in fresh water.. I even followed the instructions of not bunning before putting the cap on. I might wear two caps and wear this one as the second cap? What do you think?

[Eastbound&Down]

I swam on a team for 13 years and agree with Becs. Wetting hair prior to getting in the pool helps quite a bit. Instead of oil, put a light conditioner on as well. That's always what I did, it would wash out fairly easily with water and would block some or the chlorine :) I was pretty rough on my hair in high school and even with being in the water everyday for 1+ hours I never had a problem with my hair, and it was TBL easily.

[Anje]

Honestly, my hair (not as long or cared for then as now, though) didn't come through 3 seasons of high school swim team too badly. I often put the cap on dry, though it's probably better to wet your hair down with fresh water first. I don't even remember washing it consistently afterward, because I usually just wanted to rinse and get home. (Really, do you always want your only shower of the day, every day, for weeks to be one done in front of a bunch of people? As a teenager, I didn't!)

Dump some conditioner on it afterward, make sure you rinse out the pool water, and consider a chelating shampoo. Swim caps are your friends and are probably the single most important part. I don't have great recommendations for what cap, because I really kinda hated all the ones I got locally; latex ones were too tight and the silicone one I got wasn't much better plus slippery. Washing your face before putting on the cap helps keep it from sliding off and makes sure your skin gets extra-dry from swimming!

[arelrios]

Good thing I found this thread... I am planning on taking swimming lessons soon (as soon as they open my city pool) and was just wondering the other day what should I do to care for my hair properly during this time ;) ... all of the comments really help and will keep them in mind when the times comes ... Thanks everyone :)

[unknown]

When you put on conditioner before swimming, doesn't it just come off in the pool? This would be so much more convenient than oiling IMO but I just don't understand how it works

[Anje]

When you put on conditioner before swimming, doesn't it just come off in the pool? This would be so much more convenient than oiling IMO but I just don't understand how it works

Not if you wear a swim cap! Swim cap is really the most important part of protecting your hair from the chlorine, IMO. It also is useful to keep you from inhaling your hair when you turn your head to breathe.

[Remi]

I don't swim as much as some other members do here, but I have read their routines, and it's much the same as Becs has described.

[Arctic]

This is just a random swimming related thing:

Where I live, there are very strict rules about washing yourself, hair included before going to pool. No exceptions if you don't wear a cap, and even then it's recommended. (Also: long hair should be contained in a hairdo or under cap.) This is to keep the water as clean as possible and to minimize clorine usage, and I guess any particles floating in the pool (shed hairs, etc). The rules are not stating this explicitly, but implicitly this also would mean that any oiling or coating hair with conditioner before hopping into the pool is not allowed.

I like swimming and live right next to a swimming hall. However the whole process is just so difficult. I sort of need to have showered before I go there, as a common courtesy to other people. Then I need to wash myself, hair included, before swimming, and wash myself afterwards. I alwasy want to use a swimmer's shampoo after, and in general the smell of chlorine is really strong without washing it off with shampoos and soaps. It's just so much washing for one day it started to feel ridiculous. Add to that the complex routine I have for caring my skin (different lotions etc) after every shower, it's all just a huge, unenjoyable chore. A swimming cap would solve some of the problems, but I never got around to buy one. Also, I don't like the common shower and sauna spaces or the locker rooms with no privacy. The locker rooms of the swimming hall close to me have super little mirror and counter space at the women's locker rooms, it's often not possible to even have a peek how my face or hair looks like because there are other's using the mirror/countertop space (thank goodness I live so close by).

Then, and this has nothing to do with hair, I just developed a strong phobia/anxiety of getting a nail fungus or athlete's foot, and even with silicone swimming shoes I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Lol, so yeah, swimming would be great, my injuries would greatly benefit from it, but I haven't been to the swimming hall in a year and half, at least :( Maybe I should give it a new try, with a swimming cap.

[elvenelk]

This is just a random swimming related thing:

Where I live, there are very strict rules about washing yourself, hair included before going to pool. No exceptions if you don't wear a cap, and even then it's recommended. (Also: long hair should be contained in a hairdo or under cap.) This is to keep the water as clean as possible and to minimize clorine usage, and I guess any particles floating in the pool (shed hairs, etc). The rules are not stating this explicitly, but implicitly this also would mean that any oiling or coating hair with conditioner before hopping into the pool is not allowed.

I like swimming and live right next to a swimming hall. However the whole process is just so difficult. I sort of need to have showered before I go there, as a common courtesy to other people. Then I need to wash myself, hair included, before swimming, and wash myself afterwards. I alwasy want to use a swimmer's shampoo after, and in general the smell of chlorine is really strong without washing it off with shampoos and soaps. It's just so much washing for one day it started to feel ridiculous. Add to that the complex routine I have for caring my skin (different lotions etc) after every shower, it's all just a huge, unenjoyable chore. A swimming cap would solve some of the problems, but I never got around to buy one. Also, I don't like the common shower and sauna spaces or the locker rooms with no privacy. The locker rooms of the swimming hall close to me have super little mirror and counter space at the women's locker rooms, it's often not possible to even have a peek how my face or hair looks like because there are other's using the mirror/countertop space (thank goodness I live so close by).

Then, and this has nothing to do with hair, I just developed a strong phobia/anxiety of getting a nail fungus or athlete's foot, and even with silicone swimming shoes I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Lol, so yeah, swimming would be great, my injuries would greatly benefit from it, but I haven't been to the swimming hall in a year and half, at least :( Maybe I should give it a new try, with a swimming cap.
So true. Swimming is one of the best exercises but because of all the hassle included. it becomes time consuming chore.

Guys, if you wet your hair then wear caps as Becs mentioned, would you still need to shampoo? Im trying to limit shampooing to once a week.

[Becs]

Just to add, I have tried conditioning before putting my cap on instead of oiling, but that made my cap more prone to slipping off than oiling did, and I felt that if my cap was slipping off it was negating the purpose of wearing one in the first place. Also, I feel like a lot of pools have posted rules about not having stuff on your body/hair when entering the pool, but in my opinion if you don't make a fuss of it it's likeky no one will even notice :)

[gthlvrmx]

If you are going to be swimming every day, you can try using club soda. There is an article about it here on LHC.

[In2wishin]

I swim 3 times a week. I do an hour of laps in a saline pool, then move over to the chlorine warm pool for a water aerobics class. I wear a long hair cap (this one: http://smile.amazon.com/Waterproof-Silicone-Swimming-Silver-Pattern/dp/B00J3WYZB6/ref=sr_1_14?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1426969150&sr=1-14&keywords=Waterproof+Silicone+Swimming+Cap ) which does a good job of keeping the water out. I don't use oil or conditioner or anything under it, I just bun my hair in back and the extra pouchy thing in back covers it and holds it in. I have a large head in addition to my long hair so regular size caps just don't stay on.

[In2wishin]

If you are going to be swimming every day, you can try using club soda. There is an article about it here on LHC.

Or go to you local fish supply store and get some sodium thiosulfate. It is what is used to dechorinate water for aquariums. It comes in a powder (sometimes small crystals) and I mix a pinch in water and use it to rinse my hair before shampooing if I didn't wear my swimming cap. I also use it to rinse out my suit, even though it is a chlorine resistant suit.