I love swimming, but my hair doesn't!

[RileyAnn]

Hi, i have hip-length, pin-straight, brown hair, and really enjoy swimming in our above ground, chlorinated pool. But no matter what I do, my hair is a rats nest when I get out of the water! I've tried everything! French braids, regular braids, buns, ponytails... nothing works! I tried using AquaGuard pre-swim hair defense (I'll put a link to it) and that didn't help at all! I'm not cutting it or giving up swimming. What can I do?

Link to AquaGuard
https://www.amazon.com/AquaGuard-Pre-Swim-Hair-Defense-pack/dp/B01BMYYHAG/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1501596343&sr=8-1&keywords=aquaguard%2Bpre%2Bswim%2Bhair%2Bdefense&th=1

[lapushka]

Hi, i have hip-length, pin-straight, brown hair, and really enjoy swimming in our above ground, chlorinated pool. But no matter what I do, my hair is a rats nest when I get out of the water! I've tried everything! French braids, regular braids, buns, ponytails... nothing works! I tried using AquaGuard pre-swim hair defense (I'll put a link to it) and that didn't help at all! I'm not cutting it or giving up swimming. What can I do?

Link to AquaGuard
https://www.amazon.com/AquaGuard-Pre-Swim-Hair-Defense-pack/dp/B01BMYYHAG/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1501596343&sr=8-1&keywords=aquaguard%2Bpre%2Bswim%2Bhair%2Bdefense&th=1

It's not pin-straight if it's 2a. It's pin-straight when it's 1a. :flower:

If it's in a braid, normally, it can't possibly be hard to detangle after swimming, especially if you bun it up after braiding. It will stay in the "form" you give it, along with the strands, so it should be easier for you.

[Madora]

Have you tried a lace braid around your head? I am at a loss to understand why your hair would be a rats nest when you get out of the water unless 1) you're not wearing a swimming cap or 2) what you're putting on your hair is contributing to the problem. Did you thoroughly rinse out your AquaGuard with fresh water after leaving the water? Dr. George Michael, the "Czar of Long Hair" recommends working undiluted cream rinse into your hair before you enter the water, then rinsing it out with water when you're through swimming. I hope you find an answer to your query.

[spidermom]

I found a generous application of coney serum (CHI silk infusion is what I used), followed by a snug dutch braid was best for swimming. I've been in and out of pools and the ocean with this all day, and it was fine when I took my hair down and washed it in the evening, using conditioner a bit more generously than I usually do and combing the conditioner through before rinsing.

[Larki]

I swam competitively six days a week for 14 years. Always, always wear a swim cap. The silicone ones are my favorites. From there is varies, you could heavily oil on your hair before swimming, you could coat it in a coney serum or deep conditioner, or you could just soak your hair in normal water before getting in the pool, but the last one wouldn't help with tangles. If you french braided your hair, coated it in some sort of slippy serum or conditioner and kept it in a cap, I don't see how it could tangle at all.

[Aredhel]

Yeah I feel like a swim cap may be a key item that you are missing here.:)

[Dendra]

Whenever swimming I absolutely saturate my hair in coconut oil, bun it, then cover it with a swim cap. Afterwards I condition the ends, then shampoo, then condition and use a leave in. This should sort you out!

[Anje]

A bunned braid might work well, but nothing is going to substitute for a swim cap. The lycra ones won't protect from chlorine (though I'm not convinced latex and silicone ones do a great job at that either), but they're easy to get on, on your own. Even after 3 years of swim team, I couldn't manage to get a silicone one stretched over my hair without help. (For me, the caps were always super snug, so I imagine I would have had no luck if I put conditioner on my hair. They would have popped off at the first opportunity!)

[Babyfine]

Forgive me if someone already mentioned this but I've read that you should always wet/soak your hair first thoroughly first before getting in the water and run a conditioner through it. Then put it in a braid. I use Mane and Tail original(although I don't swim that much)Then I CO after that. That seems to avoid tangles.
If you wet your hair thoroughly first it won't absorb as much of the damaging chlorine. Maybe you do this already. I see the directions for the swim guard are to dampen the hair, first.

[Corvana]

I'm also wondering about your care after you've been swimming? If you're not conditioning it well afterwards, it's possible that swimming all the time is just sort of causing compound damage. I don't swim often enough to feel that I need to really protect my hair before getting in the water, but I always deep condition it after, even if it's not a typical wash day.

[AZDesertRose]

A swim cap is probably a good idea if you can find one that fits, but it's not always workable for everyone.

I can't find a swim cap that fits me, because my skull is seriously huge, and then add waist+ thick hair to the equation, and every swim cap I've ever tried to wear refuses to stay on my head! So when I used to swim laps, I'd just swim with my neck at a semi-odd angle so that I didn't get my hair wet at all, or at least, only the little wispies at the back of my hairline (because my hairline in the back goes down my neck almost to my shoulders, another reason for me to wear my hair long! :lol: ) would get somewhat damp.

[Candyapple]

I'm on the same boat as you! I recently went swimming for about two weeks straight. My hair feels incredibly dry and snaps/breaks easily. I've been oiling my hair lately, but I think the damage has been done. :(

[RileyAnn]

I use Dove daily moisture shampoo and conditioner every other day. After I swim, I wash my hair with UltraSwim Ultra Repair shampoo and conditioner. My hair is SUPER thick and holds all the water it soaks up. After showers, I squeeze it out in the shower, get dressed, than have to squeeze it out again. I got my ends trimmed at GreatClips last month and the shampoo girl said to always get it wet with cold water before going in the pool, but i had read that was a myth.

Babyfine, I had to laugh when you said you used Mane & Tail, I use that on my horse!

I might try a swim cap. Thanks guys!

[Chromis]

I'm going join in on the swimcap brigade! They make such a big difference for me! There are longhair swim caps with a bit of extra room for hair too, which is what I use. Mine is by Speedo and is silver, so I look like an alien wearing it, especially with my silver googles.

[Hairkay]

I'm going join in on the swimcap brigade! They make such a big difference for me! There are longhair swim caps with a bit of extra room for hair too, which is what I use. Mine is by Speedo and is silver, so I look like an alien wearing it, especially with my silver googles.

I have one of those but I use it with blue googles.

[homefrontgirl]

I swim a lot in the summer and find I have to rinse and condition well after I get out of the pool. I wear my hair in a bun to swim.