Longhairs who Swim! How???

[Kae612]

So today I went swimming for the first time in about a year. (Hair is now about an inch above hip) And my swim cap popped off immediately! It will still go over my hair, but when I did a lap it came right off. So my dry hair was completely saturated in chlorine-y water. Even though I'd french braided it first, small pieces came out and covered my face, which made breathing harder. I had to ponytail it in the water to fix that. I had oil in my hair beforehand and I clarified when I got home, but I'm already seeing some splits from probably both the chemical and mechanical damage.

So, if you wear swim caps, do you have one specifically made for long hair? Is it better? Which kind do you use? Do you get your hair wet before putting it on - and if so, how do you keep it on? Do you bun your hair before putting it on? If you do, how do you make sure your pins don't puncture the cap?

If you don't wear swim caps, how do you style your hair for swimming & protect it from the water? How often do you swim?

Thanks!

[Hairkay]

I keep my hair plaited/braided and tucked up under my silicone long hair swim cap. The long hair caps have more room, they have a pointed dome look, an extra bit where hair can go. Yes I will wet my hair before I put the cap on.

[Kae612]

I keep my hair plaited/braided and tucked up under my silicone long hair swim cap. The long hair caps have more room, they have a pointed dome look, an extra bit where hair can go. Yes I will wet my hair before I put the cap on.

Oh that's good! It still goes on over wet hair? I thought the cap might just slip off if the hair is already wet.

[Larki]

I don't currently swim, but I used to swim six days a week. I would wet my hair first, then slather it in coconut oil and do a tucked french braid, then use two caps - the first was nylon, the fabric one, and then a silicone one over the top. I'm not sure if the silicone one was made specifically for long hair. Had no issues this way.

[Kae612]

I don't currently swim, but I used to swim six days a week. I would wet my hair first, then slather it in coconut oil and do a tucked french braid, then use two caps - the first was nylon, the fabric one, and then a silicone one over the top. I'm not sure if the silicone one was made specifically for long hair. Had no issues this way.

Thank you! The nylon cap sounds like a good idea to give the silicone one grip over wet hair.

I can't actually do a tucked french braid (my hair tangles too easily even once it's been brushed through and given cones and extra oil, so I don't find that "pocket" under my braid and usually end up tangled half way up....). What I have done though is wind the braid back through some easier-to-lift strands into this weird ball (not pretty to look at, but effective). :P

[Chiquita Banana]

I use a cap for long hair that I bought off of Amazon. I go to the gym with my hair on top of my head in a lazy wrap bun. I take the hair stick out and pop the cap over the bun. A little bit of the hair on the nape of my neck is wet by the time I've finished swimming, but it's not too bad.

[Kae612]

I use a cap for long hair that I bought off of Amazon. I go to the gym with my hair on top of my head in a lazy wrap bun. I take the hair stick out and pop the cap over the bun. A little bit of the hair on the nape of my neck is wet by the time I've finished swimming, but it's not too bad.

Awesome! Do you happen to know the brand?

[Dark40]

I have story to tell but to make it short I had a cousin that used to have either Tailbone Length or Classic Length hair, and when she swimmed she would wear her hair loose all of the time my mom told me when they were both on the swim team when they were kids in high school, and my mom told me that every time she saw her hair under water or wet from getting out of the pool it was gorgeous!

[TheForestFae]

What I do to my hair whenever I go to the pool or beach is using some oil or serum onto my hair, if you go to the beach remember to double the amount of it. Then I will put my hair to a braid and then put the braid into a bun and secure it with my hair tie. The oil/serum should help to protect your hair

[-Fern]

I just throw caution to the wind and enjoy my swim, then shower off after. :o

[Hairkay]

Oh that's good! It still goes on over wet hair? I thought the cap might just slip off if the hair is already wet.

It works for me because I have tight curls, there is a little slipperiness so I put on the cap carefully. Once it's on properly it stays. I can't swim without my hair secured because it tries to waterboard me and I do not want to drown because of hair.

[Joules]

I just go and swim. Oils make my hair slippery and my cap doesn't stay on oiled hair. Whenever I go to the pool I always bring a large bottle of conditioner with me and co-wash my hair right after I get out of the chlorinated water.

But I visit the pool once in a blue moon, so I'm not the best example :D

When I go to the beach I heavily oil my hair and pur it in two Dutch braids.

[Kae612]

It works for me because I have tight curls, there is a little slipperiness so I put on the cap carefully. Once it's on properly it stays. I can't swim without my hair secured because it tries to waterboard me and I do not want to drown because of hair.

Yes that potential death-by-hair was kinda my experience yesterday.

[hennalove]

If you don't wear swim caps, how do you style your hair for swimming & protect it from the water? How often do you swim?

Thanks!

We have a pool at home so summers are spent poolside. I usually bun my hair but when swimming wear it in a caterpillar or English braid. If I get my hair wet, I wash the chlorine out. The pools at our vacation home aren't chlorine so that isn't as much of a worry. At home the beaches are fresh water, and south they are salt water so for both I usually bun then wash well after swimming. Sometimes I just wear it down for all though, especially impromptu swims. Mechanical damage is worse for the natural bodies of water but it does feel good with the water running though my hair. If I had it down for swimming, I wet bun it until I can wash it properly.

[Beeboo123]

My head isn’t big, so I just wet, oil, crown braid and wear a silicone cap over it. It fits, I don’t need a special cap for long hairs or anything like that.

If I’m lazy, I just swim with my hair down. Once in a while isn’t going to hurt it

[FaerieKitty]

Interesting read this. I have nearly MBL, do weekly water confidence lessons in the water with my husband and two young children. I bun or crown braid and just hope it doesn't get wet (it does, but usually only every 3-4 weeks so not too often and then I wash asap). I have been thinking of a swim cap, because I can't always wash it right away because i go to work right afterwards every other week for a 12 hour shift. so wet hair from a cap isn't ideal either!

[Hexen]

Not counting motorcycles, ragtops, and my job, the only conventional activity that I can think of at this time that might prompt me to place my hair in some way other than loose,...would be eating. I do not like hair interference when I am trying to shovel food into my mouth. Swimming though.....I think hair somehow likes the flowing action without the rattling of ends the way that winds can so often create. The only other option would be an environment devoid of gravity. (astronauts train underwater btw) We all started out in "water". And even though there was no long hair at that point, like almost anything that grows, a natural and non destructive positional disturbance will only help to strengthen its place. OVER exposure though to things deemed healthy can even be harmful in ways. Salinity in regards to water...(which is not as destructive as typically thought) and water itself, is no different. Im not specifically looking for speed with a swimming cap to create faux baldness like a olympian, or a seal chasing its dinner, nor will I "do" my hair just to take a dip. Tis loose all the way. :)

[zanelle]

I go to pools extremely rarely, I hate the chlorinated water.
But in the summer we go somewhere by the sea and swim and dive daily.
I just keep my hair in a normal English braid.

[Joules]

Not counting motorcycles, ragtops, and my job, the only conventional activity that I can think of at this time that might prompt me to place my hair in some way other than loose,...would be eating. I do not like hair interference when I am trying to shovel food into my mouth. Swimming though.....I think hair somehow likes the flowing action without the rattling of ends the way that winds can so often create. The only other option would be an environment devoid of gravity. (astronauts train underwater btw) We all started out in "water". And even though there was no long hair at that point, like almost anything that grows, a natural and non destructive positional disturbance will only help to strengthen its place. OVER exposure though to things deemed healthy can even be harmful in ways. Salinity in regards to water...(which is not as destructive as typically thought) and water itself, is no different. Im not specifically looking for speed with a swimming cap to create faux baldness like a olympian, or a seal chasing its dinner, nor will I "do" my hair just to take a dip. Tis loose all the way. :)

I don't think "sea-damage" that people often refer to when speaking about hair is caused by saltiness and positional disturbance. It's more about damaging sun exposure. When you go to the beach without sunscreen, you're gonna get more severe burns if you step into the water rather than if you just lie on the beach, because the water acts like a magnifying glass in a way. It'd just fry your hair, similarly to heat styling tools. I've experienced extreme sun damage on my hair before, it's no fun at all. I like an occasional swim with my hair loose, makes me feel like a mermaid :heart: but I don't do it all the time, and if I do, still, I oil my hair quite heavily.

[Hexen]

Im pretty sure that I said salinity is NOT the cause of destruction with moderate exposure. But I said it in my own way. And im sorry...for someone that hails from a region where temps rise commonly above 100...I know what hot and dry hair can feel like. I lived in the 80's....and I used hair frying tools. No body of water has ever come close to effin up my hair like those defunct implements did back then. :D

[gustavonut]

Coconut oil beforehand, a swim cap if I feel like it, clarifying shampoo, and plenty of conditioner or a deep conditioner if possible.

[Chiquita Banana]

Awesome! Do you happen to know the brand?

It was by Go Wave. "Extra Large Swim Cap for Long Hair". I looked at the old link and it says that it's currently unavailable. It's never popped off of my head and fits well.

[Hairizona]

I read this thread with interest because in 2011 and 2012 I swam laps in a chlorinated pool observing all the precautions listed here and then some for my classic length hennaed hair and still had damage for years afterward. I ended up cutting 6 inches off in 2015 and still did trims of 1-2 inches each in 2016 and the first part of 2017. Now I have not trimmed in just about 1 year, but my ends from classic down are not what I would like to see. I think maybe henna and chlorinated water do not mix, and I was oh-so-very-careful...