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View Full Version : Swimmers stretching washes



Eireann
November 12th, 2018, 05:01 PM
I'm growing out both the length and color (hennindigo). I used to have tailbone length hair, but years of box dye made the ends very thin and scraggly. I switched to hennindigo, but found it difficult to use on long hair. I chopped to a short bob, which I loved for a while. Now I am eager to see what my hair would look like long and "virgin." I did my last hennindigo back in May. My hair is naturally dark brown with about 50% silver. It is very fine and wavy.

I would love to cut down on shampooing, but I swim at least 3 times a week in a chlorinated pool. I wear a swim cap, but it always leaks. Which is worse, leaving the chlorine in my hair and skipping shampoo or shampooing every day/every other day? If I oil my hair to protect it, then I definitely need to wash it. I can't quit swimming because it keeps me sane, and I'm more concerned with the inside of my head than the outside. :p Besides damage, I now also have to consider whether the pool water will discolor my silver hairs. Another complication is that I'm going cone-free and a lot of the pre-swim treatments are super coney. I have seen a swim spray that is just water and vitamin C, and wonder if I can just make something like that at home.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Ylva
November 12th, 2018, 05:32 PM
To me, leaving the chlorine in the hair seems far worse than shampooing every day let alone every other day. And since you're going to shampoo your hair, I guess it would be okay to use the coney pre-swim treatment as well, since it will be removed soon after, assuming you aren't using sulfate free shampoo?

chrissy-b
November 12th, 2018, 06:38 PM
I always wet my hair before I put it under the swim cap so it absorbs less of the chlorinated water but I still wash after. If you can, maybe try coordinating your wash days with your swim days. Re: the vitamin C spray -- I don't see why you can't make your own with water and ascorbic acid crystals. I know some people have made Vit C serum for their skin like that but I don't know how well it keeps. Maybe someone with more knowledge will chime in.

MusicalSpoons
November 13th, 2018, 03:53 AM
Oh, vitamin C is a good idea! If you were able to, you could even try mixing up a vitamin C/water solution and soaking your hair in that. Maybe saturate the hair with plain water before, and rinse off with the dilute vitamin C mix after? Just a thought.

Science-y Hair Blog is an excellent resource for this kind of thing. She has a post about this very subject! http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/your-hair-on-chlorine.html
It seems conditioner is a very effective barrier for chlorinated water, and it could very well be possible to simply rinse it out thoroughly rather than needing to shampoo.
She also has a recipe in the post for a rinse to prevent discolouration, again no shampooing necessary.

Lizabeth94
November 13th, 2018, 10:40 PM
Swim instructor here! I spend 4 hours a day in the pool with no swim cap (it looks strange to kids so its generally discouraged while teaching, plus they hurt my head too much to wear). If you wet your hair first, and wear a swim cap, I wouldn't worry too much about the chlorine. To reduce your swim cap leaking, it might help to buy one of the kind that come down far enough to completely cover your ears (unless you have one like that already). I know a several swim instructors who never wear swim caps, use chlorine removal shampoo, or even wet their hair before they get in the pool, and they still have long and healthy looking hair. (They just have to treat it to deep conditioning treatments once in a blue moon.) In short, don't stress too much, and if you find that only rinsing your hair with water after swims with a swim cap isn't good enough, worse case is you add back in the chlorine removal shampoo. :magic:

Carolyn
November 14th, 2018, 05:58 AM
My advice would be wet your hair down before getting in the pool and wear a swim cap. And wash ( S & C) or CO wash after swimming each time. Use a chlorine removal shampoo occasionally if you think you need it.