Why do they do that?

[Katze]

Whenever I go swimming, I am confronted with the sight of many women shampooing their hair.

Everyone - old and young, pixie cut or BSL length hair (I am slowly becoming the longest haired person there) shampoos her hair aggressively after swimming, piling the hair on top of the head when possible and really scrubbing the hair and scalp in a circular motion. Everything we at LHC know to be bad!

Very often these women don't use any conditioner, and many "lather, rinse, repeat."

Compared to the products I use, which hardly foam at all, theirs really lather up, just like in shampoo commercials (BF, who's a chemist tells me that foam/suds do NOTHING to clean, but give us the feeling or appearance of cleanliness). I shampoo my scalp only, letting the shampoo go down my length, and condition before and after shampooing.

Also, every other woman I see swimming is swimming without a bathing cap, except for some of the older ladies who wear cloth caps. I swim in a silicone bathing cap which is great - the one time I forgot it my hair was horrendously tangled. OK, so bathing caps are supposed to be ugly, but I wonder about women with longer hair...don't they get tangles? Doesn't their hair float all over the place while swimming?

The most common method is to do only the breasstroke, with your head out of water. Recently I saw two women about my age swimming like this and chatting side by side, as the older ladies often do, and later on in the shower complaining that their hair did indeed get wet! Duh...

As a hair obsessive, I really want to say something, especially about the shampoo scrubbing, but of course am too polite to do so.

Still, I wonder - why do they do that?!? Do most people shampoo their hair like the women at our swimming pool? I guess I used to, but it's been so long...

[lynnala]

Yes, I remember somewhere in the distant past that I used to do that too, I didn't know any better. And I could never figure out why my hair was always so frizzy and awful....

[FallenAngel]

I used to swim with my hair in the water before. sometimes I ponytailed it, but I really didn't care about my hair at all. It was "just there". I probably did just what the women you describe do when schampooing as well. I have no idea, because I just didn't think about my hair at all.

When going to the beach, it was also "just there". Diving, swimming... I never took care of it at all. No wonders it was damaged and always had to be cut off every year becuse of that.

I won't do this any more, though! :D

[Kuchen]

"Shampoo" used to mean a vigorous head massage rather than the cleaning stuff you use to do it. Perhaps that's it? The only way to get something "clean" is to scrub?

[Calanthe]

Because they don't know better, would be my guess. Oh, and because they've been told their entire life: if it doesn't foam, it's not clean :D. Most people I talk to, think exactly that.

But I wonder why they swim without a bathing cap - from the swimming clubs I remember you weren't allowed to swim without a cab, because swimming around in other people's hair isn't so great.

[Periwinkle]

I normally only shampoo my scalp and then rinse, but when I go swimming, I do shampoo the whole length as I cannot find anything else to get the smell of chlorine out of my hair. My hair doesn't like being washed more than every couple of days, which means that once it's got wet from swimming, I'd have to walk round stinking like a swimming pool for a couple of days - not good! I don't pile my hair on top of my head, but I've never been one to do that.

I don't wear a swim cap because most of the time, swimming for me is a social occasion and I would probably be the only person in the pool in one. I braid my hair and leave it; it never seems to get that tangled, and when I have worn one, it hasn't helped with keeping my hair drier and I found it horrendously uncomfortable. Braids work fine for me.

I normally condition, but sometimes I can't be bothered to take extra product with me (or to faff about in a pathetic swimming pool shower), so sometimes I'll shampoo to get the worst of the chlorine out and then condition at home (which also means I can leave it on longer).

I know that there are other things I could do to protect my hair, like conditioning/oiling it before I go or soaking it in clean water first, but to be honest, I can't be bothered. I love swimming but due to the lack of facilities around here, I rarely go, so I can't imagine I'm doing that much damage to my hair.

[Samikha]

They don't know any better. They probably don't spend too much time thinking about it either. And also, take into account - chlorine is dreadful on the hair, and most everyone knows that, so they are probably doing their level best to get the damn stuff out. The shampooing there is probably less agressive than what they normally do.

Most people don't think too much about their hair, and don't really worry about how healthy it is. They don't feel any need to take extra good care of it. It gets cut off regularly, after all. It's just hair.

As for the bathing caps, I hate those >.< They are ugly and uncomfortable and leave marks across my forehead. I wore them for years because of an ear condition that meant I couldn't get any water into my ear or I'd get an infection, and I must say I understand not wearing them. If I found a comfortable one someday, maybe...looks seems to be more important than hair, even when going swimming.

[shwankie]

I agree, I often just want to say "Stop!!" lol Like you, though, I am too polite to do so. I think most women just have no idea how to properly shampoo their hair. They're taught, by hairdressers, the media, and others that the pile & scrub thing is the way to go. It's terrifying to see what some of the ladies do to their daughter's hair!

That said, when I swim in a pool, I *have* to shampoo my whole length. I do so gently, but as a blond chlorine will leave a greenish stain in my hair if I don't get it out. Scalp washing only just won't do the trick. I also don't wear swim caps. Even when I was swimming competitively, I only wore them during meets. They actually tangle my hair much worse than just putting it in braids, and don't really keep it dry. And, they give me horrendous headaches (I also can't wear headbands, etc.). Most pools I've been to no longer have the swim cap rule because the filters are so much better these days than they were even 5-10 years ago. Swim clubs/teams usually do it as a speed measure, and to keep hair out of the face.

[Girltron]

If it's chlorinated water, a lot of those women have dye or at least highlights and they've been warned about chlorine affecting their color and causing buildup. Plus they probably hate the smell it makes. So they figure a really aggressive shampoo is the way to go.

So many people have short hair and are raised by short haired women, that the art of caring for the hair is dying out a bit. I don't think a short hairstyle requires much care, because the hairs aren't very old so people can get away with all that.

Lots of them will go use straightening irons or curling irons and blow dryers afterward, too. It's our inheritance from the 1920's fashions, I think. Beautiful as they were, those women did a number on their hair and they've passed on the ideas to their children and grandchildren, etc.

I think lots of people think short hair=strong woman, too. So they don't WANT the long hair that might come with the knowledge you have.

[bjt]

That said, when I swim in a pool, I *have* to shampoo my whole length. I do so gently, but as a blond chlorine will leave a greenish stain in my hair if I don't get it out. Scalp washing only just won't do the trick. I also don't wear swim caps. Even when I was swimming competitively, I only wore them during meets. They actually tangle my hair much worse than just putting it in braids, and don't really keep it dry.

This was my experience... when I was swimming competitively the chlorine would start to bleach my hair if I didn't wash it out. I even got the greenish stains sometimes, and I have dark hair! I would sometimes wear caps for speed, but they don't keep your hair dry and they rip your hair out.
I still wash my hair after I swim--I don't want my hair bleached and I can't stand the smell of chlorine for the rest of the day if I don't wash it.

[Peggy E.]

Are you swimming in a pool, as I'm suspecting? If this is the case, the women are washing the chlorine out of their hair because it's what they've had bull-dozed into their heads since the beginning of chlorinated pools!

Even if it is not a chlorinated pool, people tend to think of group swimming facilities as possible purveyors of nasties and you shower before you go in, shower and wash your hair following your swim. In high school we had swimming class every day for four years and this was what we HAD to do!

AND we wore swim caps - heavy rubber suckers that weren't there so much to protect our hair, as to protect the pool filter from our hair. We all had long hair back then. In fact, our biggest complaint was that the boys classes - they all had long hair, too - didn't have to wear swim caps (didn't wear suits, either, so swim caps on nude teenage boys would have been a sight many would have found most entertaining....)

Even knowing that all those bubbles do absolutely nothing for us - not in our hair, our laundry, our dishwater - there's still something so luxurious about a head-full of rich lather.... This from one who has been doing CO for so long I no longer recall when I began!

[Igor]

As someone with a very sensitive scalp I would say that even though the aggressive scrubbing and repeating shampooing is indeed damaging, it can’t outweigh the discomfort of not having the chlorine out of your hair
But it seems like the “pile up on top of your head and scrub around” approach is the most normal among everyone else :shrug:

[pariate]

They just don't realise what they're doing, and they certainly don't realise that there's an alternative. It applies to so many things in life. :) I guess you could always put up a notice about LHC on the community board at the centre?! LOL.

[rags]

As one who was raised by a short haired mother and never taught how to care for her hair, I'm guessing that's what's going on with these people also. (Though I have never piled it on top of my head - fine hair tangles way too much that way). One of the few things my mother did teach me about hair care was the chlorine is bad. Get it out immediately! I'm guessing they just don't know any better and have been taught the same way I was - it seems to be very common.

[suicides_eve]

guilty as charged. i use to be good for doing that but i also didn't know squat about my hair either at the time. I cringe when i see others doing like above mentioned any more

[iris]

Also, every other woman I see swimming is swimming without a bathing cap, except for some of the older ladies who wear cloth caps. I swim in a silicone bathing cap which is great - the one time I forgot it my hair was horrendously tangled. OK, so bathing caps are supposed to be ugly, but I wonder about women with longer hair...don't they get tangles? Doesn't their hair float all over the place while swimming?
In the sea/ocean, I swim with my hair loose - yes it does float all over place, that's why it's fun!

I don't get tangles doing that. My hair is not that long, and it just doesn't really tangle up that easily even when it is a bit longer. :shrug:

I do tie my hair back when swimming in a pool, just because it's really icky for other people to find themselves with one of my hairs wrapped around their wrists or something. But outdoors I always swim with it loose. I just love how it feels. Ultimate freedom.

[HotRag]

Some has told me that they think it is VERY unhygienic to not schampoo wash every one to two day.

When I tell about my haircare, often people think I am a bit disgusting - washing just once a week, putting oil in my hair (must get hair very-very greasy), use eggs and "god knows what" in my hair.

Some says that they must SLS their hair every day because it is soo greasy and because they have dandruffs and eksem.

When I joined this forum it was the first time ever that I "met" other that puts oil in their hair, takes time to S&D and so on.
S&D by the way, also seams to be a really strange thing to do, according to most (all I have met IRL) people.

[Carolyn]

It makes me cringe too but it's something that's best ignored. I doubt if a stranger would take kindly to unsolicited hair care advice.

When I got to Aqua Aerobics (known as AA in my blog) I wear my hair in some kind of a high bun with a metal hair toy. It gets wet at the nape but that's all. After swimming I rinse the nape area with water and then wash the whole thing when I get home. When swimming in the ocean I braid it. I find that's best due to the wind and the action of the waves. I always wash the entire length when done for the day.

Last summer I spend a delightful hour swimming all by myself in a motel pool way up high in the mountains of Tennessee. I started out with my hair up in my usual high bun with metal hair sticks. I was having so much fun enjoying the water and the solitude, I threw caution to the wind and took out the sticks and swam with my hair loose. It was so much fun! My hair swirled and floated in the water. I was a mermaid! It didn't get all that tangled. If it had I would have dealt with it. The experience was THAT good :D

[teela1978]

There is nothing I love more than the feeling of my hair floating around me in water. Yes it tangles a bit, but it's not much worse than my usual detangling. I ALWAYS shampoo after swimming in a pool or the ocean. The chlorine can bleach your hair pretty fast, and even with a cap (my hair always gets wet even with a cap) the chlorine seems to tangle the heck out of it, so getting it out is rather important to me. Plus I'm not a huge fan of the smell :)

I really only notice short-hairs lathering up excessively, but I do usually work a little more shampoo than usual into my hair when shampooing after a swim, and actually work it into my length a bit.

[spidermom]

Well, why not? To each her own. As long as somebody doesn't try to lather me up like that, I'm happy.

P.S. - the swimming cap I used to have filled up with water because I like swimming on my back. I'm much more comfortable braiding with no swimming cap.

[Copasetic]

That's pretty much how everyone I know takes care of their hair. I was talking to a friend a little while ago, and she was like "I use way more shampoo than conditioner." I didn't even know that was possible.

[Katze]

yeah, it is normal, but just so shocking to see. especially the scrub and rub with tons of foam!

Just to clarify, I do shampoo my hair after swimming. Sometimes even twice. :) Last time it was twice with a shampoo bar, conditioner before and after, so no foam at all. Having had green pool hair as a kid, I am super paranoid about what chlorine may be doing to my hair, so I can't justify swimming more than once a week (because I only wash every 5-7 days). I guess these women would be horrified if they heard what I did!

I also do get the chlorine smell, but on my *skin*, and it usually disappears after a day. This is after washing with soap, and oiling my whole body. Kind of icky!

The silicone bathing cap is really nice. I have a massive head, but it stays on, doesn't hurt or pinch, and, while minimal water leaks in when I swim on my back, it still keeps my hair contained.

Braids got tangled for me, and I feel "safer" with my hair out of the way. That said, I also like to swim socially in the summer, and wonder what I will do when my hair gets really long. French braid and slather with oil or conditioner? The braid always seems to work its way down and create massive, wet tangles at the end, even if I braid under my swim cap...

[Niphredil]

I do like the ladies mentioned, but without the excessive rubbing and piling. My hair hates swim caps and chlorine. The caps I have tried gave me terrible tangles so when I do swim in a chlorinated pool, I usually just put my hair up with a hairfriendly elastic and/or some plastic pins or claws. This keeps it confined and the ends tucked in. No loose hairs that might be experienced by others as unhygienic, and no tangles (a wet braid tangles a lot in my case). Then afterwards I shampoo the chlorine out including the length, sometimes even lathering twice (depending on how it feels and smells after the first rinse). Then I put in some conditioner, wash my body fairly quick (just to remove more chlorine from my skin) and rinse all off, detangling while rinsing. That usually does the trick for me. But then again, I'm not a regular swimmer.

Those that do lather frequently and pile the hair up probably just don't know any other way. It is the way they learned from their mothers and what they witness on tv, magazines and other people at public showers.

[Auryn]

I had naturally light blonde hair as a child, and colored it blonde up until this past year and swam in chlorinated pools regularly. I've never had my hair turn green, even if I waited a few hours until I shampooed my hair.

As for them scrubbing their hair, many people just don't know any better.

[Speckla]

People continue to do things how they're taught as children until they realize there's a better way. I used to shampoo, blow dry, and brush my hair. I always thought I had horrible frizzy hair and my childhood ringlets were a thing of the past.
________
ISIS (http://www.toyota-wiki.com/wiki/Toyota_Isis)

[Pegasus Marsters]

With the way chlorine gets into my hair I scrub like that too. I've had to shampoo 6 times to get the stink of chlorine out before now.

[jojo]

I used to do that eeek! I know what you mean though, ive thought that myself. It makes me cringe now. I put mine in a high bun and it hardly gets wet, unless some numpty desides to jump and splash right in my path urgh! now why do they do that too??

[Darkhorse1]

I did that, but I don't pile my hair on my head to wash. I always just washed my scalp and let the suds clean the ends. Chlorine make/mad my hair very, very gummy and I hated the fact it also itched like mad. So, shampooing after swimming in water--whether chlorinated or fresh, my hair gets greasy and gross.

[vampodrama]

I don't go swimming (I don't even know how to swim + water freaks me out, lol) so I have no chlorine related stories, but I frequent a gym a lot and the way some ladies take care of their hair there is really shiver-inducing...

they wash it like described above - pile it on top of their head, shampooing vigorously. no chlorine present, mind you, just gym sweat! then they rub it with a towel, very vigorously, to dry it. once they have created a nice tangled knotty mess on their head, they will take a fine-toothed comb or a brush and proceed to rip through this mess with force. followed by a nice long blowdrying, of course.

it's painful to watch. really painful. my sister had BSL hair and she did exactly the same things, and I can't even remember how many combs she would snap in half while ripping through her wet tangled mass of hair.... naturally her hair crumbled and broke into nothingness over the time so she cut it short.

and these are the people who go all "ewww gross!!" when they hear some people (meaning us here) don't shampoo the length of our hair every single day!

[Gothic Lolita]

Until two years ago I was a competitive athlete in swimming. I shampooed after training, but I never scrubbed my head like my teammates did, although I didn't know LHC back then.

Most people seem to assiociate cleanliness with loads of foam and repeated shampooing. If they only knew that not only the chlorine they try to get so aggressivly out of their hair is damaging, but also their shampooing attempts, they'd be a lot more careful.

[jojo]

I agree, I often just want to say "Stop!!" lol Like you, though, I am too polite to do so. I think most women just have no idea how to properly shampoo their hair. They're taught, by hairdressers, the media, and others that the pile & scrub thing is the way to go. It's terrifying to see what some of the ladies do to their daughter's hair!

That said, when I swim in a pool, I *have* to shampoo my whole length. I do so gently, but as a blond chlorine will leave a greenish stain in my hair if I don't get it out. Scalp washing only just won't do the trick. I also don't wear swim caps. Even when I was swimming competitively, I only wore them during meets. They actually tangle my hair much worse than just putting it in braids, and don't really keep it dry. And, they give me horrendous headaches (I also can't wear headbands, etc.). Most pools I've been to no longer have the swim cap rule because the filters are so much better these days than they were even 5-10 years ago. Swim clubs/teams usually do it as a speed measure, and to keep hair out of the face.
My eldest daughter has naturally light blond hair and gets the green hair too. To get rid of the green use ketchup seriously it rids of all the green!

[Gothic Lolita]

Aspirin dissolved in water and a rinse with that is also supposed to let the greenish hue vanish!

[Lisa Marie]

When I used to swim, I would coat my hair with conditioner before I put my bathing cap on, to protect it from the chlorine. Then wash normally when I got out. This is what we were taught to do to protect our hair. It seemed to work great and repel the chlorine.

[HairColoredHair]

... I'd always lightly rinse my hair and then pat it dry...

I loved the smell of chlorine in my hair.


Only turned it green once too. :)

[dearladydisdain]

I was always told that you need to wash your hair right after to get rid of the chlorine. I rarely go swimming these days but if I do I braid my hair and W&C right afterwards...

[sandigirl]

I swim and hot tub a lot. I put my hair in a ponytail, braid that, and then wrap the braid up/around my head securing it with a barrette. The SECOND I get out I rinse very thoroughly, shampoo, condition, comb/brush out in the sun, and usually let it air dry. My hair is like silk and I never use ANYTHING else. Not even the shampoo for hair that's been in chlorine.

[Isblå]

Aspirin dissolved in water and a rinse with that is also supposed to let the greenish hue vanish!
If both aspirin and ketchup removes green stain; can it be the acid that is the important point here? Maybe ACV rince would work just as well? I imagine that would be less hassle than ketchup...

[wendyg]

I've never been in a swimming pool where most or all of the women weren't wearing bathing caps; the bare-headed thing must be new (I haven't been swimming for a couple of decades). I never liked the drag from my hair or having it get in the way, so I always wore one. Also I thought pools didn't like having hair clog their filters.

wg

[Kirin]

And yet..... some of these aggressive shampooers and non protectors in pools have some of the loveliest hair I've ever seen. Why? No idea.

[iris]

If both aspirin and ketchup removes green stain; can it be the acid that is the important point here? Maybe ACV rince would work just as well? I imagine that would be less hassle than ketchup...
In ketchup it's the citric acid that does it. The green is caused by copper from the pool pipes, citric acid chelates it out.

I don't know if just any old acid would do, I suspect not, but yes a bunch of things could work.

[Katze]

And yet..... some of these aggressive shampooers and non protectors in pools have some of the loveliest hair I've ever seen. Why? No idea.

this is one of the mysteries of hair. I see so many women with hair longer than mine, thick, blunt hemline, biking with their hair streaming down their back, or walking around in wind and rain with it down...and feel guilty that even a few wisps are floating around from my carefully-secured hair!

The scrubbing really does bug me, though. I have to look the other way. :D

[shwankie]

Thanks for the suggestions. Washing it immediately with a gentle shampoo seems to do the trick just fine, though, and because I swim in a facility, some of the other options would be too messy or cumbersome (I try to drag as little junk as possible in an already-loaded gym bag). Perhaps if I had a home pool I might try those, but since I need to shampoo my scalp to get the chlorine off of it, I already have that in my bag. It's never seemed to hurt my hair, even when I was swimming a lot, to gently shampoo the entire length. I, too, put in leave-in conditioner before I braid the hair, and it does help with the chlorine. For me, though, it doesn't completely repel it,

[Teacherbear]

Why do they do that? Because that's what the commercials show. The only way we know what bathing habits others have is by commercials, unless we talk with people about the. Outside of LHC, I've rarely discussed how I bathe/shampoo. (I've mentioned the idea of CWC to a few non-LHCers - other than that, I don't talk about bathing habits with people).

[Buddaphlyy]

I don't swim as often as I would like, but when I do, I don't wear a swimming cap (because in my experience they don't work), so I have to get the chlorine out somehow. However, I've never been a "make a pile of suds" type of person. I usually shampoo with a clarifying shampoo and then immediately follow with a nice smelling moisturizing conditioner.

[elbow chic]

They probably aren't even scrubbing as vigorously as the "professionals" do at the salon! :confused:

Anyway, women don't wear bathing caps 'cuz they are generally considered to be in the same sartorial category as polyester doubleknit elastic-waist pants and white orthopedic shoes. :p

[Katze]

Teacherbear, I think you're right. They scrub their heads in the shower on commercials, so we start doing that when we are young and never question or think about it! Telling people about CWC is a good idea, though - I think that's something people might actually listen to.

elbow chic, funny that you mention that. Last night I was talking to some other pregnant women and they were wondering how I can go swimming at all - don't people stare at your belly, they asked. Well, maybe they do, but I don't care, I answered. :D I am wearing an old sports bra mismatched with boy short bottoms, with my huge belly sticking out in between. That plus one ugly large tattoo makes a bathing cap seem like nothing. And I like the shape of my head anyway, and the cap emphasizes my face.

Buddhaphlly, the cap doesn't keep water out of my hair but it does keep my hair together and untangled. However, I do hear water leaking in when I swim on my back, so I also always shampoo with sulfates after swimming. I just feel I have to. :)

[elbow chic]

Last night I was talking to some other pregnant women and they were wondering how I can go swimming at all - don't people stare at your belly, they asked. Well, maybe they do, but I don't care, I answered. :D I am wearing an old sports bra mismatched with boy short bottoms, with my huge belly sticking out in between. That plus one ugly large tattoo makes a bathing cap seem like nothing. And I like the shape of my head anyway, and the cap emphasizes my face.


True. Once ya start down the road to fashion... eccentricity, a mere bathing cap is trifling.

Sometimes I think I could show up to work in a cape-dress and a mohawk and nobody would even blink an eye. :p So much fun to be had in this world of clothing... strange that most people occupy such a narrow range of it.

ah well.

[Morticia]

I had to teach DH how to wash my daughter's hair without piling it on top of her head. I also had to teach him how to comb conditioner through her hair while it was still soaking wet in order to detangle it. I'm not sure if the hair piling and scrubbing causes as much damage if your hair is shoulder length or shorter.