swimming hair

[moshi-mo3]

clorine is killing hair (breaking off and drying up) and caps give me migrains. any solutions?

[Anje]

What kind of caps have you tried? Latex ones always gave me headaches, too. Silicone or bubble crepe ones are much more comfortable for me.

If nothing else, drench your hair with fresh water. If you feel like you can put something in your hair that will come out in the water, coat the now-wet hair with conditioner, or better still, a vegetable-based oil like olive, coconut, jojoba, etc.

[Katze]

I would like to be able to swim, too...wondering if I can find a silicone cap here...

[aisling]

Well, I can find silicone caps in Finland, I'd imagine they must be easily available in Germany as well :rolleyes:

I agree with anje, try a silicone cap or a bubble one, I find silicone ones more comfortable than latex myself. Then there's also special long hair caps available, perhaps that could be your solution? And wet your hair down with fresh water before swimming, that really prevents chlorinated water from sticking to your hair.

Of course, oiling or conditioning your hair before swimming will help, but I generally disapprove with this, especially if you use a pool frequented by lots of other people. I don't want to swim in oil residue and I've heard it's bad for the pool filters as well.

Finally, what do you do to your hair after swimming? How do you wash and condition? If chlorine is a big problem, perhaps a special swimmer's shampoo is something you should consider?

[Finoriel]

I also use a silicone cap, because it was the most comfortable one for me. There are many different qualities of silicone and latex available. The thinner the material the more comfortable, because it stretches easier. The downside is that the thinner ones are not as durable as the others. Mine holds about four months, but I´m swimming often. ;) Now I know to always take a spare-cap with me, if I destroy one accidentally, while pulling it over my head.
I got it in a normal sport-store in the middle of nowhere in Sweden, but had to ask for it because they don´t sell so many of them and stored them in the basement. When I lived in Germany I´ve bought many of them without problems, just find a good sport-store and ask there Katze :) Usually they hide them somewhere, but they have them or order them without problems.
Just now I can manage to get all my hair under a normal cap without problems, but I think next year it will be time to buy one for longhair :D Speedo seems to make good ones.

[mew]

I also found that pre-wetting and oiling the ends works wonders. And rinse the hair asap after you get out of the water. I made the mistake once to let mine dry after swimming in the sea, and it wasn't nice :/ (funny this never bothered me as a kid but i wasn't trying to grow my hair then either :) )

[RedRose]

Have you heard of Philip Kingsley? He has a product called Swimcap, which as I understand is supposed to act as a barrier cream between your hair and the water in the pool. I've heard good things about it but have never used it myself, and I guess depending on how long your hair is it could get pretty expensive. No idea about the ingredients, but here's a link

https://secure6.eliteukserve.net/philip19secure/shop/styling_and_protection

he has a uk and a usa online store

HTH

[lora410]

I am going to have to deal with this issue next week at scuba certification. First part is the pool and then the week after that it's an open dive in salt water. I plan to so a light damp oiling to protect my hair.

[tomm]

Finally, what do you do to your hair after swimming? How do you wash and condition? If chlorine is a big problem, perhaps a special swimmer's shampoo is something you should consider?
Actually, my hair responds very well to any shampoo with EDTA as an ingredient. I have never felt the need for a special swimmer's shampoo.

I also went for several months last year simply CO'ing with a conditioner containing EDTA.



Regarding caps - I strongly recommend a crepe (bubble) cap, especially if you have a larger head. They are the most comfortable caps I have found and are better, in my experience, at covering ALL of your hair.

I hope this helps.

[Tapioca]

I second the idea of soaking your hair in fresh water first. If the hair shaft soaks up the non-chlorinated water, it will be less likely to soak up any chlorine. And rinse your hair thoroughly as soon as possible afterwards. I used to work at the YMCA, and we took the kids swimming twice a week. I got to a point where I'd bring a small bottle of cheapo (Suave or V05) shampoo along and do a quick wash while rinsing off.

[aisling]

Actually, my hair responds very well to any shampoo with EDTA as an ingredient. I have never felt the need for a special swimmer's shampoo.

I also went for several months last year simply CO'ing with a conditioner containing EDTA.



You know, I'm the same, I've been doing well without a special swimmer's shampoo, just CO:ing with my normal CO conditioner even. But when searching for solutions and trying to figure out what the problem is, using swimmer's shampoo was one idea, something to think about.

[spidermom]

Last summer I tried to protect my hair from chlorinated pools and the sea by rinsing in the shower first, then putting in conditioner and/or coconut oil and braiding as snugly as possible. My hair came through it pretty well, except the ends, which were really bad, pretty much unraveling, and had to be cut back 3-4 inches last month.

[domonic_uk]

I took to swimming in out door ponds a bit extreme I know band very cold in winter but at least it doesn't damage my hair.

[Gemma]

I oil my hair the night before a swim so as much of it is absorbed as possible (so, clearly, you need an oil that actually can be absorbed, like coconut oil), then I re-oil about 1-2 hours before my swim, braid my hair, and jump in!

I'm not a fan of using conditioner before swimming because most pools have a policy about jumping in when you know you're coated in lotion, or something equally greasy. Coconut oil has never given water that slick, oily feel when I use it (unlike conditioner and lotion) so I assume it's safer and better for pool maintenance.

I absolutely refuse to wear a cap because I hate them. Only if I was swimming very frequently will I consider one.