Ultimate dilemma: Do I swim everyday & enjoy life or do I keep my hair healthy?

[ericthegreat]

This summer I've been heading out to the beach or going to the gym to the pool like every day after work. I am addicted to water, my bud Sam even told me I'm a fish I must have been born underwater! (I can dive underwater and hold my breath for wayyy longer than he can, LOL)

Now I am really diligent about protecting my hair when in the water and out of the water.......I'll slather my hair with my CO conditioner before heading to the pool, and in salt water I'll use an even more intense protection I'll drown my hair in either coconut or olive oil and then braid it down before jumping into the ocean. I do conditioning deep treatments mixed with olive oil every week, and of course I CO every night. My hair is very silky, straight and shiny.............but still I know it'd be even more lust worthy if I didn't swim as much as I do. I'm not going to stop swimming tho, I just wanna vent here to you guys LOL. :D

[rhondalicious]

Why not oil it then wear a swim cap? That would help keep the hair safer.

I could never tell anyone to stop swimming - I'm a water lover as well, and so sad that Utah is not a good place to own an in-ground pool (had one in my childhood home in So. Cal.)

[Canarygirl]

I vote for enjoy life and do the best you can with your hair. Oiling and then putting into a swim cap is a good idea. You could also try the Swimmer's Protection shampoo/condition from Aubrey Organics; it is supposed to combat chlorine damage (and/or salt).

[Rohele]

Life is too short to worry about stuff like that - I vote for enjoy yourself. :)

You sound like you're already doing a good job of protecting your hair, since it still looks great.

[Spike]

Personal opinion--life is for the living, and my hair is dead.

I live in southern lowland Arizona, and drive a convertible. The top only goes up in the rain and the six weeks of winter. So can we say "wind, sun, and challenging climate"? Of course we can.

So I bun my hair and tie a scarf over it to prevent tangles and lessen damage. I CWC when I wash, deep treat with coconut oil weekly, and anoint the ends and canopy with a lighter oil blend.

Would my hair be nicer if I locked myself up in a tower and never did ANYTHING that might possibly damage it? Maybe. But the trade-off wouldn't be worth it.

[marikamt]

I vote for enjoy life!

Spike LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your quote/ tag line...... only took me (almost) 40 yrs to start living that!

[marzipanthecat]

Oh heck yes, go swimming every day. I used to (gosh, I was a lot slimmer and healthier then - I used to swim a few miles every day at the local pool).

Try wearing one of those rubber swimming caps (I personally like Speedo ones) - they really do help. It takes a little bit of practice to get a lot of hair under, but I can do it easily (and I do have quite a lot of hair).

My hair was OK but my skin was getting ruined by the chlorine from going swimming every day! Very dry, and aggravating for psoriasis, phooey.

[rhubarbarin]

I vote enjoy your life - but a swimcap is always an option.

[Anje]

Just wet your hair down with fresh water and stick a swim cap over it, then wash it afterward and enjoy your life. Personally, I'd skip the conditioner and oil -- they're hard on swimming pools, conditioner will pollute in lakes and oceans, and they tend to make my swim cap slide off!

Heck, my fine hair wasn't in bad condition even after a season on swim team (read 2-4 hours in the chlorine, 6 days a week, for about 3-4 months), when it was BSL and I often wet it with pool water and didn't always wash it afterward. You'll be fine, especially if you protect from tangles a little so you're not destroying the ends trying to comb out post-swimming hair.

P.S. Citric acid is chelating. Occasionally doing a final rinse with dilute citric acid (like a vinegar rinse) will probably go a long way toward removing any residue that your hair cleansing methods fail to take care of.

[DarkChocolate]

As a fellow water lover I say enjoy life. I go boogie boarding any day it is nice and I too oil my hair heavily with coconut oil. I read on here that oil keeps the water from soaking into your hair. I live about an hour from the beach so I go on weekends. I wish I could go everyday:)

[CaityBear]

I always swim in lakes. I don't usually go to pools anymore. Swimming usually takes place during camping weekends and I usually just spritz down my hair with my homemade leave-in-conditioner and then I usually try to conditioner my before I get out.

My biggest problem is my hair gets all tangly. I just had it in a ponytail the one day and had to slather my hair in TONS of conditioner at the cabin to comb through it and it still wasn't easy. And then second day I braided my hair thinking it would help. Nope, the water helped to tear my hair out of the braid. That was also painful trying to comb my hair. :(

I don't think I'd ever give up swimming for my hair. I love my hair, but I love to swim! I don't get the chance to swim that often though.

[going gray]

Oh of course, I totally agree with the ladies, enjoy the water! Sounds like you know how to take care of your hair.

[ericthegreat]

Oh yeah I have the Speedo cap you guys are talking about. I usually only wear it in the pool because its required to do so for sanitary reasons of course. But in the ocean, I wanna let my inner fish come out, sometimes I'll even leave my hair loose because I wanna see it flowing in the water like a merman.

Yeah, I'm definitely glad you guys agree with me. We are the masters of our hair, our hair should not be the masters of us! Sure, I'll do as much as I can to keep my hair healthy........but that definitely should not extend to me locking myself at home all day and spending all my life pampering my hair.

[CavyQueen]

LOL, I had this same issue. I love to swim, It's the only time my mind is completely clear. However, we all know how chlorine can ruin your hair. There are ways to protect it, but it is a pain in the neck. First, as I'm sure you know, wet it - I mean completely saturate it so that will absorb less of the chlorine when you get into the pool. Then put conditioner in your hair (it does not really matter what kind, you really only want a protective barrier between your hair and water). I would then spray a hair oil (this step is not necessary) made especially for protecting hair from chlorine. Carefully, comb it (you want as few tangles as possible when you get out of the water). Then braid it and put it in a swim cap. This is very important: make sure that the conditoner in your hair does not make the cap slip off. Make sure the cap is secure around your forehead and ears. Next is something people often forget, make sure your band from your goggles does not rip your hair. Sometimes I will put my goggles on top of my head and when I put them back on I hear this chilling ripping of my hair. The goggles band is the same as an elastic you woud put in your hair.

When you get out of the pool, you need to wash it right away. First just rinse with water to get the conditioner and pool water out. Then use a chelating or clarifying shampoo. My favorite is the one by L'anza. Biolage, Nexus, and Paul Mitchell also make one. I am not familiar with any drug store brands. You have to shampoo, there is no way around it when you swim. You should alternate with the chelating shampoo and an extremely moisturing shampoo. Then of course condition and I follow with a leave-in conditioner. Deep treatments both moisturizing and reconstructing are a must for swimmers.

This routine adds about an hour at the gym and anxiety about the condition of my hair. However, if I need to follow it if I'm going to swim. I've had long hair for 10 years and I'm NOT going to damage it with chlorine. I hope this helps :)

[ktani]

This summer I've been heading out to the beach or going to the gym to the pool like every day after work. I am addicted to water, my bud Sam even told me I'm a fish I must have been born underwater! (I can dive underwater and hold my breath for wayyy longer than he can, LOL)

Now I am really diligent about protecting my hair when in the water and out of the water.......I'll slather my hair with my CO conditioner before heading to the pool, and in salt water I'll use an even more intense protection I'll drown my hair in either coconut or olive oil and then braid it down before jumping into the ocean. I do conditioning deep treatments mixed with olive oil every week, and of course I CO every night. My hair is very silky, straight and shiny.............but still I know it'd be even more lust worthy if I didn't swim as much as I do. I'm not going to stop swimming tho, I just wanna vent here to you guys LOL. :D

I put in bold the most relevent part. What you are doing is working for you!!!

Swim and enjoy!

[Katze]

I almost always wear a *silicone* cap (does not catch and rip hair like rubber does) when I swim indoors. When I swim outdoors, I try to do it on 'dirty' hair with it in a braid so most of it is contained. Luckily (for my hair), where I live there are not many days in the year where one can swim outside...

I also love swimming and am happier if I swim 2-3x a week - when I was pregnant it really seemed to help me stay fit and relaxed. Now that my incision has healed I am going to start up swimming again on Monday!

It is definitely a tossup. I prefer not to wash my hair very often, but do oil it for a couple days if I am planning to swim.

In your case, your hair is already long and healthy, so, as others have said, whatever you are doing must be good!

[eresh]

LOL if that's your ultimate dilemma...

Anyway...you enjoy swimming, go swimming!
Life does not only revolve around hair, have some fun besides that too ;)

We even have a mermaid here on the forum!

[Elfling]

Just another vote for enjoying life and simply doing the best you can with your hair :)

[eadwine]

It IS just hair, really. Nothing to be overly dramatic about. Put a bun in, wear a proper cap, and your hair stays dry.

Yes it does that with a PROPER swim cap. If it gets wet, it is not a proper one (sayeth the one who has been a competitive swimmer for years, in the past).

[longhairedfairy]

I'm glad I live near a lake (Yay!) and don't have to worry much about that. I just oil my length and braid and/or bun it. :hollie:

[brista]

Would my hair be nicer if I locked myself up in a tower and never did ANYTHING that might possibly damage it? Maybe. But the trade-off wouldn't be worth it.

But you just know that one day, you'd be sitting by the window, minding your own business, watching the tops of trees swaying in the breeze and then all of a sudden some guy in full armor with a hero complex would start climbing up the tower, using your hair as a rope...

[pradabacon]

^^^ I hate it when that happens! Sheesh, stupid knights! http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll23/hootietoot/rofl.gif

[EdG]

Note to self: don't use Rapunzel's braid as a rope. :D

Eric, you have great hair in spite of swimming often. You probably don't need to change anything in your routine.
Ed

[HairColoredHair]

I actually prefer swimming with a swim cap... Mermaid hair is fun for dunking and playing, but I find my hair is more kraken like and attempts to drown me and other swimmers nowadays...

[eresh]

and attempts to drown me and other swimmers nowadays...


:lol: :laugh:
I can picture it