This Summer I know better. . .

[Jen123]

For the past three years my family and I spend an entire week at a swimming place. The water is highly chlorinated. When we leave we all have straw hair. I've tried the kid's swim shampoos, but we still have straw.

NOW that I've been enlightened by LHC and know why we need to get our hair wet before getting in the pool we will definitely do that.

But I have a few questions. When I comb my hair now, I reach a hard to comb part where my hair had been exposed unprotected last year. So there is a sort of "water damage line" in my hair. All hair above the line is nice, all hair below the line is not so nice. We leave for swimming next week. Is there a treatment I can do to repair chlorine damage before we leave?

Also, for the last several months, I've been on a totally natural routine - no cones. Should I revert to regular shampoo and conditioner with cones in it for our week-long swimming excursion? Should I go CO only? I like Aussie 3-minute miracle.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

[Speckla]

Coat your hair with oil or conditioner and then braid it before going into the water. This will help protect your hair. You can cowash it out or shampoo. Also try to use a conditioner that has sunblock in it to protect your hair.

[Aurielle]

Coat your hair with oil or conditioner and then braid it before going into the water. This will help protect your hair. You can cowash it out or shampoo. Also try to use a conditioner that has sunblock in it to protect your hair.

If you did this, would you first soak it in water or just put it on dry? Would it come off in the pool?

[Jen123]

If you did this, would you first soak it in water or just put it on dry? Would it come off in the pool?

First the hair has to be wet with non-pool water, so no water with chlorine in it will soak into your hair. Then the oil or conditioner goes on to protect it. Some will come off in the water. This is what I have read anyway.

[Aurielle]

First the hair has to be wet with non-pool water, so no water with chlorine in it will soak into your hair. Then the oil or conditioner goes on to protect it. Some will come off in the water. This is what I have read anyway.

Thank you! :) I will try that as soon as the local pool opens.

[LaurelSpring]

I have been stressing a bit about this now that the pool is open. The last two years my hair hasnt been "that" long but this year it is definately in the concern category. I love to swim but I am worried about the constant exposure to the chlorine now. I did the water down coat with coconut oil last year and it was kind of a mess. Then I felt like I had to go home and wash it all out. Its really a pain if I want to swim every day. I am actually contemplating a swim cap but I wonder how effective it really is. Any advice from the long time long hairs on this would be appreciated.

[paperwhite]

Regarding swim caps: When I was a kid, my brother and I were in swim lessons. To try and protect my then WL hair from further chlorine damage, one year my mom and grandma made me wear a swim cap. I hated it at the time, but looking back on it, it was probably the smartest thing they could have come up with. Not only did it keep all but the finest of wispies out of the very heavily chlorinated water, but it also kept the rest of it dry and tangle free--major bonus!

The swim cap was unpleasant to deal with, but ultimately saved me a lot of broken, damaged hair and heartache.

[IcarusBride]

I have to seccond the swim cap idea if you are going to be swimming frequently. The saturation-with-water theory makes sense but if you are swimming every day for a month, I don't think it will make a difference in the long run... Also, the oiling-hair-before-swimming idea sounds a little unsanitary to me... I frequently oil my hair, so I don't think it's "icky" or anything like that, just... It's doing to dilute into the water where other people are swimming... I don't know, but it sounds a little unhygenic. Even though I know chlorine levels in public pools are high enough to kill anything smaller than a lapdog... haha

[Jen123]

I've thought about and looked at the swim caps on Amazon, but my daughter says she won't wear one. And how can I make her wear one when I KNOW I won't either. For us this is one intense week of all-day swimming. For the rest of the summer only occasional. I'm really hoping we can avoid being "scarecrow" heads this year.

[Night_Kitten]

I bouhgt a swim-cap a while ago, and I'm SO glad I wore it when I went to the pool - my hair stayed dry and protected, no damage or tangles... Definitely worth it in my opinion :)
If you really don't want a swim cap, try oiling the hair and making a bun on the top of your head. Not the best look probably, but it will keep your hair out of the water as much as possible...

Hope you have a great vacation! :D