Hair Care for Swimmers?

[glossyshine]

I am starting to swim again, and I'm not sure what to do about my hair. I ALWAYS wear a swim cap, and I put coconut oil on my hair, then wet my hair, then put to cap on. I'm not worried about oils getting into the pool; waterproof sunscreen is oilier and doesn't seem to be a problem, plus the cap seems to keep the oil, which is absorbed, in my hair.

I wash with Ultraswim, but I'm no longer sure that's a safe shampoo. I then put deep conditioner on my hair and leave it till the next time I swim, unless I have to get dressed up for some reason.

I'm considering stopping the Ultraswim and using club soda to get the chlorine out of my hair. Does that work? My hair has really responded to CO washing of the length, occasional shampooing of the scalp, so I don't want to shampoo anymore than I have to.

There don't seem to be a lot of threads here for swimmers, and I don't feel like I've got the final word on what's best to do. HELP! I don't want pool chemicals to wreck all the progress I'm making.

UPDATED with useful links:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=115
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=42
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=26621
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=276153&postcount=2258
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=8562
http://www.pickyguide.com/sports_and_recreation/swim_caps_guide.html
http://www.pickyguide.com/sports_and_recreation/swim_caps_recommended.html
http://www.swimcapsbyfran.com/
http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/3620.htm

[hmmm]

Going to be watching this thread.

[LittleOrca]

I used to use Ultraswim, but I had to use soooo much of it to get my hair clean I switched to Ion Swimmer's Shampoo and Conditioner. I have never used the club soda, but when it comes to my hair and swimming I had a method that works for me. Feel free to try it to be like "Nah, not for me at all!"

Before I swim, I wet my hair with fresh water and put oil in it, as you do. I don't use a cap though (unless I am lap swimming, but most of my swimming involves my tail and a camera so my hair is part of the costume at that point :) ) and my hair care routine takes place as soon as I get out of the pool. I rinse my hair in fresh water, then wash with Ion Swimmer's Shampoo, Ion Swimmers Conditioner, then my regular shampoo (just a little), my regular conditioner, and then I soak my hair in my deep treatment conditioner when I get home, since the water at the pool facility is not always the best to wash my hair with anyways. My hair returns to it's normal state by the next day. I am also in the habit of soaking my hair in oil over night once a week, so that might help fend off more damage. :)

I do hope someone can answer your questions about the club soda though, that would be an interesting thing to know! :)

[glossyshine]

Cross- posting from the Emergen-C thread:

I just bought a large bottle of pure vitamin C crystals (cheap!) because I need high doses every day, and coincidentally, I'm swimming more and worried about using UltraSwim shampoo several times a week.

Would vitamin C work as an after swim cleanser? I'd be so excited if it would!

I'm really hoping to get a few more replies on this thread! Come on, LHC swim team! I know there's more than a few people who'd like to know how to deal with swimmers' hair!

[Capybara]

Here are two excellent articles on hair care for swimmers: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=115

and

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=42

[Tabihito]

To the best of my knowledge (my little sister would know more; she's the swimmer- but she's at a meet right now!), nothing is going to stop some chlorine from getting on your hair, and you're best off using some sort of swim shampoo to remove the chlorine. The chlorine has a lot more capacity for major damage than the shampoo ever could. Looking at the bottle right now, which of the ingredients are you concerned about?

Also looking at the ingredients, I'm noticing two that seem slightly odd. Urea is the chemical in urine that makes it smell (and to a lesser extent sweat), and it's also used in hair removers such as Nair. Yes, it releases ammonia when exposed to water, which is why those products smell so horrible! There's also sodium bicarbonate- common baking soda. Yes, it is used as a hair product on occasion, but I don't often see it on ingredient lists.

[Kyla]

As a lifeguard, swim instructor, and long time swimmer, I can tell you chlorine is almost IMPOSSIBLE to get out of hair! One summer, it bleached my tips blond! (I had much worse hair care then also). Swimmers shampoo definitely works best, followed by a great conditioner and a lot of rinsing. Swimming caps and rinsing beforehand are essentials, and many women I work with also put conditioner in their hair beforehand. I'll also be watching this thread to see more ideas :-)

[glossyshine]

Wow, thank you so much! From those articles, I've now decided to soak my hair with club soda before I swim, then coconut oil it, then put on my cap. I'm also going to spread coconut oil inside my cap. And I'm going to try wearing 2 caps. One woman I read about said doing that kept her hair completely dry!

Afterward I swim, I think I'll rinse with club soda, then CO wash, or use the Aubrey swimmers' shampoo. I use Aubrey conditioner to wash out my henna, and my hair loves it. The ingredients in it look gentler than Ultraswim, which has sodium thioglycate in it. That makes me nervous.

I might finish all of this off with a vitamin C rinse, depending on what other people post.

I'm also hoping frequent hennas will help keep my hair healthy. That's turned out to be a terrific conditioner for me.

I have about 6 inches to go til I get to BSL, and, even without the swimming, I feel like I'll never get there. I need all the help I can get.

This is a great thread I didn't find it when I searched: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=611847#post611847

[AstrayStar]

I've always pre-wet my hair and was using some oil when I was washing with baking soda and that was working fine. After I stopped washing my hair, I have been experimenting with mostly water only and acv rinses, and my hair would feel terrible after swimming. I then read about rinsing with club soda and have to say - for my hair it is amazing! I am still water only and the club soda leaves my hair feeling great. Although I do only swim once a week or two, so I am not sure how it would hold up with more frequent swims, but it is definitely working well for mel.

[got2pals]

I swim, but only twice per week. I used to use Ultra Swim, but it leaves my hair like straw and can be hard to find. Loreal makes a nice swimmer's shampoo (for kids) which works well and has a nice orange scent -- which I used until the orange scent started to bother me. Always needed conditioner. I have tried using club soda only. It really dried my hair out left it smelling like chlorine, so no good. And too pricey. I just wet my hair, put it under a cap (which doesn't keep my hair dry, I guess because I keep my ears under the cap like everyone else), and rinse, then wash and condition after. I wash it again at night and use a gob of conditioner and it will not smell of chlorine at all after that.
I think there's no magic bullet. The more you swim, the bigger problem you have. I know other people who do use conditioning treatments under their swim caps. When I do that, my cap won't stay on. I think I used to do more damage to my hair handling it roughly than I do by swimming.

[Medievalmaniac]

We have dealt with this problem all summer, because my daughter's day camp includes daily swimming at the YMCA pool...heavily chlorinated. She has medium-to-fine, ash-blonde hair with natural golden highlights - princess hair, as it were. Her goal is "to be able to sit on it", i.e. a little past Classic; she started the summer at TBL.

I sent VO5 moisturizing conditioner with her, with instructions that they were to liberally apply it to her hair after swimming, let her rinse it out, and NOT to brush it (I don't trust them not to just yank a brush through it and call it a day.) They don't let her rinse before she goes in the pool(they try to limit the amount of time the kids spend in the showers, and my daughter is the only long hair, and with 25 kids to watch they can't just let her in there and no one else.) I also sent pony holders so she could have it put up while she was swimming.

After the first two weeks, it became clear to me that we had a problem - her hair felt and looked like straw. The second Friday night, it took me an hour to detangle, and knots were actually falling out of her head - the hairs were just breaking, rather than detangling, no matter how carefully I finger-combed them. She was sobbing, because she saw how much hair was coming out thanks to the damage. I quizzed her and found out that she "forgot" to tell them to put it up, and that she "kept forgetting" to ask for conditioner. This didn't sound like her - she's only 6, but she takes her hair seriously - so I pushed some more, and found that she WAS asking to have her hair put up, but they told her it took too long, and that they would only give her a quarter-sized squirt of conditioner (?! You call that liberal application for a TBL head of hair?!)

We evaluated her hair's condition. The ends were disintegrating, so we determined she needed to take off those two inches. After the trim, I did a clarifying shampoo and conditioner on Friday night, and an ACV rinse, followed by a SMT on Sunday. This corrected the buildup of chemicals and restored silkiness.

I took the following actions to prevent this from continuing:

1. We bought the children's detangling/leave in conditioner, to be used liberally after liberal coating of her hair in conditioner during the shower. I showed my daughter how much to use, and had her show me on my hair how to apply it so I knew she could do it herself if the daycare folks wouldn't.

2. I showed the daycare people, myself, how much conditioner I wanted her to use, and how to spray the detangler and get all her hair coated.

3. I do NOT leave her hair down for someone else to put up anymore, because they were not doing it. She loves to wear it down, but since they take it down after she swims, then she wears it down to air dry the rest of the day, she agreed protecting it from the chlorine was more important. I braid it up, varying between a single braid, double braids, or a three-strand braid. I also oil it heavily with Manoi before I put it up for the day.

4. We clarify to handle the leave-in buildup with an ACV twice a week, followed by a clarifying shampoo and then a moisturizing conditioner.

5. She gets a SMT each Sunday.

She is now going through a full bottle of VO5 conditioner each week, so I know she is using it correctly, and the leave-in has made the tangles easier to deal with, even though I hatee using it because of the build up it causes. Still - this has definitely stayed the amount of damage her hair has sustained. I am also looking into a silicone haircap for her - but I'm not investing the money if it isn't waterproof, because her hair is getting chlorine water already and there's nothing I can do about that - but if a silicone child's swim cap would keep the water out, I'd definitely purchase one.

Hope this helps give you some ideas!

[prof-annie]

I use a silicone swimming cap which keeps my hair dry when I swim. I braid my hair up high on my head, which seems to help the cap stay in place, and then put the cap over it. I have never had the cap slip off or let water in. I use a speedo cap for children as I have a small head.

[New Choppy Cut]

This year I decided that the answer was a far shorter haircut (for other reasons as well) but I lost my nerve (short hair seems exciting, but I feel sick when I think about it!).
Usually I swim only in summer - and rely on proctective gel and plaits in the water, and chlorine removing shampoo and conditioner when I come out. Yet why would you need anti-chlorine conditioner if the shampoo does its job?
However I've changed my routine now. I was having to shampoo my hair three times in the swimming baths and once at home to get rid of the gel. I won't use a hair-dryer, which is fine in the summer, but certainly not in the winter.
I persevered with a long hair swimming cap (had several inches of hair cut because I'm not good with hair and couldn't make it fit). Now I spray on chlorine-proctective condioner, plait my hair, and use the swimming cap. When I take it off my hair is only slightly damp, and so I wash it with anti-chlorine shampoo when I get home, and then use my preferred conditioner.
This seems the best way for me.

[French Braider]

Last summer I was taking a class that had me in the pool every day for two weeks, and my problem was getting out all the tangles from the loose braid I wore in the water. So one evening before going to bed, I put a little bit of coconut oil in my hair and braided it. The next day I brushed my hair and braided like normal and went on with my day. After swimming I showered off and I could bring my fingers through my hair when normally it was just one big knot. I didn't even shampoo and it looked fine. Good luck

[glossyshine]

We have dealt with this problem all summer, because my daughter's day camp includes daily swimming at the YMCA pool...heavily chlorinated. She has medium-to-fine, ash-blonde hair with natural golden highlights - princess hair, as it were. Her goal is "to be able to sit on it", i.e. a little past Classic; she started the summer at TBL.

[SNIP extremely helpful stuff.]

She is now going through a full bottle of VO5 conditioner each week, so I know she is using it correctly, and the leave-in has made the tangles easier to deal with, even though I hatee using it because of the build up it causes. Still - this has definitely stayed the amount of damage her hair has sustained. I am also looking into a silicone haircap for her - but I'm not investing the money if it isn't waterproof, because her hair is getting chlorine water already and there's nothing I can do about that - but if a silicone child's swim cap would keep the water out, I'd definitely purchase one.

Hope this helps give you some ideas!

Thank you so much for this! I'm sorry to say, your daughter's story sounds like a complete nightmare to me. It almost sounds kind of mean :-( I can't believe they wouldn't give her enough conditioner, and I don't understand why they're limiting the time kids can be in the shower. It's not like that's going to stop global warming. I think there's something to the idea that if hair is already wet, chlorine can't soak in, and I've never been in a YMCA pool where you didn't have to shower before you got in. The YMCA! Brings back memories. I sure spent a lot of time there as a child.

I'm sad it sounds like your daughter's hair got very damaged very quickly. That surprises me. But what you're doing sounds like it's really working. I'm going to try the Snowymoon treatment, and now I'm wondering about the ACV clarifying. Could you explain that to me a little more? I thought swim shampoos were clarifying; is the ACV for extra clarifying? Is it more powerful, or does it have additional benefits?

Bathing caps really do help, even if hair gets wet. After what people have written here, I'm thinking I'll double-cap from now on. I think it's possible that conditioning the hair before putting the cap on gives hair a kind of deep treatment while swimming. Since you're putting the Monoi on before she leaves for camp, the cap might help with that. I've put conditioner on before swimming since I was a teen-ager, and it really is protective.

Actually, I remember now, our teachers encouraged us to especially get our hair wet when we showered before swimming. That's why your pool's rule surprises me. We were told it made bathing caps easier to put on (it does) and that it was good for our hair. I learned this before I learned about conditioning first, so now I condition (coconut oil), slightly wet my hair, then put on my cap. I did see an ad in one of the bathing cap links I put in the OP for a cap that keeps hair dry. I'll look for it. I think it had a strap under the chin.

I've always thought it's a shame bathing caps are considered out of style. I'm the only one who wears one at our pool. I always say I don't care if I look silly when I wear a cap, because I sure don't look silly when my hair is dry.

I'm so happy for all of these posts! I know there's a way for us longhairs to swim and still have healthy hair. Thank you, everyone!

[glossyshine]

This year I decided that the answer was a far shorter haircut (for other reasons as well) but I lost my nerve (short hair seems exciting, but I feel sick when I think about it!).
Usually I swim only in summer - and rely on proctective gel and plaits in the water, and chlorine removing shampoo and conditioner when I come out. Yet why would you need anti-chlorine conditioner if the shampoo does its job?
However I've changed my routine now. I was having to shampoo my hair three times in the swimming baths and once at home to get rid of the gel. I won't use a hair-dryer, which is fine in the summer, but certainly not in the winter.
I persevered with a long hair swimming cap (had several inches of hair cut because I'm not good with hair and couldn't make it fit). Now I spray on chlorine-proctective condioner, plait my hair, and use the swimming cap. When I take it off my hair is only slightly damp, and so I wash it with anti-chlorine shampoo when I get home, and then use my preferred conditioner.
This seems the best way for me.

Thanks! Can you say what gel you were using? And what spray you use now?

I can see why you'd still need the anti-chlorine conditioner. Partly as a little extra chlorine-removal insurance, partly because those shampoos can leave hair awfully rough.

I'm amazed your hair is only slightly damp with your cap. That's the best-functioning cap I've ever heard of. Our swim teachers always told us caps were to protect the pool's drain, not our hair.

[Medievalmaniac]

Thank you so much for this! I'm sorry to say, your daughter's story sounds like a complete nightmare to me. It almost sounds kind of mean :-( I can't believe they wouldn't give her enough conditioner, and I don't understand why they're limiting the time kids can be in the shower. It's not like that's going to stop global warming. I think there's something to the idea that if hair is already wet, chlorine can't soak in, and I've never been in a YMCA pool where you didn't have to shower before you got in. The YMCA! Brings back memories. I sure spent a lot of time there as a child.

I'm sad it sounds like your daughter's hair got very damaged very quickly. That surprises me. But what you're doing sounds like it's really working. I'm going to try the Snowymoon treatment, and now I'm wondering about the ACV clarifying. Could you explain that to me a little more? I thought swim shampoos were clarifying; is the ACV for extra clarifying? Is it more powerful, or does it have additional benefits?



It's more a supervising issue - there are two adults, monitoring 25 kids. They don't want them playing in the showers and possibly falling and getting hurt, and there aren't enough adults for one to stay with my daughter by herself. I understand, but it is definitely frustrating :)

The clarifying conditioner works well to help get the chlorine out. The ACV is mainly to handle the buildup of cones from the detangling spray. I put about a quarter cup of ACV into squirt bottle, fill the rest of the way up with cold water, shake to mix and douse her head in it, then follow with regular washing protocol. :)

[glossyshine]

Okay, everyone, I saw an ad for Kerastase Gelee Aqua-Proof or Kerastase Soleil Aqua Seal today. On general principle, I normally refuse to buy Kerastase products because they're insultingly overpriced and overhyped, but if these products do what they claims (which I doubt), I'll ditch my principles faster than a politician breaks a campaign promise.

So, has anyone heard of these? The Kerastase people say they form a chlorine- salt- and sun- proof barrier on hair. It's got ceramides in it (and how, precisely, they would protect hair?) I suspect silicones are also involved; that's fine with my hair.

Thanks!

[got2pals]

I just tried the maybe not-so-old trick of dissolving an aspirin in water and using it for removing chlorine. I'm blonde, by the way, that may make a difference in the result. I rinsed, washed with shampoo (that may be overkill, but it's a habit), then rinsed with the aspirin solution (one aspirin in about 1.5 cups of water). I left the aspirin solution on for a minute or so. Then applied a gob of Suave strawberry conditioner because if I need to use a gob, it needs to be cheap! Wow. No crunchy pool hair, no fried-looking pool hair. I didn't comb it, just squeezed dry and my waves dried in nice little loose spirals. I can breathe on my skin and then still smell chlorine, but definitely not on my hair. Must try on husband's gray hair to remove pool-yellow!
I'm sold! This is going to be a little drying, but in my opinion, better than Ultra Swim or citric acid shampoos. It's a keeper for me. A cheap one at that. Mind you, I usually am not in the pool more than half an hour to 45 minutes because of scheduling difficulties. And I'm just not that into developing shoulder injuries.
This one is worth a try, anyhow. Good luck, all!

[glossyshine]

I just tried the maybe not-so-old trick of dissolving an aspirin in water and using it for removing chlorine. I'm blonde, by the way, that may make a difference in the result. I rinsed, washed with shampoo (that may be overkill, but it's a habit), then rinsed with the aspirin solution (one aspirin in about 1.5 cups of water). I left the aspirin solution on for a minute or so. Then applied a gob of Suave strawberry conditioner because if I need to use a gob, it needs to be cheap! Wow. No crunchy pool hair, no fried-looking pool hair. I didn't comb it, just squeezed dry and my waves dried in nice little loose spirals. I can breathe on my skin and then still smell chlorine, but definitely not on my hair. Must try on husband's gray hair to remove pool-yellow!
I'm sold! This is going to be a little drying, but in my opinion, better than Ultra Swim or citric acid shampoos. It's a keeper for me. A cheap one at that. Mind you, I usually am not in the pool more than half an hour to 45 minutes because of scheduling difficulties. And I'm just not that into developing shoulder injuries.
This one is worth a try, anyhow. Good luck, all!


I've never heard of the aspirin in water trick before! That's fascinating. Do you know what it is that works? Is it the salicylic acid in aspirin that removes the chlorine?

I have no idea about whether hair color makes a difference. It seems to me that chlorine removal is chlorine removal, even if the main concern is the green color -- could someone who knows weigh in on this?

Slightly off-topic, I'm concerned you mention shoulder injuries. Swimming should never cause any kind of injury, no matter how much you do it. Perhaps you could ask an instructor at your pool for more info? You might just need a slight adjustment in your stroke.

[florenonite]

Former lifeguard with backyard pool checking in ;)

Don't put anything in your hair pre-swim; it's really bad for the pool. Silicone swim caps, IME, can help keep your hair mostly dry, but they're nigh impossible to get on by yourself, and even if you manage you probably wouldn't get as good a seal. Even with a swim cap, though, I'd recommend cleansing your hair in some way after swimming.

For me the best method of frequently cleansing my hair after swimming (particularly as I have eczema on my scalp) is cone-free conditioner with EDTA. I apply it immediately after getting out of the water, leave it on for roughly 15 minutes, then rinse out thoroughly. In addition to that, on regular wash days I used to do a baking soda pre-treatment (I've gotten a bit lazy recently because my hair is short and my pool's not as chlorinated as a public pool). I used 1 T. (15 ml) baking soda/sodium bicarb/bicarb of soda dissolved in a cup (250 ml) water. Pour it over your head, massage it in, then shampoo it out, followed by conditioner. You can also just follow it with an apple cider vinegar rinse with similar proportions, but I always found that made my hair stringy and greasy.



After the first two weeks, it became clear to me that we had a problem - her hair felt and looked like straw. The second Friday night, it took me an hour to detangle, and knots were actually falling out of her head - the hairs were just breaking, rather than detangling, no matter how carefully I finger-combed them. She was sobbing, because she saw how much hair was coming out thanks to the damage. I quizzed her and found out that she "forgot" to tell them to put it up, and that she "kept forgetting" to ask for conditioner. This didn't sound like her - she's only 6, but she takes her hair seriously - so I pushed some more, and found that she WAS asking to have her hair put up, but they told her it took too long, and that they would only give her a quarter-sized squirt of conditioner (?! You call that liberal application for a TBL head of hair?!)

I'm actually kind of shocked that they refused to tie up TB hair for swimming. It's frankly dangerous for young children to go swimming with loose long hair. It can get caught on something underwater, get caught around the throat, etc.

[glossyshine]

Former lifeguard with backyard pool checking in ;)

Don't put anything in your hair pre-swim; it's really bad for the pool.
SNIP very useful suggestions



WOW! Thank you for all of your suggestions. Do you mind saying the name of the shampoo with EDTA? I'm very interested.

I'm also a former lifeguard. It is not bad for the pool to pre-condition hair if you wear a bathing cap over whatever you put on your hair. Most hair oils, and all I've encountered, are lighter than suntan lotions, and hair absorbs many of them, anyway, so they wouldn't hurt the pool even if you didn't wear a cap. No matter how much you shower before you get in a pool, suntan lotion remains on the skin, especially waterproof suntan lotion. I highly recommend pre-conditioning hair before entering a pool.

If you don't precondition, at least wet your hair. I think there's something to the idea that wetting it prevents it from absorbing so much chlorine. It's then much easier to put on a cap.

I'm a huge advocate of bathing caps, even though the point of bathing caps is to protect the pool, not to keep hair dry. IME caps do protect hair probably because I put coconut oil or conditioner on first, so wearing a cap gives me a bit of a deep treatment.

I've read that wearing 2 caps keeps hair dry, and I will be experimenting with that in a week or so. Even if it works, I'll probably only do it if I'm going somewhere afterwards. I'll let everyone know.

[florenonite]

The shampoo doesn't have EDTA, just the conditioner. I don't bother with it so much these days because I'm not swimming as much, and my hair is shorter, but I think the stuff I used was White Rain conditioner, maybe? Just the cheapo stuff.

It's ok to pre-condition hair if it soaks in, but you'll still make a mess of the pool if you coat your hair in more conditioner than can be soaked in, I would think. It's like going in without letting your sunscreen soak into your skin first.

[glossyshine]

The shampoo doesn't have EDTA, just the conditioner. I don't bother with it so much these days because I'm not swimming as much, and my hair is shorter, but I think the stuff I used was White Rain conditioner, maybe? Just the cheapo stuff.

It's ok to pre-condition hair if it soaks in, but you'll still make a mess of the pool if you coat your hair in more conditioner than can be soaked in, I would think. It's like going in without letting your sunscreen soak into your skin first.

Thanks!! I'll look into the White Rain. It still amazes me that the best stuff for hair is often the cheapest. I've found that with skin care products, too.

We didn't have a problem with conditioner or any oils wrecking the pool where I worked-- maybe people were just good about letting it soak in. With all the people I saw slathering on the waterproof sunscreen and then hopping right into water (cause no one ever showered after they were on the pool deck, and they were re-sunscreening all day) we should have had oil slicks every day, and the truth is, we never had a problem. So I admit I wonder where all the talk about oils being bad for the water comes from. Theoretically it makes sense, but in practice we had no issues.

Quite frankly (and maybe I'm just saying this because I'm such a pro-bathing cap person) I thought all the hair that got into the drains was a much bigger concern, because we always had hair in the drains. It never caused any problems, though.

[PrincessBob]

What about swim-caps for the thickhairs? Anybody know?

Princess Bob

[glossyshine]

What about swim-caps for the thickhairs? Anybody know?

Princess Bob

Check the links in the OP. A couple of them offer caps for longhairs, which I guess might work for you.

[got2pals]

Aspirin is made from salicylic acid and acetic anhydride (did that in one of my chemistry classes). The decomposition of aspirin is salicylic acid and acetic acid, the former being the active ingredient in some dandruff shampoos and acne treatments (an exfoliant) and the latter being the predominant acid in vinegar. Salicylic acid chelates (bonds to and rinses away) metal ions. Some people mix the aspirin into diluted vinegar. I didn't want to go that far. I didn't test the pH of the solution. I agree with florenonite, put as little in the pool (pre-treatments) as possible. Those things are expensive to maintain without so much gunk being added.

[magicatt]

I have a backyard pool and I always use Suave Naturals (currently Toasted Vanilla and Sugar) after swimming because it has EDTA in it. I do a CWC using the Suave Naturals first and then my regular shampoo (which I always mix with a little baking soda) and conditioner. I swim a lot and I haven't had any problems with dryness or tangles.

[glossyshine]

I have a backyard pool and I always use Suave Naturals (currently Toasted Vanilla and Sugar) after swimming because it has EDTA in it. I do a CWC using the Suave Naturals first and then my regular shampoo (which I always mix with a little baking soda) and conditioner. I swim a lot and I haven't had any problems with dryness or tangles.


And look at your gorgeous hair! WOW!

I've been wondering about CWC after swimming; but in a way I do that because I have coconut oil in under my cap. I'd been using shampoo only on my length before I started swimming; now I think there's no way to avoid at least one whole-head shampoo.

I'll look into the Suave naturals, too. Would it make sense to use that for an SMT, or is that contradictory?

I wonder if, because you have a private pool, you use less chlorine? But still, you use some, and your hair looks amazing. Sets my mind at ease. I've been thinking my desire to swim means I can kiss BSL good-bye. I'm 6 inches away.

[caren]

Reviving this thread:
I have been swimming 3x a week now, and have combined a bunch of the advice in here to great success so far.
I wet hair, twist into a messy bun at top of head, put on a lycra cap, then a Speedo long hair cap over that.
Swim.
Then, I CO wash with VO-5 EDTA-having conditioner (the vanilla mint clarifying is awesome), squeeze dry, put some EVOO on the length (I carry a small bottle in my gym bag, to the confusion of folks near me in the locker room), then wet bun it until I get home. At home, I detangle as needed and let air dry.
So far, my hair feels in good shape.
I've gone from washing once a week to 3x a week, and personally, I think that's harder on my hair than the chlorine with this routine. :)

[elizas]

For anyone in 2020 and need help!
Ex-national swimmer here!
While I was a young national swimmer I had VERY poor hair care. I either dyed my hair black so the green wouldn’t poke through or I cut all my hair off into a pixie cut, which isn’t really the point of this community.
As I got older, faster and more mature, I realized that no I could not continue doing that.
So below is how I treat my hair for chlorine.
The night before swimming:
I continue my hair with oil, for years I used olive oil. I split my hair into 6 equal sections, lightly oil the hair from scalp to ends. It is really important then you only lightly oil. For many reasons but the top two reasons I want to highly is: the cap won’t stay on if you use more oil then your hair needs to condition, it will use the oil just to slip off! The second is oils and other hair products can damage the pool. After all of that I then braid my hair and sleep in a silk nightcap.
I am, in the next few weeks going to try coconut oil just to test it.
The morning of swimming:
Undo my braid and create a “flat” bun. This is the best for the silicone swimming caps we use. Braids or ponytails tend to come out underneath. After swimming I then wash my hair with chlorine treatment shampoo and conditioner, I personal use and trust Malibu C, but in the next few years I am looking at creating my own.
I know I a lot of people in this community say to stretch your washes as much as possible but unfortunately if your swimming you just can’t do that. You NEED to wash your hair after chlorine swims. They chlorine is way more damaging being left in then any additional hair washing you do.
I hope that helps!

[shelomit]

I'll be interested to see what people add. I love to swim and try to get out to a pond about every weekend during the warm months. (I'm allergic to chlorine, so no pools for me.) It always feels like my hair takes an extra day to "settle down" after swimming. I don't necessarily wash my hair fully after swimming, but I at least give it a rinse to get rid of some of the pond dreck.

Addendum: I don't wear a swim cap. Tried it once, and the largest size still fit poorly over my hair and gave me a godawful headache. Wetting down the hair pre-swim is not really a meaningful option as I have a long drive to get to water, and no water to use there except the pond. I usually swim with my hair in one English braid, but when busy have sometimes jumped in with a bobby-pinned bun. That feels a little perilous, but it's always stayed in place ; P

[Fimu]

Regarding swim caps for long hair, you can look on Etsy for swim caps for dreadlocks :).

[shelomit]

Regarding swim caps for long hair, you can look on Etsy for swim caps for dreadlocks :).

Ah, interesting tip!

[0xalis]

I think my course of action is going to just be avoiding swimming in chlorinated pools! I can't believe that my hair didn't just completely disintegrate considering how much time I spent swimming as a kid...

[KokoroDragon]

Good tips on this thread! I recently bought my first mermaid tail, so I've been looking for ways to keep my hair safe while swimming. The last time I swam (in a lake), my hair felt rough and tangly afterwards, even though it was in braids. I don't expect I'll be going to pools since there are so many lakes and rivers where I live, but there's tannins and other stuff in the water I don't necessarily want getting into my hair.