Swimming?

[Saryn Jumail]

What do you do with your hair when you swim? This is going to be a major issue for me come August, because I'm on the schools swim team and I never really cared too much for my hair until now. I just put it in a ponytail and rinsed it with water afterwards.
So what do you do? Swim cap or no? And what do you wash with after getting out of the water?

[missmanytoes]

I recently took up swimming as exercise and am logging 1/2-3/4 mile 4-5 times a week. You can search the boards for swimming and summer hair care, but here is what I think it distills down to: wet your hair before going into the pool/ocean with fresh water so that it doesn't soak up chlorine/salt water. Rinse with fresh water immediately after you are finished swimming. Rinse waaaay longer than you think you have to. Use a shampoo and conditioner with EDTA in it (EDTA is some magical ingredient that makes chlorine disappear...or something like that) You can also use a conditioner with EDTA before swimming and not rinse it out (this is sort of controversial as some of us LHCers think it is not nice to pollute the pool with conditioner and some of us think that our conditioner is not any worse than gobs of sunscreen). I think a swim cap is optional, but you will most likely need a better way to control tangles than a ponytail. Perhaps a braid or several hair friendly elastics down the length of your pony if your hair is not long enough to bun very securely. I personally put my hair up in an infinity bun. If you wear goggles on the team, see if you can substitute a slapstrap for the strap on the goggles. The only slapstraps I am familiar with are made for dive masks and the straps are too wide to work on most goggles unless you are willing to alter the slapstrap by cutting the straps so they are thinner. I say this because the strap on my goggles kept pulling and breaking my hair like a rubberband. The slapstrap which is made of neoprene material is much more hair friendly. Since I've taken up swimming (about a month ago) my hair is actually silkier...I think because I'm conditioning it sooo often now! HTH!

[lilalong]

Before going to the pool I'm oiling my hair and putting it into two french braids. Then I take a shine serum, which contains lots of silicones and smooth it along the braid. When I'm at the pool I wet my hair in the shower and soak it up with water.
After swimming I rinse well and do a CO.

Last week I couldn't shower at the pool right after and had to take my wet head home after swimming. When I opened the braids, my hair was still full of oil, so I don't think much oil leaves my hair when swimming.

[Sakura07]

Around half an hour before I leave for the pool I put a little bit of conditioner on my hair, followed by a little oil. Then I find some way to keep it out of my way whether it is a ponytail or braids. When I get home I just rinse it out. I've never had any problems doing it this way.

[Euphony]

I ordered a bubble cap like tomm mentioned in this post (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=190256&postcount=5). But I also ordered a long hair cap, I'm going to be wearing both to ensure a good seal. I also ordered some regular goggles since I'll be wearing the swim cap the goggles won't pull and/or rip out/break my hair.

The thought of chlorine in my hair gives me the willies, but I henna as well. I'm first concerned that my hair might turn green and also concerned with the chlorine making my hair dry. I wash my hair about 2 to 3 times per week, but plan on swimming 4 to 5 times per week. I don't want to be forced to wash my hair more often since I know the mechanics of washing can wear on hair, but also my hair is thick and near tail bone and even in summer takes around 5 hours to dry.

[Saryn Jumail]

Thanks a lot!
You were all a big help!

[danacc]

You can also double-cap. This site (http://www.geocities.com/lapswimr/teamswimcaps.html) has instructions for double-capping or using a swim band and a cap. It also suggests wetting your hair with tap water first. These methods are good for keeping the pool water off of your hair. Note that the inside cap may cause breakage at the hairline. Silicon swim caps are more hair-friendly than the traditional latex ones.

Enjoy the swimming season!