Hair for Swimming

[Arrow]

I'm going to start swimming because I got fat ;) But because I like my hair I'm going to be wearing a swimming cap. I never wore one as a kid because I liked to play mermaids when I went swimming and let my hair float around my face... Anyway, my hair is between BSL and Waist at the moment, and I need a style that will be suitable under a cap. Can you help?

[JesusFreak88]

I would suggest a crown braid because it is a style that is close to your head and you wont have to worry about stuffing a braid or anything else up into the cap.

[Tisiloves]

Nautilus bun?Or any pinless bun? I just twist and smush, but I have far less hair. My big advice is to baby powder your cap every time you use it, it makes it so much easier and less painful. Also if you're using a swim cap a really heavy oil is a good idea, the cap stops it getting out, but probably won't stop the water completely from getting in.

[pepperminttea]

I would suggest a crown braid because it is a style that is close to your head and you wont have to worry about stuffing a braid or anything else up into the cap.

This, or anything in a crown shape, really; that should distribute the weight and minimise the lumpy bits. :)

One thing though - no matter how careful you are, a swim cap will not keep all your hair dry. It's a pain in the butt, but I thought I should warn you. I'd actually recommend getting your hair thoroughly wet before you get in, too, then it'll absorb less of the chlorinated water.

[squintinschool]

French braid folded on top of your head.

[Cowgirl16]

I have a swim cap for long hair and I put my hair up in a braided Nautilus bun. It didn't keep my hair as dry as I would have liked :( but, it did keep it from floating around.

[Arrow]

If it doesn't stop the hair getting wet and full of chlorine, what's the point of wearing one? I could just do a braid and have done...

[Cowgirl16]

I agree; I was somewhat disappointed. I am going to situate my hair differently in the cap and see if that helps. :shrug:

[Tisiloves]

If it doesn't stop the hair getting wet and full of chlorine, what's the point of wearing one? I could just do a braid and have done...


It keeps most of it off, but more importantly it keeps your hair contained,protected, and untangled. Water provides much more restistance than water=more friction=even small fly aways can tangle, plus, wet hair being more fragile it can cause damage. Also, I'm not sure what your hair's like, but my wet hair busts out of any other type of containment and does its best to dred itself, (because my hair is clearly an evil descendant of Houdini).

[Nedertane]

This, or anything in a crown shape, really; that should distribute the weight and minimise the lumpy bits. :)

One thing though - no matter how careful you are, a swim cap will not keep all your hair dry. It's a pain in the butt, but I thought I should warn you. I'd actually recommend getting your hair thoroughly wet before you get in, too, then it'll absorb less of the chlorinated water.

In addition to having it wet under there, I'd suggest some leave-in or regular conditioner on your hair as well, though I guess oils could work too, if you prefer that. As for a style, even just an English or French braid, might be fine if you just tucked it all in there (my thought is that it'd be quicker, but I'm not sure). That's how I would do my hair when I swam in gym class and we had to wear caps.

I actually just went swimming today with no cap, just put my hair in a braid, kept it wet from my quick shower, and covered it in my leave-in. My hair's VERY soft (haha, maybe even more so than normal), but a little oily on top. Hope this helps. :o

[Asma]

I have the same problem :( And since summer's coming I'm going to be swimming A LOT every two days etc. And no matter what I do or how many caps I wear, my hair gets damaged from the chlorine.
My hair's too long to fit under a cap *sigh* Or maybe it's just that my head's too big.

I don't think a crown braid's a good idea because it's a pain to take out any sort of french/dutch braid while it's wet. I really need to try the nautilus bun.

[pepperminttea]

If it doesn't stop the hair getting wet and full of chlorine, what's the point of wearing one? I could just do a braid and have done...

It's mostly to reduce water resistance to help you swim that bit faster, I think? (Is it called aerodynamics when it's in water?) And though it doesn't keep all your hair dry, it does minimise the exposure to some extent.

Personally I heavily oil my hair, braid it, and then wet it down just prior to getting in the pool. It's not a perfect system, but it's not bad. And no swim caps comfortably fit my head anyway. :p

[Wildcat Diva]

Arrow, thank you for posting this thread, becuase I have been thinking about this. I had read somewhere about using club soda to remove the chlorine, but I'm not sure of the details of how to use it or how well it works. Can someone else advise on this?

Also, in my situation, our city pool oddly enough is SALT water instead of chlorine. I have been wondering about that. I bet the salt water won't be as bad as the chlorine. That doesn't help you though, so sorry about that. I have been thinking about this issue since I joined LHC last month.

[Anje]

(Is it called aerodynamics when it's in water?)
Hydrodynamics, I think. And yes, they're very good for that.

Swim caps are very useful for preventing you from inhaling your hair, which will happen if you're doing a good strong crawl stroke with it at all loose. They prevent your hair from tangling in your goggles straps, and greatly reduce drag in the water from your hair (this being important to competitive swimmers). They won't keep all the chlorine out, but there's a big difference from some leaking in and soaking your hair in chlorine-water for 45 minutes. You'll also want to note that some of the moisture you find under the cap after you take it off is probably sweat if you've been exercising.

Ideally, you want to wet your hair down in the shower before going into the pool, put your cap on, swim, take cap off, and shower off the pool water. CO washing is often a favorite for people who swim frequently.

When I swam competitively, I think my usual competition style was a braid laid forward to my forehead. I'm not sure it was long enough to have to fold back again, but that's what I'd do now simply because it's easy. For practices, I just folded up my then-permanent ponytail.

[pepperminttea]

Hydrodynamics, I think.

Ah, makes sense - thanks! :)

[Cowgirl16]

I have the same problem :( And since summer's coming I'm going to be swimming A LOT every two days etc. And no matter what I do or how many caps I wear, my hair gets damaged from the chlorine.
My hair's too long to fit under a cap *sigh* Or maybe it's just that my head's too big.


I don't think a crown braid's a good idea because it's a pain to take out any sort of french/dutch braid while it's wet. I really need to try the nautilus bun.

They make special swim caps for long hair...I ordered mine from a swim store on line. I have thigh length hair and there is still room in my cap for more hair.
I've found that I can keep the ends of my hair dry by bunning my hair on top of my head.