Swimming and hair

[Kaelee]

What do you all do with your hair while swimming? Before/after to protect it?

No matter what I do, my hair comes loose while swimming. If I put it in a ponytail, it comes out almost immediately. I had it in a bun with spin pins, and pretty much as soon as it hit the water, it started to come out.

I did find that the new scalp massager brush I got at Sally's is a very nice gentle detangler though. :)

[TheMechaGinger]

I oil mine up and put it in two plain english braids and then after I shampoo and leave my conditioner in for a little longer than normal. I don't swim all the time though

[Kaelee]

I oil mine up and put it in two plain english braids and then after I shampoo and leave my conditioner in for a little longer than normal. I don't swim all the time though

I very rarely swim but I was at a pool party tonight. I really thought the spin pins might hold but alas...:mad:

[Demi-Plum]

What I have been doing as of late is to tightly english braid it, wet it down with the hose, and rub coconut oil along the length. If you simply can't keep it in a 'do then I suggest wetting your hair with non chlorinated water and rubbing your hair with some kind of oil. Your hair will soak up the non chlorinated water which causes it to soak up less of the chlorine and the oil will help to keep a barrier against it as well

[Bunnysaur]

TBH, I don't worry much about tangles when I swim. :lipssealed: :nono:
A little bit (say a couple hours) before I know I'll be swimming, I put some coconut oil on my hair to help protect it from the chlorine, and and after swimming I just detangle with my deep conditioner, which has the added bonus of making my hair feel better after I douse it in chlorine than before :p

[Rish]

My hair absolutely hates chlorine so swimming is a nightmare for me, I put my hair in a secure plait when swimming, thay may work for you.

Even in a plait my hair gets knotted, but as I said before my hair absolutely hates chlorine, it bunches, thickens and knots, I have to soak my hair in conditioner before even attempting to brush it.

[robanna]

I wet my hair down and put on lots of condititioner. Like others said, this stops some of the chlorine from getting into your hair.

[Kaelee]

I did condition it and oil it before hand, and I clarified, conditioned and oiled afterwards too. But I think I heard a few snaps when I was detangling it. :( I hate to break any hairs.

[prettykitty]

I wet mine, oil the heck out of it, pony it and braid the length. My hair hates chlorine, I wash it afterwards with special chlorine removal shampoo and deep condition. It sucks because I love to swim :(

[Zesty]

I'm no fun, but I usually try to keep my hair dry. I do two dutch braids, fold them over my head Heidi style, and secure and cover everything with a bandanna. If friends coax me into actually putting my head under, I just take the bandanna off and don't worry about it too much, since I only swim something like once a year. Afterwards (as soon as humanly possible) I'll clarify and then condition as usual. Normally there isn't a nearby option to wet my hair beforehand with regular water, but if there were I'd do that.

[pepperminttea]

I swim twice a week in the mornings. The night before I do a fairly heavy oiling with EVOO or coconut oil, and then do a single English braid at nape, and go to bed. In the morning I smooth over my scalp with my hands and that's normally enough to make it presentable enough for the pool - a silk pillowcase or silk sleep cap helps immeasurably. At the pool I get it as saturated as I can with non-chlorinated water in the shower before I get in, and I'm good to go. When I get out, I rinse it thoroughly under the shower, squeeze (no twisting) gently down the length of the braid, bun it (I take an acrylic ketylo with me for that), and then just wash it as normal when I get home.

I've been swimming regularly for a couple years using this method or something close to it, and my hair hasn't suffered for it. :) I did try using club soda but I found it didn't really make much of a difference for me, and oiling is cheaper long-term. To give you some sense of comparison, I use to swim as a child and my hair would literally be like tacky straw when I got out - I wish that was an exaggeration. shudder:

[MintChocChip]

I go swimming once a week. I will either wear my hair up like in my avatar picture or I will put it in a loose top knot. I normally kirby grip that hairstyle to death, just to make sure none of the little flyaways come loose while I swim. I don't have a swimming cap though I really want one and I don't pre oil or wet my hair before I swim either. This is largely due to the fact I really try not to get my hair wet at all, and I've got to be honest I'm largely successful with that too. It's easier for me to not get my hair wet I think because my swimming stroke of choice is a slow breast stroke. :D I also go on a Thursday evening when the pool is for the most part quiet and just full of calm swimmers. Which means less splashing! :D

[ManeSqueeze]

I'd recommend using a silicone swim cap if you're going to swimming regularly in chlorinated water. DON'T get a latex one. The latex also protects against the chlorine, but it tugs at hairs a bunch. The silicone one glides on like a dream, and it has never tugged at any of my hairs, even when I put it one with wet hair.

http://www.amazon.com/Speedo-751104-Silicone-Swim-Cap/dp/B00074USZQ

They're also widely available at most sporting goods stores, especially around the winter time. It usually costs about $6, and you get a little carrying case. The only care it needs is a little cornstarch or talcum powder on the inside when it's being stored.

That, and always wet your hair before going in the pool or putting on your cap. I always put in conditioner or oil, and when I got out of the pool I used Malibu Swimmer's Wellness shampoo. It smells like an orange creamsicle, and it took out all the chlorine. My grandmother also uses it in her blonde hair so that her really iron-y water doesn't tint it red.

http://www.amazon.com/MALIBU-Swimmers-Wellness-Shampoo-Conditioner/dp/B004R0GQXO

The girl that was on my swim team that NEVER wore a swim cap to practice ended up with bleached straw hair that had the ends start to burn off. Use your arm hair as a good indicator of how strong the chlorine is in your pool. If your arm hair starts getting really fine and stubbly, start using a swim cap religiously.

[Iolanthe13]

I've been using a silicone swim cap for lap-swimming. I pour leave-in conditioner all over my hair (this would be expensive long-term, but I've got about twenty bottles of Infusium in a cupboard at home), cover that with oil, plait the hair into a tight English or French braid, and shove the whole thing under the swim cap. When I swim with friends (i.e. not for exercise) I will do the same thing, minus the swim cap. So far my hair likes this pretty well.

[heidi w.]

If you have no bathing cap, yep, this is what happens. Try braiding it before you go in the water. Then all you have is a braided ponytail.

Otherwise wear a bathing cap. I had to search a while to finally find an old-fashioned thick bathing cap, because today's bathing caps are made out of latex, keep no water out of the hair, pretty much, and worse yet, they often break while putting it on your head. I've seen them break a lot of times.

I should mention that a number of people have latex allergies, and this presents problems in medical situations and it might in bathing caps/swimming situations too.

For longhaired people, you need a thick, old-fashioned bathing cap. There used to be a website for these, but I can no longer find it.

heidi w.

[Lostsoule77]

I used to swim daily during the summer and never did anything special. I look at picture from back then and realize how bleached my hair got from the chlorine + sun. It wasn't too damaged though because my mom was real serious about us washing the chlorine out asap and doing a good conditioning. Now I wet it and french or dutch braid it. That keeps my halo hairs mostly under control too.

It's funny because I rarely swim now, but I'm going to my sister's who has an inground pool and I was wondering if I should do something more. :) I think I'll put a little cocunut oil in my hair before I braid it just for a little extra protection. :D

[Kaelee]

I'd recommend using a silicone swim cap if you're going to swimming regularly in chlorinated water. DON'T get a latex one. The latex also protects against the chlorine, but it tugs at hairs a bunch. The silicone one glides on like a dream, and it has never tugged at any of my hairs, even when I put it one with wet hair.

http://www.amazon.com/Speedo-751104-Silicone-Swim-Cap/dp/B00074USZQ

They're also widely available at most sporting goods stores, especially around the winter time. It usually costs about $6, and you get a little carrying case. The only care it needs is a little cornstarch or talcum powder on the inside when it's being stored.

That, and always wet your hair before going in the pool or putting on your cap. I always put in conditioner or oil, and when I got out of the pool I used Malibu Swimmer's Wellness shampoo. It smells like an orange creamsicle, and it took out all the chlorine. My grandmother also uses it in her blonde hair so that her really iron-y water doesn't tint it red.

http://www.amazon.com/MALIBU-Swimmers-Wellness-Shampoo-Conditioner/dp/B004R0GQXO

The girl that was on my swim team that NEVER wore a swim cap to practice ended up with bleached straw hair that had the ends start to burn off. Use your arm hair as a good indicator of how strong the chlorine is in your pool. If your arm hair starts getting really fine and stubbly, start using a swim cap religiously.

Wow, I did some googling and those swim caps actually DON'T look ridiculous! I thought for sure they would. Would have the added bonus of keeping water out of my ears (my ears get infected pretty easily). Next time I'm planning to swim (I swim maybe twice a year lol! Unless I get dragged to the beach :o) I may just have to pick on eup. Thanks!

[SoulOfTheSea]

I put my hair in a ponytail pretty tightly with snag free elastics, then I wet the length pretty thoroughly, and then apply conditioner, then some coconut oil to seal it off. I then braid the hair as tight as I can, and then finish off the braid with an elastic.

When I'm done swimming, I don't touch my hair. I go to the shower, wet my hair, then take conditioner and apply it to the braid, then take off the end elastic. Then I carefully unbraid, then sloooowly take off the top elastics. Then I very thoroughly rinse my hair (I use lukewarm water) and then CO wash. No shampoo after swimming, it's too harsh after all that chlorine has been exposed to your hair.

ETA: Just so you know, I've been swimming every week, sometimes twice a week, at my boyfriend's pool so far this summer, and my hair has not shown any damage. :)

[dwell_in_safety]

I just swam in the ocean today and did back in March as well. I slathered it with coconut oil and put it in a French braid ending in a braided bun with spin pins prior to getting in.

[lmfbs]

I swim 4-5 times a week.

I heavily oil dry hair (coconut oil) and braid it in a single dutch braid down the centre of my head.

I wet it throughly with shower-water, then squeeze conditioner into it. It probably starts breaking down the oil, but it's how I've got the best results.

I try to let it sit for at least 15min before I get in the pool. When I get out, I unbraid and rinse, then CO wash. My hair doesn't even smell like chlorine when I get out of the pool because the fresh water/oil/conditioner prevents the chlorinated water from soaking into my hair.

[ahrph]

Spray it down with water, coconut oil, bee butt type bun secured with a scrunchie.

[JesusFreak88]

I over-oil my hair, crown braid it, and if there is regular water near the pool I stand in that for about five to ten minutes. After swimming I shampoo all my hair twice, just to make sure all the chlorine is out, condition, and then do a vinegar rinse.

[Hollyfire3]

I just wet it down first, leave it loose and then shampoo well and DC heavily afterwards. My hair seems to doubl in size (thats possible, its also scary, like a monster atacking my head!) with the pool water and it gets so nasty and feels like a brilo pad, ick. Strangely enough, once it dries (if I HAVE to let it dry with the pool water in it...) it is softish and silky straightis (no moisture=no curl at all for my finicky damaged hair).

[CurlyMopTop]

I've been in the water so much over the last month I think that my hair has spent just as much time wet as it does dry. We use Baquacil for our pool (no chlorine). It's supposedly gentler on skin and hair than chlorine. I've been really bad about rinsing in the shower before hopping in, but lately I've been using lots of conditioner as a leave-in after I wash my hair anyway, so I figure that it's already coated. I've been doing more hair masks for moisture as well. So far it seems to be ok.

[Amber_Maiden]

I swim with it loose. I do nothing before or after.

[Teao_the_cat]

Just to add, you can get silicone swim caps for long hair too- fitting a normal one over long hair never worked for me, they just popped off in about two minutes! Long hair ones work great though, although they don't keep out as much water as I would like- but that's swim caps in general, really.

[heidi w.]

FYI for all swimmers. They do have swimmer's shampoo which helps to manage the chlorine hair may receive, which we all know can build up and discolor the hair. Most sports stores carry it. But be sure to condition well, too. These shampoos can be a bit drying....

heidi w.

[CarpeDM]

I oil mine up and put it in two plain english braids and then after I shampoo and leave my conditioner in for a little longer than normal. I don't swim all the time though

This..............

[Sheltie_Momma]

heavy application of Coconut oil, then high pony tail, braid that, bun the braid (cinnamin bun) then secure with four clear mini-clips (these stay put and water doesn't hurt them), add some red lipstick and a vintage full coverage style suit and I'm good to go!

[mawiwala]

I'm oiling my hair with olive/castor oil. Normal pony tail and after I only washing with conditioner.

[longNred]

I'm no fun, but I usually try to keep my hair dry.

I also keep my hair UP and out of the water.

I very rarely get it wet if in a pool or ocean. I simply HATE the way it feels after, and detangling is a ridiculous nightmare. However, a lake or fresh water, is different - my hair, although still needing a serious detangle, doesn't feel gross, coated, or dried out afterward.

[Cania]

A good swimming cap. I used to do training, so I was in the pool an awful lot at the time. I invested in a good cap, and the water never got to my hair.

As mentioned by Teao_the_cat, they are available for thicker and longer hair too :)

[Lizard554]

I work at a summer camp and we swim twice a week. Since keeping both keeping my head dry and a swim cap are not options, (I'm working with kids, they splash lot and I would get made fun of because of my cap) I go without. On swim days I heavily oil my hair with coconut oil, then do two dutch/french braids. I feel like that does a pretty decent job of tangle protection. The oil only does so much. My hair is a little drier than normal, but it's the best for this situation. If I started a swimming for fitness or something I would get a swim cap. If you want to keep your hair dry, and a swim cap isn't cutting it, I would try an additional swim band. Here is a link to a women who uses one.
http://newlynatural.com/blog/2010/03/winning-combination/

It's just a second half swim cap that keeps the water out. Just a suggestion.
Good Luck.

[Khepera]

My sister and brother were both in swimming for school for 10 or more years. My sister had waist length hair that was full and healthy-looking, my brother had sun/chemical-bleached hair that was stiff and would break off (and his scalp got so irritated that he started to lose hair). My brother only wore a swim cap for races, while my sister religiously would soak her hair in water before the swim to keep chlorinated water from absorbing, then squeeze it out, apply a LOT of conditioner from roots to tips, and then put on a swim cap over a flat bun, and afterward would use a swim shampoo. You could definitely see the difference!

So for the past few months I have been swimming in a saltwater pool about 2-3 times a week, and following the soak-squeeze-condition-bun-cap method, and I think my hair health has actually improved slightly. Aubrey organics swimmer conditioner and shampoo after the swim have worked gently enough. I couldn't wear a regular swim cap because it was so tight my eyes would feel like they were going to pop out, but found these silicone ones made for long/bulky hair.

http://www.amazon.com/Speedo-Silicone-Long-Hair-Black/dp/B000F6E2JE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342539882&sr=8-1&keywords=long+hair+speedo

[vanillabones]

I was a competitive swimmer for many years before I cut my hair very short. It makes me cringe thinking of all the damage I did with all my cheap cute latex caps and no using oil. *shudders* I did always wet it first though and rinsed after and used a very nice shampoo for swimmer's hair. It had algae in it I think :doh: