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Do you swim in pools?
Just curious as I've heard chlorine wreaks havoc on hair, so I'd guess you guys aren't very big fans of it.
Personally, at some point I was worried about this, but my hair seems to take it well and since I don't do it too often anyways, I haven't had any problems. Luckily, because I read there are precautions one can take, like soaking your hair beforehand, etc, but I'm too lazy for this. During the time I was still unsure though, I was sad that wanting to protect my hair may lead to missing out on fun times with friends.
So do you swim in pools? And do you take any speacial measures to protect your hair if you do so?
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
I do (and did when my hair was waist-length). I always wet my hair prior to swimming and wear a swim cap.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Yep. I just wear my hair up (no cap) then wash after. I've never noticed a significant difference, or damage. But I also only use a pool on the weekends, so it's not every day.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Yeah. I always wet my hair before, didn't know why because you're 'forbidden' to enter the pool without going in the showers before in my country so I had to do it anyways ;) And I just got a chlorine/sun/salt protector from Amazon, I'll see how it works when I go next time!
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Yep. I usually heavy oil with coconut oil beforehand and try to use a swimming cap but since I don't mind a little bit of damage I mostly don't wear caps.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
A bun at the top of my head suffices for me, and I don't go in any higher than my shoulders
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
I used to when I had healthy 'long' natural hair, often didn't even put it up and always got it under the water. I always washed afterwards though, not out of a need for haircare but more because chlorine smells groooosssss. Now I prefer not to because of healing piercings, but perhaps it's making my hair stay nice too :P
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
No, I prefer natural waters and I am lucky to live next to one.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Only when I'm near one which happens only 2 or 3 times per year, while on holiday or at a friends house :p Since it's so rare, I don't do anything special. For some time I swam at the university pool. We had to use a cap and all, but I didn't use any oils either or anything.
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I just go there, enjoy myself and then wash out the chlorine afterwards. That'll have to do :)
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I try to soak my hair before hand and If not I put on a mask seems to help a lot more when I do the mask oh and I try to keep it in a bun
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I put my hair in a bun on top of my head and put tap water on the neck hair. I never put my head under the water and thus it's only the neck hair that gets wet.
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Oh so lucky! I'd love to have that here
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Katsura
No, I prefer natural waters and I am lucky to live next to one.
Oh sorry I meant to quote this
I wish one could delete posts... I make many mistakes like this
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
You can always edit a post
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
I can swim very well, but I started avoiding pools in my adult years. The chlorine just dries out my skin and hair too much for it to be worth it.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
iforgotmylogin
You can always edit a post
Oh god I could swear that "edit post" feature was not there before! Lol I'm so dumb, thanks
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Strawonaberry
Oh god I could swear that "edit post" feature was not there before! Lol I'm so dumb, thanks
You can't edit until you reach 25 posts, so that feature probably wasn't there until very recently :)
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
I'm a swim instructor, so yes! Sometimes I spend up to 4 hours a day in the pool. It does damage my hair somewhat, but there's only so much I can do about it. I love my job and I'm not changing it just for the sake of my hair. I can't wear a swim cap during lessons, so I just soak my hair and put it in a braid and hope for the best. I use a chlorine removal shampoo and use lots of conditioner, sometimes I even CO wash if my hair gets super dry.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Of course I swim in pools. I'm tempted to go today since it's so hot! I wet my hair and put my swim cap on. I'd a crick in my neck if I stuck to breast stroke and tried to keep my head dry. Breast stroke is also my weakest swimming style since I kick chaotically. I prefer to keep streamlined when swimming so my head must be under water. My difficulty when learning to swim was to figure out when and how to breathe because I wished I had gills so I didn't have to come up for air periodically.
Oh and I'm WO so there's no shampoo used when I rinse my hair after a swim.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
I'm a pretty occasional swimmer as well (limited to vacations twice a year max). I usually braid my hair and oil it before going in the water and that's pretty much it. I swim this way in the ocean when we go snorkeling and in the swimming pool. Afterwards, I do shampoo with a swimmer's shampoo and condition generously. Hair is happy this way.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Only on vacation. We belong to a resort, and there are always pools, plus they're always near the sea. I've found the most protective thing is to liberally use a silicone serum, braid my hair snugly, and wash it every evening when I'm done with the pool and the sea for the day.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
I'm not sacrificing my lifestyle to my hair. So yeah, I go in pools and I enjoy going underwater. When contemplating cutting my hair for the summer, I decided to keep it long but promised myself not to stress if it gets damaged by swimming/chlorine/salt. I told myself not to worry about rinsing or washing so I could continue enjoying long hair.
It would be great to wash my hair after every time. But I don't blow dry and my hair takes forever to dry. So if I go in a pool in the afternoon or evening and plan on going to the beach the next day I figure there's no point in washing my hair. I recently went to a pool, next day beach, day after that beach and my spin pin rusted!
My only protection is that my hair is usually dirty; so natural oils. And I'll use a chelating shampoo once I finally do wash my hair.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
I'm in the pool 2-3x a week swimming laps. I wet my hair, put leave in conditioner on the ends, then braid or bun it. I used to use a swim cap, but the durn things pop off while I'm swimming sometimes. After swimming, I immediately rinse with water. Then (as soon as I can), I wash & condition with shampoo & conditioner that has di or tri sodium EDTA (which helps negate the chlorine binding metal to your hair). Also, I'm 'cone friendly, as they seem to help as a barrier.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
No, because I don't want to pay the entry fee (especially with a nice lake for swimming right around the corner). However, I used to swim in pools as part of my PE curriculum and simply put lots of oil in my hair before and after swimming. If that's not possible, my recommendation is to at least soak your hair in the shower beforehand.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Katsura
No, I prefer natural waters and I am lucky to live next to one.
Same here. :)
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
I love the pool in the summer, but I'm not in it regularly enough to stress about soaking or oiling my hair prior to swimming. I was in two or three times earlier this month (one of those times I do not even believe I went under). I didn't wash my hair afterward, but I rinsed it, and that's good enough for me.
I don't go under if I can avoid it if it's early in my wash cycle (I wash once a week) because I know I won't wash again so soon and don't want to deal with gross hair for a week, but otherwise, I don't fuss about it.
I actually prefer pools to bodies of water, but that's mostly because I feel more comfortable going under/getting some exercise in a pool than in an ocean/pond.
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I do, if I eventually go to the swimming pool :rolleyes:
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I swim 3x/week. I went through a lazy period where I wasn’t wetting my hair first, only a pony tail and swim cap on dry hair (my hair still gets wet under the cap) and I was getting tremendous breakage even though one of the pools was mostly salt which is better than chlorine. Now I always wet it and have an oil/conditioner mix I spray in it before putting on my cap. I also bun rather than ponytail and use ribbon bands rather than elastic. Finally, I pour Club Soda on it when I get out to chelate the chemicals, rinse, then CO wash. My hair is no longer breaking because of the pool. And I’m not sacrificing my hair for exercise!
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
lemonlife
I'm in the pool 2-3x a week swimming laps. I wet my hair, put leave in conditioner on the ends, then braid or bun it. I used to use a swim cap, but the durn things pop off while I'm swimming sometimes. After swimming, I immediately rinse with water. Then (as soon as I can), I wash & condition with shampoo & conditioner that has di or tri sodium EDTA (which helps negate the chlorine binding metal to your hair). Also, I'm 'cone friendly, as they seem to help as a barrier.
They make swim caps in different sizes and materials. I had to try several before I found out what worked for me. Silicone vs latex, rubber, etc. They grip differently. Also they have large caps for bigger heads and caps for long hair with extra room in the crown. What finally worked for me was to use a spandex/fabric cap under a silicone long hair cap. The spandex seemed to protect my hair from getting caught in the outer cap and the long hair cap is able to pull down far enough on my head so I don’t have to fidget with it. Also I swim outdoors in all weather year round, so I like the double cap, it keeps me warmer in cold water.
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I just took a job as a kid's swim instructor, today is my first day :) I pre-oiled last night but I'm not super worried because I noticed most girls put their hair up in a bun and never get it very wet. Some of the other lady instructors have even longer and nicer hair than I do, so I won't let myself stress over it too much. Do you all recommend I get a sulfate shampoo though? Right now I only wash with a CV bar. I just don't want to go back to using conditioner, though I saw earlier hairkay is WO and a swimmer so that is very encouraging to me.
Update: Would not recommend shampoo bar and chlorine, my hair felt very odd and waxy. Going to ACV rinse and just do WO after the pool tomorrow. I will also stay with the pre-oil.
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I used to swim every day when I was 10 and under. A hairdresser commented that my hair was damaged so badly from chlorine that it scared me out of ever swimming again!
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I have always swum a lot, because I had a severe scoliosis. I never found that my hair was disgusting or specially dry when I did that. But at that time I didn't pay any attention to my hair
I don't swim anymore tho, I hate it with passion. I have to keep fit because of my scoliosis, that's why I'm trying gym and other types of exercise. I don't want to go back to swimming, not now, that I'm very conscious with hair care.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
I swim once a week. So far my fingertip length hair takes it pretty well.
I wear a rather tight english braid and I soak it with regular water before I enter the pool. Afterwards I shampoo and deep condition.
The only problems I ever have is when I dont soak my hair with water beforehand because I'm swimming with my family or friends and I'm like :"nah, it'll be fine. I don't need to bother with this". Yeah no. I absolutley need to bother with it. It makes a huge difference for my hair.
And lake water is even worse than pool water. I dont care that it's natural. My hair hates it. And sea water is even worse than that.
I've never tried a swimmers shampoo or a clarifying shampoo ,though I ocasonally shampoo the length of my hair as well as the roots.
If my hair stops growing before I reach knee I might try to clarify and maybe acually start wearing a swimming cap XD.
I'm just kind of worried that the cap will damage my hair more than protect it. As far as I know the hair gets wet underneath it anyway so I'd be wearing rubber over my fragile wet hair. Won't that damage my hair when I take the swimming cap of?
I'm probably overthinking this.
I could also just try wearing a bunned braid instead of dragging a long ass braid through the water all the time XD
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Interesting thread. I swim pretty frequently, at least once a week, and sometimes several times, in Summer.
We are lucky enough to have a spring-fed pool near my house (it's very chilly, but that's another topic...) and, for that one, I just put my hair up in a clip and have at it, because there's no added chlorine in the water.
In Winter I *do* swim in an indoor chlorinated pool, and there I always pre-soak my hair well in tap water, then bun it up under my lovely bright yellow silicone swimming hat. The hat is handy for my husband, who is very short-sighted; it reduces the number of fluffy women in black swimming costumes that he can accost, mistaking them for me!
After I've finished in the pool, I either just rinse my hair, or do a conditioner-only wash. If I've been in the chlorinated pool I always CO, normally twice. It seems to help more than using a shampoo, even those special swim shampoos. I finish with a very dilute white vinegar rinse and normally a little smear of oil on the damp ends. I've been doing this for several years, and haven't had any significant problems, but I'd happily try other strategies that people have found helpful. I might add in a full oiling before the swim hat goes on, to see if that works for me.
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I really don’t like swimming, and that’s only because of my hair. It just looks super damaged and dry after I do, so I want to avoid that altogether.
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Pool water increase my hair breakage and split ends.Usually my hair feels very brittle afterwards so I try to wear a cap, but that gives me headaches. My skin doesn't seem to like the water either.
But then for me, the same applies to sea water as well.
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Re: Do you swim in pools?
Maybe. Sometimes. Not aquatic pools though. But a pool of 'mechanical elves', mantid beings, learned and soon forgotten symbolic languages from regions far beyond any land mass. And...a sense of love that when experienced is absolutely alluring. In other words, not a regular pool. But...I do swim. :)
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I don’t swim often, because I sunburn very easily, ha! But when I do, I put my hair in an oiled braid and wet it beforehand.
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I don't swim in pools much, maybe a few times a year? And I'm a little sensitive to chlorine so I asked hubby to put in a filter at home so I won't have chlorine in my hair. I've noticed a little difference, but not a huge change.