Hi everyone,

I've r ecently taken up swimming (this is my 2nd week) and would like your suggestions on caring for my hair before and after.

My hair is almost shoulder length and thick. I'm kinda lazy with my hair and get it washed and treated once a month by my hairdresser.

When i go swimming I wear a swimming hat but we know that don't stop our hair from getting wet so I have to wash it afterwards anyway but today I read that I should wash and condition the day before I'm due to swim as well as after swimming does that sound right to you?

Thanks .

I swim as well but I have natural hair. Your plan of action sounds good although I'm too lazy to wash my hair before swimming. I just wash and condition afterwards. I also deep condition my hair once a week and clarify when I feel that I need it. I've been swimming consistently for about 3 years now and I don't have any problems.

You might also want to look into using swimmer's shampoo or clarifying with diluted apple cider vinegar (ACV) after swimming. I find that ACV is better at getting rid of cholrine than regular shampoo. Some people also recommend putting conditioner on your hair and covering it with the swimming cap before getting into the pool. I haven't tried that but the reasoning behind it is that the hair will absorb less of the cholrine water when it is coated with conditioner.

Happy swimming.

Swimming caps aren't for protecting hair, it's to keep your hair out of the way to glide through the water better.

What you do is wet your hair before you go in the water and put conditioner on it. That way, your hair soaks up the conditioner and not the chlorine.

But wouldn't the conditioner come of in your eyes when swimming?

Also, what can you do if you've got braids? I can still smell chloride in my hair after swimming yesterday....

It shouldn't matter. I do this when I go swimming and haven't noticed the conditioner getting into my eyes. I wash my hair every week while I'm in braids, so washing after swimming doesn't matter to me. I've also heard soda water is good for rinsing out the chlorine.

Salsaqueen, i do wash my hair every week whilst in braid, it's just that the smell of chlorine can be hard to get rid of sometimes. Thanks for the hints on soda water.

Hi Aryek, I'm definitely too lazy to be dealing with washing my hair before I swim,its bad enough having to do it after lol, but I enjoy swimming and dont want to lose my hair so it has to be done.

My hairdresser said exactly the same thing as you regarding the conditioner so thats all good.

Thanks

I've heard about slathering conditioner on your hair before swimming but I haven't heard of washing it. I wouldn't wash it if it were me just because the cleaner the hair is, the more absorbent it is and I wouldn't want my hair sucking up all of the chemicals from the water (unless you're at the beach in which case the water could be beneficial to your hair).

But I would just use a pre-shampoo oil such as coconut or olive oil. When you're in the water you have protection and when you shampoo afterwards your hair is protected further from the shampoo drying it out. Then I would do a heated deep treatment after for a few minutes just to be sure.