How to protect the hair when swimming every day

One of the most common problems that competitive swimmers have is taking care of their hair. When we were training for 4-5 hrs a day in more than 1 session/day, we found it was impossible to even keep our hair dry.

Once or twice dip in the pool do not affect your hair while swimming. But if you are a regular swimmer you need to take care of a few things.

Remember you can take care of your hair naturally by taking some precautions. Here are some ways young and teen swimmers can take care of their hair.

Keep your hair short

The best advice I have as a regular swimmer is to keep your hair short. Keeping long hair while swimming has its own challenges.

Long hair does not dry quickly, and there are not a lot of racing swim caps that can fit long hair into a cap.

If you do have long hair, keeping it tied under a swimming cap will make it brittle. 

Long hair is inconvenient if you are a swimmer, as constantly waiting for your hair to dry can make you catch a cold. 

Short hair fits into swim caps, and is much easier to maintain. Even if your short hair is damaged, you won’t feel too bad about cutting split and dead ends and it will just grow into a short style again. 

Use protective layers before and after swimming

This is applicable to both skin and hair. 

If you’re a frequent swimmer your hair is more prone to chlorine damage.

Using hair oil before a swim will create a protective layer between your hair and the chlorine water, as oil is water-repellant. It will also provide nourishment to your hair, as chlorine can make your hair very dry and rough. Read more on Body oils that can be applied both to hair and body.

There are some pre-swim conditioners as well. It will work similarly to oil, without residue and greasiness. As you have to leave it in your hair, it will create a barrier, and also provide long-term moisture to your hair.

Using a thick, oil-based conditioner also helps.

Alternatively, you can also use a leave-in conditioner for your swim. This also creates a protective layer.

In case you are looking for a natural or Ayurvedic option, you can try the product from Indulekha. This reduces hair fall. It is best to use a conditioner with this hair shampoo like St. Botanica conditioner Moroccan Argan.

Wet your hair with clean water before getting into the swimming pool

Before you place the swim cap on your head, take a shower under normal water. When you do this, you should wet your hair with clean water.

This will make sure that even if your hair does get wet under the head cap, it does not absorb a lot of the chlorine water, as it is already wet with the normal water. This will make sure that your hair does not break as easily, or gets as dry. It will also reduce the chlorine smell. 

Place your cap properly so that water does not enter the cap. 

When you wear a swimming cap, the cap seam should be in line with your forehead, and rest close to your head. 

Do not buy a head cap that is too loose or too tight, as it will likely come off while you swim. 

Tuck all of your hair into the cap, making sure that the ends do not stick out from the bottom. You want to make sure the ends of the cap are resting on your skin, as this will make sure your hair does not start slipping out. 

If you are very worried, wearing two caps can also help. Pull the cap all the way down so that it does not bunch up over your scalp. 

Wash your hair with clean water

After you swim, you should always wash the chlorine water out of your hair. 

Use a mild, clarifying shampoo to remove chemical buildup. Once the chlorine is removed, condition your hair to replenish the moisture you lost. Here are some chlorine removal shampoo that you can use after swimming.

Even though chlorine water does not cause hair loss, it is still best to make sure that your hair does not become difficult to present and manage. 

If it lingers in the hair, it will make your hair dry, rough, and brittle, and it might reek of chlorine. 

As soon as you are done, make sure your hair is thoroughly rinsed out. 

More hair care tips

Use a separate soft towel as a head wrap.

Dripping hair can be annoying, but tying it will cause more damage. Dry it in a soft head towel.

Otherwise, you should let it air-dry in the sun. Using heat on your already damaged hair will make it more unmanageable. Do not be rough with it.

Do not comb your hair till it is somewhat dry. Use a big teeth comb like Vega Large Shampoo Hair Comb so that even if you comb your wet hair, you are not rough with your hair.

Most importantly, remember to take care of your hair outside of swimming. 

Let your hair completely air dry while you get changed. Resist the temptation to use blow dryers, as they will dry your hair out more. If your hair needs additional drying after air drying, use a microfibre towel to dry any dripping or excess water from your hair gently.