How to Protect Hair While Swimming

Take steps to protect your hair from chlorinated water.

Summer can be rough on hair. Chlorine and sea water can leave hair dry and brittle. One option is to keep hair tied up and not put your head under the water. Another choice is to wear a rubber cap on your hair. But if you enjoy the feeling of your hair floating freely in the water, you can take other steps. With just a few minutes worth of effort and some cheap supplies, you can have beautiful hair after leaving the pool.

Things You'll Need

• Neem oil
• Sesame oil
• Swimmer's shampoo
• Baking soda
• Deep conditioner
• Silk wrap

Instructions

1. Soak your hair with tap water before going into the pool or ocean. When your hair is full of water, it will soak up less chlorine or salt.

2. Don't wash your hair with shampoo before a swim. Your hair has natural oils that protect against the harsh pool chemicals and sea salt. If you wash your hair with shampoo before a swim, it strips away this natural protection and leaves hair vulnerable.

3. Use neem oil on hair before swimming to protect and hydrate your scalp if you swim often.

4. Apply sesame oil, a natural blocker of ultraviolet rays, to hair before sunbathing.

5. Use a detox shampoo after swimming to remove chlorine. Or you can mix your current shampoo with baking soda to remove some of the chlorine and chemicals from hair.

6. Deep-condition weekly. While conditioner is on head, cover hair with a silk wrap to get a more intense conditioning. Don't wrap hair in a towel because cotton will soak up the conditioner. Conditioning while in the sauna will also produce a deeper conditioning.

References

• The Tattered Teddy: Benefits of Sesame Oil
• Columbia University - Go Ask Alice: Chlorine Effects on Hair