How To Protect Natural Hair From Chlorine During Swimming

Hey!  Just wanted to check in and cover some tips on protecting natural hair, heck any hair from chlorine when in the pool.  I've been swimming 2-4 times a week this summer.  I take swimming lessons 2 days a week and then participate in a practice swim 2 days a week.  I'm cautious with my hair because chlorine which is used to rid the pool of germs can wreak havoc on your tresses.  It can dry out the hair and even lead to breakage if not properly removed.  Here's what I do:

1.  Wet hair down in the shower, or with a spray bottle (FYI: On occasion when I use a spray bottle it's also filled with conditioner and oil) before entering the pool.  This is said to keep the hair from absorbing so much chlorine, since the hair has already absorbed a great deal of water.

2.  Apply conditioner.  Conditioner adds a second layer of protections against chemicals found in the pool.

3.  Apply oil on top of the conditioner.  This adds a third layer of protection to the cuticle of the hair to keep all the yucky stuff from settling into the hair.  My favorite oils pre-swim include grape seed oil or castor oil- maybe because these are the 2 oils that I'm not completely out of for the moment.

4.  Place a swimming cap on the head.  (Guys I tried this, however I can't get that darn swimming cap to remain on my head).  A classmate who has beautiful locs shared that she wears 2 caps.

5.  Style hair so that it won't fly into your face.  My staple styles are 2 flat twists secured with elastics.  I leave the ends loose for style flair.  So far those ends haven't drifted into my eyes or mouth when breathing to cause a distraction, well at least not while working on breathing techniques.  I mainly wear my hair pulled up in a bun.  Sometimes I get a few pieces that escape the bun atop my head, which causes me to stop and rewrap my bun.  The best style that I've ever worn that keeps my hair secured is 2 french braids braided completely to the ends.  In fact, I'm sure that 2 braids will be the style that I will wear during swimming for the remainder of the summer.

6.  Shampoo hair immediately after leaving the pool to cleanse hair of chlorine.  I use a cleansing shampoo such as "Aphogee Deep Moisture Shampoo".  When I forget to take this to the pool, I use any one of my herbal Clarifying shampoos complements of any hotel stay ( You can get some great shampoos and conditioners that can easily go into a swimming backpack when visiting hotels).

7.  Apply conditioner and comb through.  Deep conditioning with a shower cap is the best practice, as it brings the hair back to a nice completely soft feel.

8.  Rinse conditioner and apply leave-in conditioner and styling products.  This is when I leave-in my regular conditioner "Suave Naturals with coconut" and then add a gel "kinky curly curling custard" or "shea moisture curling souffle".  I finger comb the gel through after finger combing the conditioner through.

9.  Use a microfiber towel to scrunch any drippies.

10.  Part hair down the middle and leave 2 sections hanging in the front.

11.  Gather remaining hair into a ponytail.

Magic Words: Completely ready within 30 minutes!  Airdrying takes care of the rest!

This is what my hair looks like after cleansing and styling post swim.

Swimming is a great whole body exercise and nice and cooling in hot weather.  Now, if I can only master treading water, the "Egg beater kick" that is.

How do your protect your hair from chlorine when swimming?  Have you mastered the swimming cap? if so what's your secret to keeping it on?  and/or What's your favorite pre and post swim hairstyles? How long did it take you to master treading water?  Help!!!! gluck-gluck- no more!


*This post was written in memory of a high school friend that I lost last week in a hit and run accident named "Nikki Bostic Jones".  I'll miss every tip that she gave me via facebook inbox regarding swimming and breathing techniques.  Kudos to her for being able to swim 80 laps during her swimming routine.  I'll also miss the questions that she had about natural hair.  Prayers to her husband, little girl, and family.  Nikki you're my continued inspiration for learning to tackle any challenge.*