the effect of chlorine on hair and skin--what to do?

toomanycurves
toomanycurves Posts: 110 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I had been enjoying swimming (the only aerobic exercise that I enjoy) until it wrecked my hair (I had to get eight inches cut after I had been swimming on a regular basis for about two months) and my skin DESPITE the fact that I had been wearing a swimming cap, washing my hair before swimming and leaving in a thick conditioner, showering and rewashing my hair after every swim and lathering a rich moisturizer all over my body and face. I also noticed that after I started to swim that the appearance of the cellulite that I hate was worsened.

My hair is baby fine but, despite being highlighted, had always been very shiny until I started to swim. My skin is very thin and I never need moisturizer on my body except during the winter.

Does anyone know of any products that could protect my color-treated hair and keep my skin from looking blotched and discolored? Is there a special kind of swimming cap that I should be using?

Anything else that I should know?

Thanks in advance.:smile:

Replies

  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    When you say you're washing your hair right before- are you leaving it wet? The #1 trick i've learned for my whispy blonde hair is to thoroughly wet my hair with tap water before going in the pool. Hair absorbs water. If you let it absorb some tap water before you hit the pool, your hair will take on less/take on the chlorine more slowly.

    I've heard good things about Triswim body wash and lotion, although I haven't personally used it (yet). Their products are designed for post-chlorine skin repair.
  • toomanycurves
    toomanycurves Posts: 110 Member
    Thanks SO much for answering!

    I do leave my hair wet and I don't wash out the conditioner before putting on my cap.

    I will try to find the Triswim products for my skin.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    I also have fine, color-treated hair. I swim 2x per week for about 70 minutes each session.

    Yes, you do want your hair wet, but don't WASH your hair before swimming -- you want to keep that base of natural oils in there under the fresh water and the conditioner. (In fact one question I'd ask is: are you sure the problem is the pool, and not that you're shampooing too often? I mean, if you wash your hair BEFORE you swim, don't you also need to shampoo AFTER the swim? 2 shampoos in one day = a lot of shampooing! That's as much or more than I shampoo in a week!)

    On swim day I actually wet my hair first, then I apply a fair amount of coconut oil to my hair (it doesn't have to be coconut oil -- olive oil I hear will also help), then I add conditioner, then the swim cap. My swim cap is the kind that covers my ears. It helps keep more of the water out than the open ear ones, though it's not perfect by any means.

    For the conditioner, look for something that does NOT have sodium laureth sulfate. Letting your hair soak with sls is bad too, so you want to find a conditioner that doesn't have it. I actually just use the conditioner that comes with my home hair coloring kits, nothing fancy. Works great for me. I rinse everything thoroughly after the swim, then shampoo, then recondition. This is the only time I shampoo -- after swimming.

    I don't know what to tell you about skin if you say you "don't have to moisturize." That statement just doesn't compute for me (doesn't everybody need to moisturize?), but I have rather dry skin. Lather that stuff on thick! I put a layer of vaseline on my face before swimming to help protect it from the pool water some.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I also echo the above - Wet your hair, don't wash it. I would also add on a conditioner and leave it in for swimming as you are already doing.

    I bought the Triswim shampoo on a visit to the US. I should have bought the conditioner. Instead I had to order online and went with Ultraswim conditioner. It also suggests using before going in the pool. I'm not a huge fan of the smell (it's not terrible just not awesome either) and find it a little watery but I am really happy with how it works for my hair.

    I'd definitely look at chlorine specific products and would recommend either Triswim or the Ultraswim.

    I also have fine, blonde hair.

    ETA - one of the girls I swim with uses coconut oil in her hair and Vaseline on her skin.

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