Hair

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Cupcake_Kate1990
Cupcake_Kate1990 Posts: 14 Member
in Getting Started
Hi everyone! Not sure if this is in the right forum, so apologies if it ain't!
For all you lovely ladies out there with long hair, how do you prevent it from being such a chore?
I really enjoy swimming but sometimes I put it off, partly because Im lazy and partly because I don't want to get my hair wet! Sounds silly, I know. I wear a swimming cap but my hair still gets slightly wet and I prefer to wash it after working out as it feels wet, sweaty and generally icky!
Not sure whether I should get a few inches off the end to help with my exercise/weight loss regime, or whether there is a way round it....
Thanks everyone x
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  • Joannah700
    Joannah700 Posts: 2,665 Member
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    Hairdressers have told me I have enough hair for 4 people. I feel you.

    I got a Brazilian blowout a few years back. It didn't work well for my hair type but I've heard others have great success. Also, at the time the Brazilian blowout was ok, but with the formaldehyde. ..other keratine straightening techniques are preferred nowadays.

    The blowout will allow you...maybe...to wash and go.
  • rainrain83
    rainrain83 Posts: 82 Member
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    yes i understand completely.
    my hair is really hard to brush after i wash it.
    if i workout or swim then have to wash it
    it makes it really hard to get to work on time.
    if i don't blow dry it i can't brush it at all
    at home i usually just let it dry completley then
    brush but can't do that if i am trying to get to work.

    Perhaps cutting it off is the key?
  • wannakimmy
    wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
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    I feel for ya too. I've been swimming steadily since January, and it has wreaked havoc on my hair. I have natural spiral curls, and it is quite a pain to brush through it. The bleach has made me look like I've gotten my hair highlighted, people keep asking me where I got my hair done. I just tell them at the pool. lol Anyway, I have to wash and condition it after I swim every time just in order to get a brush through it. I put up with it because the exercise is that important to me. My hair is not super long, but I have given much thought to getting a shorter style as well. Good luck OP :)
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    Hi everyone! Not sure if this is in the right forum, so apologies if it ain't!
    For all you lovely ladies out there with long hair, how do you prevent it from being such a chore?
    I really enjoy swimming but sometimes I put it off, partly because Im lazy and partly because I don't want to get my hair wet! Sounds silly, I know. I wear a swimming cap but my hair still gets slightly wet and I prefer to wash it after working out as it feels wet, sweaty and generally icky!
    Not sure whether I should get a few inches off the end to help with my exercise/weight loss regime, or whether there is a way round it....
    Thanks everyone x

    As a Zumba instructor, my hair gets soaking wet just by doing my classes. I noticed that other instructors had either long hair that they put into a ponytail or a bun for class or they cut their hair short. My hair is not suitable to grow long, so I had my stylist do a really cute short cut (he even added turquoise and purple). It works much better than the midlenght do I had before and took about 10 years off my appearance.
  • 115s
    115s Posts: 344 Member
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    Ponytail. Braids. Wash every other day.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
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    I feel ya!! I avoid swimming as well, because it's such a process to Wash and dry and flat iron my hair. During my workouts, I keep my hair tied back in a braid or ponytail. I also have a bandana that I use if the little whispy pieces keep falling in my face.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
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    Shoot. I got mine cut off. It had been long since my 20s and I was sick to death of it. Not only was it a chore, but it is thick and heavy and hot in the summer.

    Got it cut into a pixie style about 2 months ago. I love it!
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    If you swim a lot, the hair gets icky - thick and sticky and dried out. Swimmer's hair. If your hair is whitish-blond, it turns green.

    Swimming shampoo helps, but not enough for me.

    I keep my hair really, really short. Like Jamie Lee Curtis sort, almost. There isn't time for it to get too icky.

    Don't swim with your head up. Bad for the neck. You can't get a good swim that way, either. Put your head down and rock side-to-side, in the natural way, to get your air.

    That's my advice!
  • persistentsoul
    persistentsoul Posts: 268 Member
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    I had long hair and i hate wearing swimming caps. I found keeping it in a plait helped prevent knots and smothering it in conditioner any time i washed it. I have quite fine hair strands though and between the swimming and the sun bleaching it and ends getting split i just decided to go get it chopped in the end. I now have it just below my shoulders so still long but not long long. I find it so much easier to manage now and think i will stick with this length.
  • coconutflavourair
    coconutflavourair Posts: 1
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    Idk if this helps, but I like to run and play tennis a lot, which means a lot of sweating, and I just bleached my hair blonde, which means I basically can't wash it every day or it'd be falling out. What I have found is that hair can almost always go a day or two without washing, but if it's really gross and I don't want to put it up, sometimes I rinse it with water or just use conditioner. This makes it a bit more tolerable and keeps my hair from ever smelling, especially during the summer where I live, when the temperature goes over 100.
  • brewinggirl_butskinnier
    brewinggirl_butskinnier Posts: 108 Member
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    I have heard of people putting conditioner in the hair prior to putting on a swim cap (I have never tried it so take it for what it's worth).
    I don't swim regularly but how I deal is wash every other day regardless of whether I work out and use dry shampoo on days between. It actually looks better the days between washes.

    I figure sweat can't be that different than beach spray...but my hair doesn't get all that oily. I find the more you wash it the more oily it gets.
  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
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    I put my hair up all of the time.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
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    I workout every day, and 2 days a week that's swimming. I only wash my hair 1X per week, and that's on one of my swim days. The other swim day I just rinse with conditioner.

    But even though I get really sweaty and the hair close to my scalp gets pretty wet when I workout, I don't wash it. Once a week I'll rinse it with conditioner after a workout, but usually I just blow dry it right after the workout. Works well for me, but admit I tend to very dry skin and hair, so keeping whatever little bit of oil from my sweat in my hair is probably good for it. It only starts to get a little weird on the last day of the week before shampoo day. I guess I'm just a lucky daisy.
  • milocamolly
    milocamolly Posts: 91 Member
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    What about swimming every other day? Then that way you can wash your hair after you swim and you can just wash on swim days. To protect your hair wet first with clean water then rub conditioner in to prior to swimming. This way your hair will absorb the clean water and cond and not the chlorinated water. When you shampoo use a clarifying shampoo to take out any of the chlorine and follow it up with a moisturizing conditioner. For the days in between swimming and shampooing use a dry shampoo to take out any excess oil or odor. I hope this helps, I'm a hairstylist and I recommend this to my guests who work out :) also taking a couple of inches off will defiantly help speed up the drying styling time.
    Oh yeah Redken just came out with a product named Pillow Proof and it cuts Blowdry time down in half and is a heat protectant. We use it all the time in the salon for blowouts. Feel free to add me if you have any questions.

    Edited to add...just rinsing hair with water can cause damage alone since waters ph balance is higher than our hair and skin ph balance so you always want to at lease use a cond.
  • amyw513
    amyw513 Posts: 1 Member
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    I swim my hair was getting dry and brittle.. so I went to google for help.. this is what helped my hair wet hair then apply conditioner then swim.. I wash my hair as soon as I can after swimming and my hair is in the great condition.. hope this helps Amy
  • Stella_Mayfair
    Stella_Mayfair Posts: 226 Member
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    I have long but not too much hair and I feel ya. I wore the cap, but your hair get so wet still. I am most worried about damage from chlorine. But figured out a few anti-damage tricks. Your hair will still get wet unless you tie it in a bun and don't dunk under the water.

    tips to not let it get damaged
    Wet it b4 u enter the pool, hair is like a sponge and can only hold so much water
    Wash immediately with shampoo after out of chlorine
    If you wear the swim cap, add some conditioner to your hair.


    I wish the cap protected from wetness like a shower cap, but I love doing my laps
  • spectralmoon
    spectralmoon Posts: 1,230 Member
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    Ok.

    Braid it before you go in, and spray in some oil like jojoba on top. Rub it into your ends, but just smear it over the top of the rest.

    Then do a rinse-shower before you swim (they usually have shower heads right by the pools in gyms); basically get your hair wet so thatwater absorbs into your hair with the oil instead of the chlorinated water. This water layer also keeps the oil mostly on your hair instead of it fanning out into the pool, which will keep your gym / local pool people happy.

    If you want to use a cap, go for it. I usually don't, but I don't have a good reason for not using one. I just don't care for them.

    Afterward, unbraid slowly by holding onto the ends rather than raking your fingers through the braid layers. Wash with cooler water and conditioner FIRST, then warm-hot water with shampoo, and again with conditioner after. This order will make your hair more manageable for shampooing (i.e. less knots and crunchy ends) and then smooth it out after.

    Don't use the towel you used to dry off your body/suit for your hair. I've seen it happen. It undoes everything you did by putting chlorine right back on your hair.

    Hope this helps!!!
  • Cupcake_Kate1990
    Cupcake_Kate1990 Posts: 14 Member
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    Wow thank you ladies for all your advice! Will definitely try out your suggestions :) xxx
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    Ponytail. Braids. Wash every other day.

    this. my hair is only APL at the moment but I've had up to (or down to) waist length. After a certain length (like shoulder length) I have to wear A LOT of protective styles like french braids, braids, flat twists, 2 strand twists. basically something that i can easily wash and condition multiple times a week AND that i dont have to spend time redoing over and over AND that won't make it too hard for my hair to air dry
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    Also you can double-cap it to try to keep all of the pool water out.

    I'm a sweaty sweaty exerciser, so I just have to plan my exercise early in the morning so I can get in the shower at the regular time.

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