Swimmers - Skin and hair care

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dancefit2015
dancefit2015 Posts: 236 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Those who swim frequently for exercise, what do you do to take care of your hair and skin? I used to swim a lot and ended up with green streaks in my blonde hair from the chlorine. Then of course there is the dry skin, tangled hair, and always smelling like chlorine.

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  • Sara2652
    Sara2652 Posts: 158 Member
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    I limit myself to 3 swims a week in the pool. I shower well right before getting in, letting my skin and hair absorb the fresh(er) water. Wear a swim cap and goggles. Afterward I shower right away using Ultraswim shampoo and then slather on lotion. Its been working pretty well.


    A bit long but interesting for regular swimmers. http://cen.gext.acs.org/articles/94/i31/chemical-reactions-taking-place-swimming.html
  • texteach66
    texteach66 Posts: 92 Member
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    Sara2652 wrote: »
    I limit myself to 3 swims a week in the pool. I shower well right before getting in, letting my skin and hair absorb the fresh(er) water. Wear a swim cap and goggles. Afterward I shower right away using Ultraswim shampoo and then slather on lotion. Its been working pretty well.

    I second all of that. I was swimming 3x/week during the summer and all of this really helped.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    Wet your hair ahead of time and comb in some conditioner. Wear a swim cap, rinse and use ultra swim/equivalent after. Rinse off and skin lotion or moisturizer after.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited September 2017
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    I precondition my hair with a spray in product, use an anti chlorine shampoo, aND anti chlorine body wash. I also have a chlorine rinse for my suit.
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,263 Member
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    Between laps and a cardio class, I spend about 5-7 hours in the pool/week. Wet your hair completely before getting in, and use a cap. If you can manage all of the slipperiness, put a conditioner on it before you put the cap on. My stylist suggested that I use coconut oil as my only hair product and it works well. My hair is blonde too, but no green after 3+ years in the pool.
  • ryenday
    ryenday Posts: 1,540 Member
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    Coconut oil, unfortunately left my hair looking greasy. But it is a great every other day moisturizer for my skin (but have to keep it away from my face or I’ll break out.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    I am so lucky to have a salt water pool close by, still nukes your hair (I should probably wear a swim cap....) but doesn't affect your skin as much......
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
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    I use a scrub, then regular soap when showering. Something like bath and body's 'at the bead sand and sea salt scrub.' That helps with the chlorine smell. I can't help with the hair- mine is dark brunette.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    Ever since I wet down my hair before swimming I haven't had green streaks. Literally just step under the water and fully saturate hair.

    As for tangles, when my hair is still wet I use a leave in conditioner: Neutrogena Triple Moisture Silk Touch Leave-In Hair Cream. I only use it on the bottom 1/2 of my hair, but it doesn't weigh it down. Then I use a tangle teaser, which is a type of brush that reduces breakage/is a great detangler.

    If you have mega dry skin, you might try a skin oil instead of a moisturizer.
  • dancefit2015
    dancefit2015 Posts: 236 Member
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    Wow thank you everyone for all of the great advice! This helps a lot!
  • loneda
    loneda Posts: 103 Member
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    I learned to love the chlorine smell. Seriously. I love catching a whiff of it after I wash my hands. (I only smell it on my skin later in the day if my skin gets wet.) It makes me feel happy because swimming makes me feel happy and calm.
  • carrieonline
    carrieonline Posts: 8 Member
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    I swim 3-4 x per week and have colour treated blonde hair. I wet my hair in advance and put in a little bit of Philip kingsley swim cap conditioner beforehand. No green hair here. After the swim I shampoo and condition thoroughly and moisturize body with burts bees lotion and a different cream for my face.

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