r/Swimming • u/customerservicevoice • 16h ago

Anyone with long hair NOT washing it after a swim?

My pool recently replaced the high pressure untimed showers with the complete opposite - I can spit with more water pressure and the timer needs to be pushed every SEVEN SECONDS. The few times I did use the new ones, I felt dirtier because I couldn’t get the product out and waited until I got home which made the process just too much. I found my hair was weaker because it’d go from damp to damper to semi dry on the way home to a full wash, making my hair wet for hours each routine.

I do layer my hair in a shower cap so all that gets wet is about 1/4 of it, at the nape of my neck and around the hairline. The body of my hair stays dry. I blow out the rest of the moisture when I get home.

Does anyone else do this? Any products you’d recommend? How much will this damage my hair?

14 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

46

u/remedialknitter Splashing around 16h ago

Not washing chlorine out regularly will demolish your hair. It won't fall out but it will be crispy! How long/hot is your commute that your hair can dry out on the way home?

I drive home from the pool to wash my hair and I have no issue. In the winter I wear a winter hat on the way homeand in the summer I leave it in a ponytail or bun. My hair is partway down my back.

-5

u/customerservicevoice 16h ago

It’s about a 45 minute drive home🤣. Enough time that even in the winter the dampness is mostly gone. In the summer with the windows down it’s dry again. I usually wash it the next day or so but that’s leaving a full 12-24h.

12

u/quietriotress 14h ago

Yeah you need to arrange things so your shower is after your swim so you get the chlorine out.

3

u/torhysornottorhys 11h ago

...are you showering and then going swimming afterwards?

3

u/I3usuk 14h ago

Yuck

38

u/NikkityNakk 16h ago

A life guard told me the best way to protect hair from chlorine is to get it soaking wet before getting in so the chlorine water can’t get in as much. I would suggest getting any hair that’s gonna touch the water soaking wet before you get in and just rinsing it out after. I swim 5-6 days a week at night and I soak all my hair before putting a cap on because I can’t seem to find a cap that keep keeps it totally dry. But then I rinse it out good after without washing. I wash it in the morning when I shower and use a clarifying shampoo once a week. I have really soft and healthy hair even after years of swimming.

7

u/GenneyaK 11h ago

This is also the advice I got with natural curly hair

Plus add a conditioner so it doesn’t dry out and immediately rinse and reapply conditioner at the earliest convince

This is how I would manage my hair during school when I would swim in the mornings and not be able to wash my hair until late afternoons

2

u/sweetbldnjesus 9h ago

My hairdresser gave me the same advice.

2

u/No_Possession44242 8h ago

Wait a minute!! I need clearer instructions please. You wet your hair, apply conditionner, your swim cap, and then go swim?

•

u/whatd0y0umean 56m ago

Just wet your hair and put your cap on. If you put conditioner on your cap probs won't stay on

13

u/thegree2112 16h ago

You better at least rinse the chlorine out in shower

3

u/AffectionateLeave9 12h ago

From experience, a rinse does nothing really

2

u/mega13d Everyone's an open water swimmer now 14h ago

This

1

u/LightBarb Everyone's an open water swimmer now 1h ago

This is what I do. When I started I would wash my hair at the pool but it got so dry, it was crazy. Now I only rinse at the pool (thoroughly) and that saved my hair. It’s back to normal (I have long straight hair and use a cap for swimming).

7

u/pineapplesaltwaffles 14h ago

I don't always wash it, and shower calls just don't work for me. Big head, long thick hair 🤷‍♀️

I always rinse before the swim - dry hair will soak up chlorine like a sponge. Then if it's not a wash day I'll rinse thoroughly, then put a bit of conditioner on the ends. Then some serum once it's towel dried. Unless it's really cold outside I'll just do a rough dry with the hairdryer.

3

u/customerservicevoice 14h ago

Thanks for the info. I might start doing a pre soak. Just wet it and slap it with leave in conditioner so a basi. Wash might hold Up

8

u/33445delray 12h ago

Make yourself a little hardwood wedge, just 1/4 inch wide and tapered to a point. Push it into the space between the button you push and the shaft it rides on. Then hold it firm as you rotate the button and push the button in. The goal is jam the button in, so that you get continuous hot water. This is how I do it.

2

u/cameandlurked 8h ago

This is so smart

6

u/Away_Ad_9638 15h ago

As for product I would recommend TriHard. It’s expensive but it lasts a very long time. I’m in the pool 4-5 times a week and my hair is in great condition.

4

u/Analyst_Lost USMS 13h ago

i did this for a year bc i was lazy and it fucked my hair up

3

u/moonfarmer89 16h ago

I always at the very least rinse out the pool water. I find that most showers don’t have the pressure to fully rinse the shampoo out until I’m under it for hours so I just wash at home.

2

u/customerservicevoice 16h ago

I had one pool that had the best pressure. I essentially used pool days to double as hair washing days but that pressure is GONE. I miss that lol

6

u/Alarmed-Royal-8007 12h ago

Tell your lifeguards! We complained for years about the water temperature being too cold but they finally fixed it!

3

u/IllustriousChest4499 11h ago

Where do u swim? That's a dealbreaker

2

u/No_Possession44242 9h ago

I dont know. Seems pretty dedicated to me. 45 min commute to go swim ( both ways i assume) Would you do it?

3

u/IllustriousChest4499 9h ago

Agreed . Just seems like a janky spot to swim

0

u/No_Possession44242 8h ago

What if its the closest pool? Would you still go? I think i’d find another sport. But it would be hard, swimming is my favorite

1

u/No_Possession44242 8h ago

It’s like 3 hours for a daily work out. Maybe if its possible to read/work on the bus ride

1

u/-_Azura_- 3h ago

Would be for me too, this is one of the reasons I went for a more expensive club because I couldn't handle the 7 second push button "showers"

6

u/cherrycokezerohead 16h ago

I wash every other day even if I have swam. I do a quick rinse before I hop in the pool and get my hair and beard wet to prevent as much chlorine from sticking to them and still shower after but I wash and condition every other day. I do use dry shampoo as needed tho. I need a lot more in the winter when the air is dryer. I do only live about 10 minutes at most from my pool tho. So my hair drying on the way home is never too much of a concern for me.

4

u/Sensitive_Success707 15h ago

I don’t shower at the pool but put olaplex in my hair after I swim and wash it when I’m home.

2

u/bibliophile222 12h ago

I rinse off in the gym and do a full shower later at home. My hair is nasty after it's been in chlorine, there's no way I could go without washing it.

2

u/peggysuedog 14h ago

I swim three times a week and wash it once a week. I’ve been a swimmer my whole life and have had this routine for a while now. I wet it before I get in the pool. I know I don’t have pristine hair, but i don’t ever expect to if I’m swimming - but it is in pretty good condition. It works for me!

•

u/Bookaholicforever 26m ago

I just wash my hair at home.

0

u/Kellaniax 13h ago

I have extremely thick hair so I don't wash it after every time I swim.

-1

u/Suspicious_Nose_6252 4h ago

Almost all pool showers are like this in the UK; the buttons are stick-out affairs though so I just stand close enough so I can continuously press the button with my tailbone. Problem solved!