One of the biggest pleasures of summer is cooling off in a swimming pool after spending time in the hot sun. While taking a dip may seem like an excellent idea, pool chemicals are not a friend to your hair.
Chlorine contains a number of properties that make it unsafe for hair. For one, it dries out the hair shaft causing the hair strand to become coarse, brittle, and prone to breakage.
Here are a few ways to keep your summer hair protected from chlorine.
Wet Your Hair
Sure, you’re going in the pool anyway so wetting your hair first may seem strange but there is a good reason to do it. Hair is porous, and rinsing your hair first impregnates the hair shafts and keeps them from absorbing chlorine. This also helps protect the hair from drying out because instead of absorbing the caustic chlorine into the hair shaft, the hair is absorbing the water first.
Rinse and Repeat
Wash your hair as soon as you’re done swimming to rinse out the chlorine before it damages your hair.
Natural Oils and Conditioners
Both coconut oil and olive oil work to coat the hair strands and keep chlorine out of the hair shafts. These oils are excellent, natural ways to protect the hair and help it at the same time. They are nourishing to hair, strengthen the hair shaft and seal in moisture — all while being fairly inexpensive.
You can also use a leave-in conditioner that works the same way and most are created with extra protection from chlorine-treated pools.
The Brassy Look
If you already have chlorine damage that causes a green hue or a brassy look, there is recourse. Find a clarifying shampoo that will work to remove the damage. For an at-home remedy, use apple cider vinegar to counteract the leftover chlorine deposits. This also works well to unclog hair follicles and remove dead skin cells.
Cover Up
The simplest remedy is to wear a swim cap. However, not everyone wants to cover up their gorgeous hair, so if that’s not attractive to you, consider the above remedies that help protect your hair from chlorinated pools.
If you have issues with any type of hair loss, Transitions of Wisconsin prides ourselves on having cutting edge hair loss technology, while giving you many options to choose from. If you’re interested in scheduling a free consultation, contact us today!
Photo Credit: jackmac34 Via Pixabay
Sources:
https://www.swimspray.com/blogs/news/16990821-how-to-protect-hair-from-chlorine-in-pools
https://www.livestrong.com/article/144066-the-effects-swimming-swimmers-hair-skin/
