This is a sponsored guest post.
Your hair doesn’t just need protection against the heat of the sun and the waves of the wind, it also needs to be protected from the water of the pool and the sea.
Your hair can turn into a nightmare for you when you take late night swims in the pool, go on countless trips, and spending a lot of time swimming. It can really affect your hair and give your hair a destructive look.
The exposure to different types of water; salt water, fresh water, and chlorine treated water, can really affect the uniqueness of your hair and it’s health. We’ll be providing a guide on how to take care of your hair before, during and after swimming.
Let’s first find out what salt water, chlorine treated water, and fresh water affects your hair.
Salt Water
When it comes to negative effects, salt water is a major contributor. Overexposure to salt water can have effects on your hair and make it look untamed, untameable, frizzy, dry, parched and damaged. Your hair is smooth, easier to manage, and full of life when it is well-hydrated.
Saltwater practically does the opposite to your hair, it siphons all the water and moisture out of your hair shafts and scalp and leaves it looking rough and dehydrated. The loss of moisture can lead to dry scalps, breakages and split end making your hair look dull and limp.
It can also make your hair quite difficult to manage, maintain, brush and style.
Chlorine Treated Water
Chlorine is one of the harshest chemicals that can damage even the most healthy hair. Exposing your hair to chlorine treated water strips your hair of its natural and essential oils, and also causes damages and breakages to the hair cuticles. Prolonged exposure to it also causes irritation to your scalps by removing it’s natural and essential oils to cause dryness, excessive dandruff, and irritation.
Chlorine speeds up the fading and bleaching process of your hair, as well as strips away its color to make it look dull and lifeless. Chlorine treated water can make your blonde hair turn green – it has that much power.
Fresh Water
Freshwater is the best water for your hair, it is the safest and most nutritious. It contains lower levels of magnesium and calcium that helps strengthen your hair and protect your hair. It is also quite “soft” for your hair.
Hard water, on the other hand, has a higher mineral content compared to fresh water. This causes a build up in the hair to make it look dull, discolored, distorted and hard to maintain and manage.
It can be found in lakes that have high mineral content. It irritates your scalp and your hair to make it dry, flaked and itchy.
So, how do you protect your hair while swimming? It’s not quite an elaborate and complex knowledge, let’s take a dive into it.
- Apply chlorine hair protection products on your hair. Applying these products to your hair gives it protection from not only chlorine but also protects it from UV light, it also helps prevent hair discoloration and fading. All you have to do is spray it to your hair before taking a dip.
- Cut back on using hot tools for styling your hair. Hot tools coupled with exposure to UV rays, hours of swimming and other factors causes your hair to damage faster.
- During swimming always make sure to cover your hair with a swim cap so that it doesn’t get wet and come into contact with water at all.
- Before you go swimming and immediately after swimming it is highly recommended to rinse your hair. Rinsing your hair stops the elements from stripping off the moisture in your hair.
- Apply a leave-in treatment after rinsing your hair.
- After swimming, use a soft cloth to dry your hair instead of a beach towel. Gently pat your hair with a soft t-shirt till it’s dry.
- Don’t brush it immediately after drying it. Wait till it’s completely dry before brushing or combing your hair to prevent it from breaking.
- The last thing to do is to apply deep hair treatments to your hair to protect and lock in its moisture. Too much time spent in the water causes your hair to become thirsty – ironic, isn’t it? Get some DIY hair masks to replenish the lost moisture in the hair and to rehydrate the scalp. Apply an oil treatment or a deep conditioner for 15 – 30 minutes before washing it out with cold water to seal the hair cuticles.
Your hair will look its best after every wash when you follow the tips. Let’s go diving into healthy and strong hair.
