Natural Hair and Swimming | 4 Essential Tips

As you all know, it's summer time! So you’ve probably already stocked up on all your skincare sun protection needs. But, what have you been doing to protect your hair? If you enjoy taking a dip in the pool you should definitely make sure that you take steps to protect your natural hair! Chemicals such as chlorine can dry out your hair if you have not taken the necessary steps to protect it. Before we get into our essential tips, let’s start with a breakdown on why it's important to protect your hair.

 Why Do You Need to Protect Your Hair?

As stated before, chlorine is a chemical added to pools to prevent bacteria and algae from growing. Sometimes, chlorine will cause eye irritation and may lead to drier skin, but today we are focusing on its effects on hair. Chlorine can cause lasting damage to your tresses if you are swimming frequently. Once your hair is wet with chlorinated water, it will be absorbed by your dry natural hair. Then, the chlorine will strip your hair of your natural oils, leaving you with dry and brittle hair. 

So How Do You Protect Your Hair? Here Are 4 Tips:

Wet Your Hair Before Entering the Pool

Before you jump into the pool, make sure to wet your hair with clean water. This way, your hair won’t absorb as much chlorine as it would if you dunked your hair completely dry. 

Lather on That Conditioner

Coating your hair in conditioner is a great way to protect your tresses from damage that may occur from chlorine. Conditioner creates a barrier between your hair strands and the chlorine, making it harder for the chemical to penetrate your hair. Our Avocado Infusion Hair Milk is perfect for extra protection against chlorine. 

Saturate Your Hair with Oil

This a super easy step that can be done the night before your pool day! Oils can aid in strengthening your hair and can seal your strands which helps stop chlorine from seeping in. Kinky Tresses Nourishing Hair Oil is perfect for this step!

Protective Styles

Last but not least, try styling your hair in a protective style. This can help minimize tangles and is also super cute! Try simple styles such as buns, two strand twists or braids. Keeping your hair in these styles for pool days will make it so much easier when it comes time to wash and detangle your hair. 

Your Pool Day Has Come to an End. So Now What?

So your pool day has finally come to an end, what are your next steps? First and foremost, you should wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo. I know I’ve said to stay away from shampoos with sulfates but even shampoos with sulfates can have a short moment in the spotlight. The goal is to remove any chlorine that may be on your strands and scalp. Once you’re done clarifying your tresses, go ahead and deep condition your hair. Deep conditioners, such as Kinky Tresses Avocado Infusion Restorative Conditioner, help restore moisture and hydration to dry, brittle hair. This step is super important after your pool day, since it will help to bring life back into your hair after being saturated in chlorinated water.

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