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I'm not much of a fan of swimming, and dont if I dont have to, however in school you are required to participate in swimming activities to pass gym class..And You have to pass gym class in order to graduate. Talk about two dumb rules. Anyway since I am forced to it, what actions can I take to avoid damaging my hair (keep in mind this is at school, I can't be constantly applying conditioners or anything). My hair is also color treated, so it is already damaged enough. Not to mention I dont want to end up with discoloration. Last year, the clorine wreaked total havoc on my hair, I had to lose about 3 inches to the scissors. I hear that damping the hair with tapwater before swimming can help. Thats about as much as i can do besides rinsing off the clorine afterwards in the showers. Luckily, it is the last period of the day so I can do whatever I need at home after that. If I deep condition at home afterwards, should that help a lot with avoiding damage? I dont know what else would be possible, but I figured I'd try and get more suggestions.
JT
I doubt swimming is so "devastating" for your hair. Sure it may be a problem for fake colors. But other than that, swimming is not dangerous for your hair!
It depends on what chemicals the pool uses. I was a competitive swimmer for years and back then pools used only chlorine to treat the water and my hair just got destroyed if I didn't keep it short. I used anti-chlorine shampoo and conditioner but it didn't seem to do much. I started wearing a cap which provided minimal protection but the hair that stuck out in the back went from dark brown to blond by the end of the season and developed huge knots of damaged hair that would pull out as I brushed...and I barely felt it.
Now many/most pools have converted to Bromine which among other things is less harsh on the hair (or should be).
Just passing basic requirements for gym class probably won't put you in the water long enough to so serious damage to your hair but taking care of it properly will really help.
For me, chlorine tends to dry out my hair a little. However, I remember swimming in high school and didn't have any hair problems (although my hair wasn't nearly as long as it is now). I would think that as long as you rinse or wash your hair after swimming that it shouldn't be a problem. However, if the pool is over-chlorinated it might damage your hair. Perhaps the combination of hair color and chlorine is causing some damage. I would try not coloring it at all and see if this has a positive effect. Good luck.
I dont know if it is or not, but with all the people in each class it is very possible
Well it is too late for the ends since they are already colored, and school starts in 3 months. My natural hair color is bright orange (some might call it red hair but I don't) so it looks a heck of a lot better colored light brown.
JT
Well, if it IS red hair -- right on, man. In my opinion, I think you should go with the natural color. Take it easy.