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When I bleached my hair blond my stylist told me I must never swim in a swimming pool again because it will turn my hair green and the chlorine will damage my hair so much that it might break off when I wash or brush it. I don't live near a lake or ocean, so this is basically an order to never go swimming again. It's been difficult for me to endure, and now that the weather is getting warmer this requirement is even more difficult to bear. Swimming used to be my favourite form of exercise, and now that I can't do it anymore, I find it much harder to stay in shape. Sometimes I want to swim so badly that I think it would be worth the risk of damaging my hair, but then I think back to how miserable I was after getting my long hair cut off and I couldn't stand to go through that again.
So is there any solution to this? Is there a way I can protect my hair from the damaging effects of the chlorine and be able to swim again? Perhaps a product I apply to my hair before getting in the pool that will prevent the chlorine from penetrating? Please don't suggest a swim cap; they give me headaches and I don't have the confidence to wear something that looks so ridiculous to a public pool.
Hi Sören, Yet another reason for keeping it natural, no chemicals, no heat etc. equals no damage. But a swim cap is probably your only solution if you want to bathe in a chlorinated pool. I do wonder though at the advice you were given, there must be many ladies around who swim with bleached hair, perhaps they have to wear caps too! Best regards, Ian
Options:
1. Swim in creeks and rivers. Lots of longhairs prefer them (as well as lakes), so ask other longhairs where they swim. The ocean, by the way, is not kind to long hair. Despite media imagery, surfers out at the beach do not have really long hair. I've had them tell me you can't surf a lot and keep really long hair. Lots of surfers are shaggy though.
2. If swimming is a major part of your life, move to where there is more water. The more variety you have in locales, the more you will enjoy swimming and the more you will swim. I moved to California from a place with nasty weather and fewer parks 30 years ago because I like to hike, and I've never regretted it. Here there are lots of parks and I can hike year round. Humans have feet, not roots. We are not plants. If a place does not suit you, man, use your feet.
Bill
Hej Sören,
You worry too much. There are milllllllllions of women out there who dye their hair blonde. Do you honestly think all of them avoid swimming pools forever?
Only if you went from naturally deep black hair to platinum blonde and if you go swimming every other day would there really be any risk in my opinion.
Go out and enjoy life.
Hey Soren,
I think you can swim if you take a few precautions. I have heard that bleached hair can turn green from chlorine, but I'm not sure how true that is. I bet there's a special rinse or shampoo for that out there anyway.
I lived in Miami Beach and swim in a pool every day, and I did notice that my hair was drier, and crunchy feeling when I washed it after swimming. It didn't feel that way after swimming in the ocean though, I think the salt water would soften it if anything (though as my hair now approaches my shoulders I wonder about it getting stressed and tangled by the waves). I definitely noticed that my hair grew faster when I was swimming.
I looked on some swimming websites and read that soaking your hair with ordinary water before you get in the pool will help protect it. The idea is that your hair will absorb the clean water first, and won't absorb as much of the chemically treated water in the pool. I don't know if that's true but I bet it helps to reduce the initial direct impact of the chemicals on dry hair. Another reason for wetting the hair is to make it easier to slip on that gross swim cap. I bought a swim cap, but outside of emailing a joke photo of myself wearing it, I never wore it in the pool. I prefer swimming laps in a pool to natural water sources, it's just easier.
If you get into a regular swimming routine, you might just want to be sure to do regular deep conditioning treatments to restore your hair. Good luck!
Joey
Sounds very extreme as many people clearly do bleach their hair and swim in pools. Does the so called stylist know what he or she is actually talking about or did they actually say what your report?
In future don't bleach.
Perhaps wear a Bathing Cap?
Justin~
ps: You might want to research this a little bit. Chances are many people swim in pools who have bleached their hair. The odds are just to high that they haven't. I wouldn't know, but it is worth reading about. Stylists can say alot of things.