Practical Tips On How You Can Have Water Safe Hair This Summer

Whether it’s summer camp for the kids, vacationing, jet skiing, hanging out at the pool, or dodging waves at the beach, you will probably be engaging in some sort of water activities to keep cool. While planning your summer activities, have you already planned your summer hair care regimen?

During the hotter months, everyone is busy taking advantage of the beautiful weather; planning more outdoor activities, swimming, and everything in between,without putting any fore thought into protecting their hair. My goal is to help you protect your hair from irreversible sun and water damage, while enjoying the season with family and friends.

It doesn’t matter if you’re swimming in chlorinated water or salt water, they both can have an adverse affect on your hair. Chlorine is a yellow-green gas used in water to protect the human body from harmful pathogens that cause diseases.

The amount of chlorine used will vary from pool to pool, with public pools having the highest content, due to the amount of people who might use the pool on any given day.

Many believe that wearing a swimming cap protects their hair from water, unfortunately, that’s untrue. A swimming cap will only protect your hair from the sun, if you’re swimming in an outdoor pool. Swimming caps were designed to keep hair out of your face, and from tangling in your goggles.

Swimming caps were designed to keep hair out of your face, and from tangling in your goggles. If your hair is overly exposed to chlorine (swimming multiple times per week) you may notice that your hair is dry and brittle because the chemical strips the hair of its natural oils*.

Your hair may also have a greenish cast on it from the oxidized metals (copper*) in the water. This happens when the copper* binds to the protein on your hair shaft and can only be corrected with proper treatment. If you only plan on taking an occasional dip in the pool, you won’t be exposed to as much chlorine, however, I still recommend taking proper precaution to protect your hair.

If your hair is fine, color treated, permed/relaxed or has pre-existing damage, and you are planning to frequent the pool, your hair has a greater risk of being compromised by chlorine.