Try This // The Pre-Swimming Treatment that Protects Your Hair from Chlorine.

I would love to learn how to swim.  But one thing that's prevented me from taking the plunge is the harsh effects of chlorine on the hair.  And chlorine is just half the battle.  There's also the concern of having the hair strand over-expand from too much exposure to water. 

I don't wanna risk it.

But, on the other hand, I'd love to have a pool in my back yard so that's even more incentive to learn to swim.

What about my hair?

 I can only imagine the possible long term damage from spending extensive time in chlorinated water day after day. What can be done?  Is there any way to sidestep the potential damage?
Apparently, there is.  All we have to do is adequately prepare and protect the hair.  Years ago, I purchased ION's swimmer shampoo to see if it would help remove hard water buildup from my hair.  Honestly, it didn't do a great job of dealing with hard water.  I can't imagine it being a viable option to protect the hair from chlorine.

What we need is a solution that offers a highly protective barrier against chemicals. One that can also prevent the hair from becoming oversaturated with water.  Prepping the hair with conditioner seems logical but it's essentially ineffective.  The problem is that most conditioners are designed to rinse away with water.  The chlorinated water will strip the conditioner.  Oils are another option but many of them will absorb in the stand (partially or fully).

We need something stronger!

The only thing that will save our hair this summer from chlorine and salt water is the all mighty shea butter.

I recently experienced the preservative power of shea butter.  After wearing a protective style for around 3 weeks, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my hair was still perfectly moisturized. I never experienced anything like it.  So when I heard that women were successfully sealing their hair with shea butter before swimming, I wasn't a bit surprised.

Even without the use of a swim cap, people are happily frolicking in chlorinated water without any concern of long-term damage to their hair follicles.  Unlike conditioner and oils, shea butter does an excellent job of staying put.  Water has a hard time permeating the strand because of the maximum coverage that shea butter provides.  If you've ever used a pure shea butter product to style your hair on a humid day, you know that it does a wonderful job of preserving styles in unfavorable conditions.  If you don't have any shea butter handy before a swim, the other alternative is to coat your hair with products heavy in silicones like leave-in heat protectant serums.  As you know, silicones also coat the hair and provide a protective barrier.  Typically, we avoid cones because the buildup prevents moisture from penetrating the hair.  But, in the case of swimming in salt or chlorine, that's exactly what we want.  I may experiment with both but I like the idea of using an all natural alternative(shea butter).

Basically, once your swim session is over, you wash your hair as normal and you'll notice that there's no dryness, stiffness, or crunchiness from being exposed to pool chemicals.  Your hair is perfectly intact.   Also, shea butter has an SPF rating of 6 which means that it could provide a little protection for your hair even if you plan on being poolside all summer.  If you've ever spent an entire day outdoors, you might notice your hair dries up quickly.  A little whipped shea butter on your strands might just be the perfect summer hair essential.