Swimming lessons

Coilystep · Dec 30, 2014

Since I am now natural, and am pretty comfortable doing my hair myself. I have decided to learn how to swim. I signed up for lessons yesterday. Classes start on 1/5. I'm pretty excited and scared at the same time (afraid of water). My New Year's resolution is to conquer my fear of water and learn how to swim. I no longer have the excuse of not being able get my hair wet. Do any of you ladies have suggestions on how to protect my hair? I have already purchased swimming caps. I plan to coat my hair with conditioner and wear a swim cap. I will be cowashing as soon as I get home as well. Any other tips or tricks would be most appreciated.

toaster · Dec 30, 2014

I think your plan sounds great! If you're worried about conditioner leaking from your swim cap you could also soak your hair in water and seal with a light oil (maybe coconut?) and wash afterwards.

Good luck with swimming!

ItsMeLilLucky · Dec 30, 2014

I wish I was as brave as you stephanie75miller after almost drowning twice I'm kinda leery of large bodies of water I can't control.

krissyhair · Dec 30, 2014

Congratulations on deciding to conquer your fear.

Your game plan sounds good. My only suggestion would be to clarify every once in a while to make sure you don't have any build up of pool water, even with the swim cap.

oneastrocurlie · Dec 30, 2014

I took swimming lessons last winter and no matter what I did with the swim cap my hair always got wet. I think your plan and the suggestions are good. I think if I had my hair as I do now say screw it and just wash and condition afterwards lol. They make swimmers shampoo so that might be a good product to invest in.

Coilystep · Dec 30, 2014

oneastrocurlie said:
I took swimming lessons last winter and no matter what I did with the swim cap my hair always got wet. I think your plan and the suggestions are good. I think if I had my hair as I do now say screw it and just wash and condition afterwards lol. They make swimmers shampoo so that might be a good product to invest in.

did you learn how to swim or get better? The package I brought has 8 classes.

Coilystep · Dec 30, 2014

whosthatcurl said:
I wish I was as brave as you stephanie75miller after almost drowning twice I'm kinda leery of large bodies of water I can't control.

that's why I'm taking the lessons. I'm very afraid of water.

oneastrocurlie · Dec 30, 2014

stephanie75miller said:
did you learn how to swim or get better? The package I brought has 8 classes.

I was swimming by the second lesson

I was swimming on my back by the end. Then I didn't go swimming all summer. Smh. I'm thinking of going back. It was offered through the parks and recs dept. They had various levels of beginners courses. Money well spent!

overtherainbow · Dec 30, 2014

First, congrats on conquering your fear!

Just remember that swim caps are meant to keep hair from clogging the pool, not to keep it dry. I think I saw on here (or maybe youtube?) a video where a stylist claimed that all you really need to do to protect your hair is to soak it in the shower before you jump in the pool. Because your hair would be saturated in regular water, it wouldn't be able to absorb as much chlorinated water. I don't personally like the conditioner method because it drips into my eyes and I heard that it's very difficult for the pool tech to clean. I spent my childhood swimming in the pool and ocean like a fish, and never had a problem with my hair. As long as you use a good shampoo, DC immediately afterwards and listen to your hair, you would be fine.

Alta Angel · Dec 30, 2014

Thanks for this. My kids are starting swimming lessons in a couple weeks and I ordered the Speedo Silicone Long Hair Swim Cap and the Hair Guard Headband to wear under Swim Caps For Watertight Seal from Headcovers.com. I will try to prep their hair beforehand and buy a swimmers shampoo.

snoop · Dec 30, 2014

Congrats on learning how to swim! I went through the same thing last year. I used a plastic steam cap, then two swim caps on my head and had minimal water get in (mainly just the edges got wet.) There were some days that I said to heck with the cap and went without. I was learning in a salt water pool which may have helped with the hair issues. I didn't do a whole lot by way of care other than just washing and conditioning afterwards, sometimes DCing with mayo at the pool for the length of the car ride home. My hair did not suffer at all.

As for the swimming part, I only knew how to float face down when I started. By the end of three seasons (Jan - Aug/Sept) I could front crawl the length of the pool (kind of); back crawl (much easier); started learning how to tread water (was kind of getting the hang of it); and started learning the breast stroke. I hope to be able to take some classes in the new year.

Good luck!

sherrimberri · Dec 30, 2014

I took lessons a couple of years ago. I started off with one lesson per week and increased to two lessons per week the second month. I didn't learn how to swim smh , but learned how to float on my back!

Anywho, the water always soaked my hair even with a swim cap. I made sure to rinse my hair thoroughly after every swim. I washed and deep condition once per week. No problems with the chlorine at all. Good luck & happy new year!

meka72 · Dec 30, 2014

There was a post some time ago (maybe during the spring/summer) about mixing 1tsp of vitamin c powder in a large spray bottle of water. The poster said that as soon as she left the pool, she would saturate her hair with the vitamin c spray to immediately neutralize the chlorine and leave the spray in hair for 2 minutes (or when she no longer coils smell the chlorine). My LHCF search skills are abysmal so you may have more luck trying to find the thread/post.

I can't remember which thread or who posted this but saved it because I wanted to take swim lessons again, for the 50-11th time.

nlamr2013 · Dec 30, 2014

No tips. Except saturate hair with water and cheapie conditioner.

Who are you taking lessons through? I'm so mad my university offered free swimming lessons my senior year and I never signed up because I didn't want to have to do my hair :sad:

Coilystep · Dec 30, 2014

nlamr2013 said:
No tips. Except saturate hair with water and cheapie conditioner. Who are you taking lessons through? I'm so mad my university offered free swimming lessons my senior year and I never signed up because I didn't want to have to do my hair

I will be going to Peachtree Dive Center.

DigitalRain · Jan 1, 2015

I swim 4 to 5 days a week and I've never had any issues with my from chlorine. Swim caps are also meant to decrease drag while swimming. I don't even wet my hair, I just put on a nylon/lycra cap and then my swim cap. However when I do wash my hair I use Suave Kids Swim and Splash Shampoo. Its cheap and effective for removing chlorine.

Coilystep · Jan 1, 2015

DigitalRain said:
I swim 4 to 5 days a week and I've never had any issues with my from chlorine. Swim caps are also meant to decrease drag while swimming. I don't even wet my hair, I just put on a nylon/lycra cap and then my swim cap. However when I do wash my hair I use Suave Kids Swim and Splash Shampoo. Its cheap and effective for removing chlorine.

does this have sulfates?

DigitalRain · Jan 1, 2015

stephanie75miller said:
does this have sulfates?

Yes. I think you will be hard pressed to find a chlorine removal shampoo without sulfates. But maybe you can substitute with a clarifying sulfate free shampoo. I'm not sure how effective it would be at actually removing chlorine though.

scarcity21 · Jan 1, 2015

great thread!.......................

Coilystep · Jan 6, 2015

Took my first swimming lesson today. I have a lot to learn but I feel pretty good about the first lesson. I came home and immediately cowashed. I'm deep conditioning now. The instructor stated without me having to ask that we should coat our hair with coconut oil prior to putting our swim caps on. I'm disappointed in the swim caps I purchased they were too thin and torn before I could even get them on my head. I hope I can find replacements before my next class on Thursday. The two I brought were from Amazon. Does anyone know where I might find some on the ground I checked walmart and they did not have any in the store by me.

Phoenix14 · Jan 6, 2015

stephanie75miller said:
Took my first swimming lesson today. I have a lot to learn but I feel pretty good about the first lesson. I came home and immediately cowashed. I'm deep conditioning now. The instructor stated without me having to ask that we should coat our hair with coconut oil prior to putting our swim caps on. I'm disappointed in the swim caps I purchased they were too thin and torn before I could even get them on my head. I hope I can find replacements before my next class on Thursday. The two I brought were from Amazon. Does anyone know where I might find some on the ground I checked walmart and they did not have any in the store by me.

Try any sporting goods store like Champs, Modells, Sports Authority or even Target.

Coilystep · Jan 7, 2015

^^^^^The sports authority stores have closed in my area. I have will check out the dick's though. Thanks for the suggestions.

DarkJoy · Jan 7, 2015

I use grease. :look:

nothing gets through a coating of grease. Nothing .

The swimmers shampoo takes it right off.

My family uses Aubrey Organics Swimmers Shampoo

Coilystep · Jan 7, 2015

DarkJoy said:
I use grease. nothing gets through a coating of grease. Nothing . The swimmers shampoo takes it right off. My family uses Aubrey Organics Swimmers Shampoo

I haven't used or brought grease in years. I may revisit. I plan to try the swimmers shampoo.

Coilystep · Jan 9, 2015

I brought sauve clarifying conditioner lass tg night. I used it didn't have any slip so then followed with my normal Aussie moist and got my normal slip. I will continue to use this on days I swim. I had my second class night and it went much better than the first.

Coilystep · Jan 12, 2015

This weekend I experienced ready dry irritated skin. My face is irritated and red and the skin on my body is dry. I been slathering on Shea buttero I think it is due to the chlorine and cold weather. Any recommendations for creams or lotions would be appreciated.

overtherainbow · Jan 12, 2015

I naturally have very dry skin (eczema) and "natural" remedies only go so far. I use Vaseline Intensive Care Advance Repair Lotion when my skin is really dry. My dry patches went away in less than a week after using daily. In the spring and summer EVCO works wonders. On my face I use Aquaphor Healing Ointment only on the red and flaky areas. My redness went away over night

Coilystep · Mar 2, 2015

Hello everyone here is an update. My classes in January went well. I feel I learned a lot. I still have a lot to learn. I will be
Starting another block of classes for March. They start tonight. It will be a different teacher from the one in January. My hair did not suffer any ill effects from the the chlorine. I always coated my hair with a coconut conditioner (Eden body works or SM coconut hibiscus). After class I always made sure to use my sauve clarifying conditioner. I also deep conditioned at least once or twice a week.

kupenda · Mar 2, 2015

stephanie75miller said:
Hello everyone here is an update. My classes in January went well. I feel I learned a lot. I still have a lot to learn. I will be
Starting another block of classes for March. They start tonight. It will be a different teacher from the one in January. My hair did not suffer any ill effects from the the chlorine. I always coated my hair with a coconut conditioner (Eden body works or SM coconut hibiscus). After class I always made sure to use my sauve clarifying conditioner. I also deep conditioned at least once or twice a week.

That great! Stick with it!

BlackRinse · Mar 2, 2015

I'm going to be signing up for swimming lessons March 7th. Just not sure how I should style my hair if I'm going to be swimming 2-3x a week. And it's winter...

Swimming lessons

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