Growth and Maintenance

How to Protect Your Child’s Natural Hair When Swimming

Warm weather is finally here! If your little one is starting summer camp, swim classes, or just loves to swim, then it is best to learn how to properly care for and protect their hair from the harmful chemicals in pools.

CHLORINE AND NATURAL HAIR

Most swimming pools are filled with chlorine which is incredibly harmful to natural hair. Chlorine’s chemical properties suck out all of the hair’s natural oils and moisture resulting in dry, brittle hair. Here are some ways to keep your child’s hair healthy and protected when swimming.

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR HAIR BEFORE YOU SWIM

1. Rinse Your Hair. As crazy as this may sound, wetting your child’s hair before they jump into the helps prevent additional water and chlorine from the pool to be absorbed into the hair.

For hairstyles in cornrows and braids: Thoroughly saturate the braids from root to tip.

Think of it as a wet paper towel or sponge. When the towel has already soaked up a lot of water, it will not absorb much more water.

So while they are rinsing their bodies off before jumping in the pool, thoroughly saturate their hair as well.

2. Oil Your Hair.
Apply an ample amount of olive oil or coconut oil throughout the hair. This helps seal in the moisture and prevents harmful chemicals from penetrating the hair shaft.

For hairstyles in cornrows and braids: Mix 3 tablespoons of olive oil or jojoba oil in a spray bottle with 1 cup of water. Shake vigorously. Spray throughout the hair and gently massage into the braids.

3. Condition Your Hair.
Conditioning your hair prior to swimming ads another layer of protection from the harsh elements and also assists the hair with retaining it’s moisture.

For hairstyles in cornrows and braids: Mix 3 tablespoons of conditioner in a spray bottle with 1 cup of water. Shake vigorously. Spray throughout the hair and gently massage into the braids.

4. Protective Style Your Hair
Leaving your hair out is recipe for disaster. Hair will easily tangle and matte in the pool. Putting your child’s hair up into a bun or twists into a ponytail will keep it secure while they swim.

Need protective hairstyle ideas? Download our free guide to protecting your child’s hair during swim season!

5. Wear A Swimming Cap
Finding a swimming cap that will cover all of your little one’s curls may be a challenge. Back in the day (am I aging myself?) swim caps would be sooo hard to wear. One wrong move and it would roll up taking our edges right with it. Ouch!

Luckily, some awesome entrepreneurs saw the need for bigger swimming caps. Here are some of the best swimming caps for natural hair that I recommend:

CARING FOR YOUR HAIR AFTER YOU SWIM

6. Rinse Out The Chlorine
After your little one has had their fun it is important that you immediately rinse out all of that chlorine. Under luke warm water, rinse out the hair from root to tip for about 5 minutes. If the hair is loose, section the hair into 2 -4 sections and rinse out each individual section thoroughly.

7. Cleanse
After rinsing, cleanse the hair with a cleansing conditioner. If your child will not be swimming again for awhile, then use a cleansing shampoo instead and proceed with moisturizing and styling as usual.

Here are some of the best cleansing shampoos for swimmers with natural hair:

For hairstyles in cornrows and braids: Mix 3 tablespoons of cleansing shampoo conditioner in a spray bottle with 1 cup of water. Shake vigorously. Spray throughout the hair and gently massage into the braids.

8. Deep Condition
Using a deep conditioner after swimming is a critical step in keeping hair healthy after swimming. Separate hair into 4 sections and apply an ample amount of deep conditioner to the hair. Cover with a thermal cap and let sit for 30 minutes.

For hairstyles in cornrows and braids: Mix 3 tablespoons of a deep conditioner in a spray bottle with 1 cup of water. Shake vigorously. Spray throughout the hair and gently massage into the braids.

9. Restore Hair’s Moisture
One tried and true method of restoring your child’s moisture is with the L.O.C. method. The L.O.C. is named for the order in which you apply products to the hair in order to help it retain moisture. L is for liquid (water) or Leave-In. O is for oil. And C is for cream (butters like shea, mango or cocoa).

Learn more about the L.O.C. Method here.

What to take all of this info with you on the go? Download our free guide to protecting your child’s hair during swim season! In it you will find:

All the tips mentioned above in an easy to print format so that you can always have it with you
Hairstyles that help keep your child’s hair protected under their swim cap
Product Recommendations for Cleansing Shampoos and Conditioners, Moisturizers, Oils and Creams.

Download it below! It’s FREE!