suit: red dress | coverup: amazon | sandals: famous footwear c/o | sunnies: amazon
We have been spending ample time at the pool lately. It’s felt so good to get out of the house and have a change of scenery. The girls have especially enjoyed it. We’ve been swimming at my in-laws pool and occasionally swimming at our neighborhood pool. Seeing others really is so good for the soul!
I grew up a swimmer and swam all through high school, so I love being by the water; I even love the smell of chlorine! Despite spending years in the pool for sport or fun, the one thing that I never seem to remember is how quickly the chlorine can do a number on your hair! Fortunately as a brunette, I have never dealt with my hair turning green, but I have most definitely suffered from dried out, crunchy hair.
Since both of my girls are blonde though I’ve really tried to make some active steps to help maintain their hair color and quality. I may or may not have freaked them out about their hair turning green, too, so they are willing to do anything and everything I tell them to do in order to maintain their pretty blonde hair.
I wish I had one magic trick to share with you all that would fix the effects of pool hair, but unfortunately it’s more about prevention than rehabilitation. In the past we really just relied on putting oil in the girls’ hair post showers, but it honestly didn’t give us the results we wanted. So, this year we are being a lot more proactive with protecting their hair and so far it’s working!
3 ways to protect your hair from the pool
ONE – condition
This is probably the best thing you can do to prevent chlorine from wreaking havoc on your hair. Before you get in the pool rinse your hair and put conditioner in it. If you aren’t in a position to put conditioner in your hair, at least rinse it. Rinsing the hair will saturate your hair will moisture, which prevents the chlorine from the pool from attaching to your hair follicles.
We typically shower or rinse our hair in the sink before we leave the house, but you could always keep a travel-size conditioner in your pool bag. After I condition my girls’ hair I usually throw it up into a high bun or high ponytail to keep it out of their face and off their carseats.
TWO – rinse
Rinsing your hair after you go to the pool is just as critical as rinsing it before you go swimming. By washing or at the very least rinsing your hair after the pool, you will be getting rid of any residual chemicals in your hair.
We were so bad at this last year. We typically swam at our neighborhood pool in the evenings so I would literally change them into their PJs before getting in the car and then put the right to bed. Now I see that by letting the chemicals from the chlorine sit in their hair all night, it was further damaging their hair.
THREE – oil
I have read a lot about putting oil in your hair prior to swimming (much like conditioner), but I swear by using this oil afterwards. We have been using this oil on the girls’ hair for over 2 years now and I swear by it. We put it on their hair right when they get out of the bath and it helps maintain the moisture in their hair. It’s the one product that helped salvage my girls’ hair last summer after months of swimming.
The great thing about this product is that a little goes a long way. All you need is one pump (note: my girls have long hair). I put one pump in my hair and start working it into their hair from the bottom up. It smells good, too!
Since we’re on the topic of pools, I wanted to share some cute suits we’ve found for 4th of July! We have been HUGE fans of Cecil & Lou since the girls were babies and always look to them for holiday wear. I ordered Abby this dress for 4th of July and think I’ll have to grab a suit, too!
4th of July swimwear:
