How To Protect Your Hair From Chlorine

Swimming pool chlorine is essential to kill bacteria, viruses and fungus to keep the water safe for swimmers, but chlorine can also affect us! Chlorine can make your hair dry and weak, causing breakages and loss of moisture. It can make hair coarse and tangly. Here are some tips on how to protect your hair from chlorine.

Rinse Hair Before and After Swimming

There is a reason why pool staff tell you to take a shower before entering the pool. This is a crucial step to remove any dirt or oils from your body or hair, so they don't end up in the pool. But this is also helpful to prevent chlorine damage to your hair.

When you rinse your hair, or pre-soak, your hair before entering the pool, your hair strands absorb the non-chlorinated water, minimising the amount of chlorinated water it absorbs. For the same reasons, it is always a good idea to rinse your hair after swimming too.

Swim Spray

If you have blond hair and are especially worried about the effects of chlorine on your light-coloured hair, you can purchase a swim spray product to apply to your hair to help block chlorine from penetrating your strands. 

Swim Caps

If you’re a competitive swimmer, you likely already wear a swim cap for swim practice! Swim caps are great to prevent the chlorinated water from reaching your hair in the first place. With all your hair tucked away underneath the cap, you can avoid most of the chlorine.

Use Natural Oils

If you’re a frequent swimmer, or just have hair more prone to chlorine damage, consider applying a protectant to your hair. Natural oils, such as coconut oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, or olive oil, act as a protective layer to prevent chlorine and other chemicals from being absorbed by your hair.

Pre-Swim and Post-Swim Hair Care

Using pre-swim hair shampoos and conditioners provide an additional protective layer to your hair to neutralise any absorption from the pool. 

Perhaps the most critical time to prevent chlorine-damaged hair is when you exit the water. Your post-swim shower and hair routine will help remove chlorine before it penetrates too deeply into your strands. Using post-swim shampoos and conditioners help to restore healthy hair texture, hydrate your scalps, and soothes dry hair.

We even have some TriHard pre and post-swim hair care products available here.