How does chlorine affect your natural hair?

Chlorine is able to suck away the sebum from the hair shaft. Sebum is the natural oil that your scalp produces in order to protect your hair from damage and harsh weather conditions. After swimming in a pool you may experience dry and brittle hair. Chlorine is not good for your natural hair. Luckily, there are some great ways to protect your natural hair from chlorine damage.

How to protect your natural hair from chlorine

There are some things you can do before you go swimming and afterward.

Wet your hair with water

Before hopping in the pool rinse your hair with warm water. Your natural hair is like a sponge. It will absorb the water until it is saturated. That means your hair will only absorb a small quantity of chlorinated water as it is already filled with water. Don’t skip this step.

Apply coconut oil

Gently coat your hair with coconut oil. Be sure not to forget your scalp and your ends. You can do this the night before as your hair will absorb the oil. This will lock in the moisture and it also works well because coconut oil and water don’t mix. The hair coated in coconut oil acts as a barrier to the chlorine in the water. It also helps your hair retain moisture by sealing moisture into the hair shaft.

Benefits of coconut oil

Protect hair from damage
Prevent hair loss
Reduce dandruff
Moisturize your hair
Helps in the growth of new hair follicles.

Apply a conditioner

Apply a generous amount of conditioner to your hair that is for dry curly hair. Make sure to coat the length, roots, and scalp. This will moisturize your hair and seal the cuticle and help create a barrier between your strands and the harsh pool water. Don’t rinse out the conditioner.

Wear a swim cap

Cover your hair with a swim cap. This will prevent your natural hair from getting wet. So you don’t have to worry about your hair getting dry and brittle. Some people apply a conditioner first before putting the cap on. If you don’t like the idea of a swim cap just put your hair in flat twists or cornrows.

Use shampoo after swimming

After swimming rinse out the conditioner and pool water for some minutes and use a swimmer shampoo or a cleansing conditioner such as Keratin Complex Conditioner to wash your hair.

Use a deep conditioner

You need to apply a deep conditioner to the hair. Cover it with a plastic cap and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Then rinse it out.

What are the benefits of deep conditioning?

Hydrate and soften hair damaged by chemical processing and exposure to heat.
Improve hair elasticity.
Prevent hair breakage.
Repair hair damaged by certain medications.
Restore moisture that allows hair to resist stretching.

Moisturize and seal

Use a hair cream to moisturize your hair and oils or butter to seal in the moisture. Hair cream, commonly termed styling cream, adds a natural shine to rough hair. It smoothens the tamed hair and holds them well so that they don’t fill this will help the hair cuticles to retain moisture. Put your hair in a protective style and let it air dry.