Start with clean water, then add a barrier: a leave-in conditioner, a light oil or a pre-swim product. Put a swim cap over it if you own one. Which barrier is right depends on how often you swim, and a once-a-month swimmer needs something different from someone in the pool most mornings.
Chlorinated water strips the natural oils that coat each strand and roughens the cuticle, the overlapping outer layer. Hair without that coating feels dry and tangles more, and the ends break more easily. Here are the options, in order.
The options
1. Clean water, the step everyone skips
Hair takes up water like a sponge, so hair already full of clean water takes up less pool water. Wet yours under a shower or tap before you leave. It is free and reduces how much pool water gets in without blocking it. For anyone who swims often, it is the first step and never the only one.
2. A leave-in conditioner
Work a little through damp hair, ends first, and you have a barrier between the strand and the pool. For a swimmer who gets in once a month or less, that is a sound choice with nothing to buy. Swim several times a week and you are re-coating before every session with a product that was never designed to be worn in a pool.
3. A natural oil, coconut or argan
Oil is cheap and it does work as a barrier. It is also messy, it weighs down fine hair, and it can make a swim cap slide. That suits an occasional swimmer whose hair is not fine and who is skipping the cap.
4. A pre-swim cream or spray
A purpose-built pre-swim product is where frequent swimmers tend to end up, because it is made for exactly this job: applied before the swim, left on in the water, rinsed out after. AQUA GUARD Pre-Swim Hair Defense is ours, so weigh that. It is $24.99 for 5.3 oz on Amazon, with 4.4 stars across 3,364 ratings. The listing's directions: dampen your hair, apply a generous amount with special attention to the ends, and allow three to five minutes to absorb. The listing says it "stops chlorine damage before it starts."
It runs more than an oil or leave-in you already own, and it needs those few minutes. The 16.9 oz Family Size is $36.99, about $2.19 an ounce against $4.72 for the small bottle. Other brands sell pre-swim products too, so compare directions and price per ounce.
5. A swim cap over whatever you applied
A cap keeps most water off your hair but not all of it. Water gets in at the edges. It goes over your barrier, not in place of one.
By how often you swim
Once a month, a rinse of clean water and the leave-in or oil you already have is plenty.
Once a week looks the same, with one exception. Bleached, highlighted, chemically treated, fine or already damaged hair is more porous and shows chlorine effects first, so a pre-swim product earns its place sooner.
Most days, use a pre-swim product, wear the cap and plan on a swimmers' shampoo.
A kid on a summer swim team has hair that is often finer and more porous than an adult's, and swims more days in a row. AQUA GUARD makes Pre-Swim Hair Defense For Kids, $21.99 for 8.45 oz, and the listing calls out "easy comb-through."
After the swim
Rinse with fresh water the moment you get out, as the listing's directions say. Then wash with a shampoo made for swimmers, formulated to lift chlorine and metal residue. AQUA GUARD Chlorine Clarifying Shampoo is $17.99 for 9.5 oz. Finish with conditioner to put the moisture back. The Everyday Conditioner for Swimmers is $17.99 too.
Questions people ask
Should hair be wet or dry before applying a pre-swim product?
The listing allows both. Its directions box says "wet or dry," and the how-to line says to dampen first. Damp is the better habit, since hair already full of clean water takes in less from the pool.
Is coconut oil good before swimming?
It can work as a barrier, and plenty of swimmers use it, but it is messy, heavy on fine hair and slippery under a cap. Fine for a swim or two a month. Most days, a pre-swim product is easier to live with.
Can you use regular conditioner as a leave-in before swimming?
Yes, in a small amount. Smooth it through damp ends, comb through and do not rinse. A conditioner made to be rinsed out can feel heavy left in, so start small.
How long before swimming should you apply it?
Three to five minutes. That is the listing's direction for Pre-Swim Hair Defense. For an oil or leave-in, the same wait is a sensible default.
Does it work in salt water?
The Pre-Swim Hair Defense listing claims protection from chlorine and says nothing about salt water, so we will not claim it. Salt water pulls moisture out of hair and leaves salt behind as it dries, so you get the same dry, tangled result by a different route. Wet your hair with fresh water first and rinse the moment you are out, before the salt dries.
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How to protect blonde hair from chlorine