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Your Pre & Post-Swimming Hair Routine

How to minimize damage and get that *summer hair*.

Hair
Your Pre & Post-Swimming Hair Routine

If we had our way, we’d spend most of our summer in and around the water. A pool, a lake, an ocean—frankly anything outdoors that provides relief from the heat and supports our lounge-paddle-sip lifestyle. If the dry, matted mess that is our hair on a Sunday evening is any indication, though, we should probably never go swimming again. In an attempt to temper the effects of the chlorine, sun and salt water, we asked Mane Addicts’ Justine Marjan to give us a pre- and post-swimming routine that will turn our summer hair into the *summer hair* we imagine ourselves having: wavy and glossy instead of dry and damaged.


In the Pool:

“I always suggest putting a deep conditioner in your hair before swimming so there’s a barrier between the hair and chlorine water. This is also a great opportunity to put in a heavy oil (like castor oil) or OUAI Treatment Masque—just braid your hair up while you’re in the water. [The braid will] keep the treatment in when you go swimming.

“Post-swimming, you will want to use a demineralizer or clarifying shampoo, like Kevin Murphy Detox Shampoo, followed by a deep conditioner. After washing and conditioning, use an old cotton T-shirt to gently squeeze out water instead of roughing up the hair with a towel. This will prevent further damage to the strands and frizz.”

In the Ocean:

“Before any sun exposure or swimming, a deep conditioner is key! The heat from the sun will help it work deeper into your strands and will protect from the drying properties of the salt water. I like to apply a mask directly to dry hair to protect it.

“[After swimming], a quick rinse in fresh water is great. Embrace the texture that your hair has from the salty water and conditioner.”

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