Taking a dip? Here’s what to know to protect your hair and your skin

While we all love to cool down in the summer heat by diving into a pool, a lake or maybe even the ocean, it’s imperative to know how water can affect the hair and skin. Baylor College of Medicine dermatologists share haircare and skincare tips to remember before your next dip.

Haircare

“A lot of the waters we swim in – saltwater or chlorinated water – can be very drying and can lead to breakage and hair loss if not handled appropriately,” said Dr. Oyetewa Oyerinde, assistant professor of dermatology and director of the Skin of Color Clinic.

She said chlorine can harm the hair if it is chemically treated.

“If you have color in your hair or a perm, once your hair interacts with chlorine, it can reduce the color or break your hair,” she said.

To reduce damage, Oyerinde suggests:

• Before swimming, saturate your hair with water so that it absorbs less water; use a leave-in conditioner or an oil to prevent your hair from interacting too much with chlorinated or salt water.
• While swimming, consider keeping your hair in a big braid to prevent tangles; use a swim cap as long as it is not too tight on the edges of the hair on your forehead.
• After swimming, rinse your hair with water right away; shampoo within the next few hours, and then use a deep conditioner.

Whether your hair is curly or coily, straight or wavy, there are certain shampoos and conditioners you can use after swimming that are best for your hair type.

“For curly or coily hair, consider using moisturizing shampoos – these are sulfate-free, neutralizing or chlorine-specific shampoos. You also can use a clarifying shampoo more than once a month instead of every time you swim,” Oyerinde said. “For straight or wavy hair, you might be able to get away with using a clarifying shampoo more frequently.”

Skincare

When swimming in a pool, chlorine can irritate or dry the skin. If you swim in salt water or lake water, be aware of potential skin infections.

“With salt water that is in a shallow area, or where the water has been stagnant, you can get vibrio, a cholera-like bacteria that can be very serious,” said Dr. John Wolf, professor of dermatology. “With lake water, if the water is slow-moving, you can get a horrible infection by amoebas that can get into your nose or your mouth.”

Wolf said that these types of infections are unlikely to occur if you swim in an active or open-ocean area. But the skin can become irritated by a combination of salt water, sunlight or sunscreen.

He recommends that in addition to applying sunscreen, rinse off or bathe as soon as you get out of the water.

“Once you shower or bathe off the sunscreen and the chlorine, lake or salt water, your skin will feel more comfortable,” he said. “Once finished, apply a moisturizing lotion while your skin is still damp. This will trap the water in your skin and help prevent dryness.”

By Taylor Barnes