Mermaid Hair: How to Protect Your Hair While Swimming This Summer

With the Summer months comes the Summer heat and there's no better way to cool down than by taking a nice cool dip in the pool. This can leave many naturalistas thinking, but what about my hair? How do you protect your hair while swimming.

In order to keep your hair in a tip top condition, take a look at the following tips for how to protect your hair while swimming this summer.

1) Wearing a swim cap is not mandatory but if you must, make sure that it doesn't pull on your edges as this can cause hair damage resulting in hair loss. Add a few drops of hair cream or essential oil to your hair prior to sporting your swim cap.

2) If you're not wearing a swim cap, make sure to wet your hair before swimming. Wetting your hair before swimming allows your hair to absorb fresh water first, leaving less room for absorbing salt in the water or chlorine which can cause dryness and breakage.

3) Secure your hair because loose hair can become tangled and difficult to manage. A pineapple up-do, twists, or even bantu knots are great styles to try while swimming. Braiding your hair is recommended if you have longer hair.

4) Don't go swimming right after a shampoo. Going for a swim right after shampooing is very harsh and can strip your hair of its natural oils, resulting in dryness and brittleness.

Treat your hair with a natural oil before going for a swim. Some great choices are coconut, jojoba, or castor oil. These oils help to seal the cuticles and create a physical barrier from the harsh elements in the water.

5) Condition your hair beforehand. Conditioning beforehand is important because protecting your hair is all about create a physical barrier. Much like the use of natural oils, conditioner reinforces a protective barrier.