Tag: Anti-Chlorine Shampoo

See our anti-chlorine products.

Posted on April 27, 2017April 24, 2019 by Goodbye Chlorine

How do swimmers get the chlorine off?

You may have noticed that after swimming you smell like chlorine. No matter how hard you try the chlorine just sticks to you. You may have tried different types of soap, body wash and shampoo, but the chlorine just sticks. Many swimmers have tried D.I.Y. home remedies such as tomato juice, vinegar and even ketchup. But these methods don’t seem to work either. Help! Do you just want to get the chlorine off? Keep reading.

How do swimmers deal with chlorine?

Well, some swimmers do put up with dry itchy skin and even the chlorine smell. But if you would rather leave the chlorine in the pool and have hair that looks normal, then keep on reading.

Chlorine smells.

No doubt about it, chlorine smells. You can smell a swimming pool from a block away. Going to a swim meet? As you walk around looking for the pool, sometimes your nose is better than a GPS. Yup, that’s the pool, smells like chlorine.

Chlorine sticks.

Chlorine creates a strong bond with your skin and hair. As you swim, it tries to sterilize everything organic, and you are the largest chlorine magnet in the pool. Quite simply, chlorine loves swimmers and it creates a strong bond with them. After swimming, swimmer’s hair and skin are very clean, however, they also have lots of chlorine on them.

Chlorine is toxic.

Did you know the first chemical agent used in warfare was chlorine gas? Yes, it is a very toxic substance and can kill you. Itis deemed safe if used at levels prescribed for use in pools, but like any chemical, accumulation can raise these levels far above what health experts would like. Have you noticed how your eyes burn after exposure to the swimming pool, or how your skin gets dry and itchy. This is the effect of accumulation.

When chlorine accumulates on your hair, it will cause it to be dry, brittle and unmanageable. This is commonly called “swimmer’s hair” or “chlorine hair”.

What do you need to get chlorine off?

The key to getting chlorine off is to use products that break the chlorine bond and gently wash it away. You don’t need a strong soap, but you need a gentle soap designed to get the chlorine off.

Use these swimming-specific products to get the chlorine off after swimming:

Soap or shower gel for your skin.
Shampoo and conditioner for your hair.
Chlorine neutralizing spray for your hair and skin if the chlorine is exceptionally bad.
Styling products.

Articles you may find helpful

Swimmer’s Hair: How to avoid it and fix it.
Anti-Chlorine Shampoo and Conditioner: Instantly Removes Chlorine
What causes “swimmer’s hair” and how to care for it.
Should you use anti-chlorine soap, or anti-chlorine spray?
Shampoo avid swimmers use to win the chlorine battle.
The Science of Chlorine: Why it’s important for public health.
Use this body wash to get the chlorine off.
Chlorine Removal Soap
Chlorine Removal Shampoo

See our anti-chlorine shampoo and conditioner bundles here.

Posted on April 20, 2017February 15, 2021 by Goodbye Chlorine

Swimmers’ shampoo, will it fix swimmer’s hair?

Goodbye Chlorine manufactures swimmers’ shampoo and other products for swimmers’ hair and skin. Click here to see our entire product line, or our buyer’s guide.

Listen to the audio version of this article.

This post may seem a little like splitting hairs (pun intended), but whether or not swimmers’ shampoo will fix swimmer’s hair will take a little explaining.

Swimmers’ shampoos are designed to maintain healthy hair.

Swimming-specific shampoos are designed to remove chlorine from swimmer’s hair and to help maintain healthy hair in spite of continual damage caused by chlorine. But if you are talking about “swimmer’s hair” as a condition of damaged hair rather than the hair of a swimmer, then it takes a little more to fix it than just removing chlorine.

While swimmer’s shampoo will effectively remove chlorine, hair that has been severely damaged by chlorine needs a lot more TLC.

What is swimmer’s hair?

Swimmer’s hair is hair that hasn’t been cared for properly and has had long-term exposure to chlorinated water. This results is swimmer’s hair, which in essence is badly damaged hair.

Chlorine is alkaline. Alkaline substances have a number higher than 7 on the pH scale–if you remember your high school chemistry. However, the pH of healthy hair is slightly acidic–a number lower than 7 on the same pH scale.

Under normal conditions, the cuticle lies flat. The cuticle is the outer layer of the hair shaft and is a scale-like structure. When the cuticle lies flat and the scales interlace, it locks in the moisture of the hair shaft. But when the cuticle is exposed to alkaline water, like chlorinated pool water, the sales of the cuticle lift up.

When the cuticle lifts up your hair becomes dry and brittle and has a flat appearance as opposed to shiny, healthy hair. Your hair will also feel rough rather than feeling smooth.

As you can see, getting rid of chlorine is only part of the problem, and shampoo is the wrong tool for the job.

What are the limitations of swimmer’s shampoo?

Shampoo is a special surfactant (surface acting agent). In layman’s terms, it is a soap. It is very difficult–if not impossible–to make a shampoo that adds oils back into the hair shaft. By definition, a surfactant is designed to remove grease and oil. Shampoos have degrees of aggressiveness, and swimming-specific shampoos are designed to be mild, but they don’t put moisture back into the hair shaft.

The biggest limiting factor of swimmer’s shampoos, in fixing badly damaged hair, is they don’t add moisture back into the hair shaft.

What is the best product to use to fix swimmer’s hair?

The best product to fix swimmer’s hair is a swimming-specific hair conditioner. Goodbye Chlorine’s hair conditioner for swimmers is uniquely designed to fix swimmer’s hair. Here’s why:

Releases chlorine – Goodbye Chorine’s hair conditioner effectively neutralizes chlorine which is the first step towards fixing swimmer’s hair.
Adds moisture – The hair conditioner is formulated with coconut oil and olive oil. It will replace the moisture in the hair shaft in a snap.
pH balanced – It is pH balanced so the cuticle will lie flat and hold in the moisture of the hair shaft.
Removes impurities – The conditioner will bind to and remove impurities on rinse out. This is a much better way to fix damaged hair than by using a surfactant like shampoo.

If you have badly damaged hair and need to fix swimmer’s hair, buy a product like Goodbye Chlorine’s hair conditioner. It’s a good product to use daily after swimming as well. Swimming-specific shampoos are great to use in combination but don’t count on them for fixing severely damaged hair.

Articles you may find helpful

Swimmer’s Hair: How to avoid it and fix it.
Anti-Chlorine Shampoo and Conditioner: Instantly Removes Chlorine
What causes “swimmer’s hair” and how to care for it.
Should you use anti-chlorine soap, or anti-chlorine spray?
Shampoo avid swimmers use to win the chlorine battle.
The Science of Chlorine: Why it’s important for public health.
How to Keep Your Hair Looking Great
Shampoo for Swimmers
How to Manage Swimmers’ Hair
How to Prevent Chlorine from Damaging Your Hair
Best Conditioner for Swimmers’ Hair
Skin Care for Swimmers

Posted on January 17, 2016January 5, 2020 by Goodbye Chlorine

How Swimmers Protect Their Hair from Chlorine

Men’s Hair Expert David Alexander gives his advice and 5 tips on how swimmers protect their hair in his article: How to Avoid Swimmers Hair in the Pool: Say Goodbye to Swimmers Hair.

He’s noticed, “I know several guys who spend their summers swimming and then buzz their heads to remove the damaged hair. That’s fine, but unless you want to end up giving yourself a buzzcut, maintaining your hair while swimming is important.”

How Swimmers Protect Their Hair from Chlorine:

Saturate your hair with a mixture of water and conditioner before you swim.
Wear a swim cap to help protect your hair from the chlorine.
Swim in salt water rather than a chlorinated pool if possible.
Clean your hair after swimming. He recommends a conditioning shampoo. (Goodbye chlorine has shampoo and conditioner on sale.)
Keep your hair trimmed regularly to keep your hair looking healthy.

Looking for personal care products made for swimmers? Our products get the chlorine out.

Swimmers enjoy the benefits of our chlorine removal products:

Effectively neutralize chlorine.
Gently washes away chlorine.
Restores and hydrates returning moisture to the hair and skin.

You can find products like our Original Hair Conditioner for swimmers, the #1 hair product we recommend, and our handmade chlorine removal soaps. All of our products are handmade with pure ingredients, and as a result, they are very high quality. They are also gentle enough to use daily.

David gives some sage advice about how swimmers protect their hair from chlorine. We hope to make it a little easier.

Read the entire article here: How to Avoid Swimmers Hair in the Pool Say Goodbye to Swimmers Hair By David Alexander Men’s Hair Expert

Articles you may find helpful

Swimmer’s Hair: How to avoid it and fix it.
Anti-Chlorine Shampoo and Conditioner: Instantly Removes Chlorine
What causes “swimmer’s hair” and how to care for it.
Should you use anti-chlorine soap, or anti-chlorine spray?
Shampoo avid swimmers use to win the chlorine battle.
The Science of Chlorine: Why it’s important for public health.
Soap for Swimmers
Chlorine Removal Shampoo
Hair Care for Swimmers
Body Wash That Gets the Chlorine Off
Shampoo and Conditioner for Swimmers’ Hair

Posted on May 12, 2015March 29, 2019 by Goodbye Chlorine

Protect Your Hair Color Before and After Swimming

Your summer plans will undoubtedly include spending time at the pool, and when you do, it’s important to protect your hair color before and after swimming.

Sable Yong at StyleCaster offers up some great tips for protecting your color and keeping your hair looking good.

She writes about what to do before, and after swimming.

Sable Recommends This After Swimming

Wash it out. Rather than shampooing before swimming (which makes no sense), it does help to wash your hair with a bit of clarifying shampoo directly after swimming in a pool. The chlorine and other drying chemicals lingering in your hair will do more damage if left in, so removing it throughly will prevent that damage altogether.

We agree! And there is no better product on the market to instantly remove the chlorine from your hair than our Original Shower Gel for swimmers.

Read Sable’s post to read all of her hair color protection tips, and remember, pack Goodbye Green’s shower gel for swimmers with you this summer when you head to the pool.

Although Sable has great advice, here are four of our best tips:

Protect Your Hair Color Before and After Swimming

Wet you hair in the shower before swimming.
Take a shower and getting your hair wet before swimming. It is one of the best things you can do to protect your hair. By doing so, your hair absorbs tap water and then is more resistant to absorbing pool water.
Use a leave-in conditioner.
Put a small amount of leave-in conditioner on your hair before you get in the pool. The best conditioner to use is our hair conditioner. It is formulated to neutralize chlorine, so it will create a barrier between the chlorinated pool water and your hair.
Wear a swim cap.
If you do put a conditioner on your hair before you get in the pool, you should also wear a latex swimming cap. Not only will this help keep the conditioner in your hair, it will also act as a physical barrier to keep the pool water off your hair.
Use Goodbye Chlorine conditioner after swimming.
Our best tip is to use our conditioner after swimming. It should be the only thing you need to keep your hair looking great. Our conditioner restores moisture, releases chlorine and gently cleans your hair. We have formulated our conditioner with Aztec Clay which bonds to impurities and carries them away. Think of our conditioner as the inverse of a conditioning shampoo. It’s a cleaning conditioner. Our hair conditioner is formulated for swimmers and it should be the only product you need to keep your hair looking great after swimming. If you must, then use our shower gel to shampoo your hair.

Goodbye Chlorine makes products for swimmers. We manufacture soap, shower gel, conditioner and styling products for swimmers. They all work to eliminate chlorine.

Articles you may find helpful