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| Photo Credit: http://tatoobild.com/kids/kids-swimming-clipart.html |
Chlorine plays such havoc on your hair! (As any blonde with a green chlorine tinge can tell you!)
Most of you have either purchased expensive treatments, or heard about using lemon juice but you may not have been sure how much or how to use it.
I have 2 pre-treating tips before your kids jump into the pool ,and one after swim treatment.
PRETREAT:
1) Wet hair before jumping in:
Throw a spray bottle filled with plain tap water into your swim bag. spray hair till it is damp. Think of hair like a sponge. A sponge will only soak up so much water before it is "full". hair is quite similar. To help reduce the amount of chlorine absorbed into the hair, wet the hair with plain water first. Then the hair won't be quite as damaged by the chlorinated water.
2) Coat hair with a leave in conditioner
After wetting the hair, try rubbing just a small amount of hair conditioner through their hair. (Doesn't take much). This will create a barrier from the chemicals and still be quite gentle to the hair at the same time. It can be regular conditioner or the leave in kind. Just grab a bottle and toss it in your swim bag.
I first found a homemade after care hair treatment recipe in my Herb Quarterly magazine and then saw it in a lot of internet posts. It called for both baking soda and lemon juice along with mild shampoo. I realize it's been 20+ years since my last chemistry class, but the mixing of lemon juice and baking soda can only result in one thing.... FIZZ! I went ahead and tried it, and yep... all the ingredients were like Lava from a volcano. SO.. scratch that one!
If you want to make your own treatment I recommend about 1/4 cup lemon juice OR 2 Tablespoons of baking soda (NOT BOTH)
Jan's Tip: Lemon Juice may lighten your hair, so use with caution and no more than once a week. Also rinse the lemon juice product off the scalp and skin very thoroughly before exposure to the sun, as it can cause a burn called photophyto dermatitis. That will not be fun.
After Care Treatment
Swimming Pool Hair Care Treatment:
(this makes one treatment)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup lemon juice OR (not both) 2 Tablespoons baking soda
2 Tablespoons. mild shampoo (baby shampoo or castile soap)
1 shower cap (or grab your plastic wrap)
Directions:
stir all ingredients together until well mixed.
To Use:
Wet hair
Apply entire treatment to to hair
Massage into your hair and scalp.
Put on a shower cap or wrap hair in plastic wrap
Leave for 30 minutes
Rinse well
Shampoo and condition as usual
