Table of Contents Show
Chlorine is one chemical that can damage your hair and make it look really bad. This kind of damage takes a lot of time and effort to restore hair health completely. Chlorine found in the pools causes the most damage to the hair. Especially when you have treated hair the intensity of damage gets higher. Permed hair is obtained by going through an intense chemical procedure. The perm solution breaks the layer of your hair and gives the effect of perms. it is only natural to expect higher damage to your permed hair when you come into contact with chlorine.
But that does not mean you completely have to stop swimming because of the beautiful perms. Because you will get to know how to protect permed hair from chlorine, ways to restore damage, and overall damage you can get from chlorine. With all the necessary information on chlorine damage to your permed hair, the journey will be easy. Protecting your permed hair from chlorine damage is not too tough. Proper washing, and maintaining a healthy hair care routine can be your solution. Here’s more to know:
Effects Of Chlorine On Perm Hair
Chlorine is not one good component for your hair and can affect the overall appearance of any kind of hair over time. When you have your permed hair exposed to chlorine in water you can come across several effects. Some of them are:
- Losing perms by prolonged exposure to chlorine. Pool water has a higher concentration of chlorine especially in indoor pools., when you are continuously exposing your permed hair in the pool’s water without any kind of precaution, it is a matter of time before you will lose your hair.
- Having dry brittle hair is another worst case of chlorine exposure to your perms. Chlorine can actually trip out the natural oil from your hair and make it super dry and brittle. This also becomes very easy to break. By exposure to chlorine, your permed hair can appear to be super damaged, dry, and all over the place instead of super shiny hair.
- When you have permed hair, you already have gone through a chemical procedure that makes your hair super easily affected by any kind of harshness. Regular exposure to chlorine will make your permed hair porous absorbing all kinds of chemicals and making it fall like crazy.
- When your permed hair is being in contact with chlorine you will see split ends. With permed hair, the split end looks bad and does not go with your hair look.
- Also, it is highly possible to get an irritated scalp exposure to chlorine with your permed hair. The perm solution is full of chemical that makes your scalp super sensitive. When the sensitive scalp comes in contact with chlorine it can be very irritated.
8 Ways To Protect Permed Hair From Chlorine
Yes, chlorine can affect your permed hair but that does not mean you have to completely skip swimming just because you have gotten beautiful perms. Here are 8 ways to protect your permed hair from chlorine.
1. Pre-Washing Hair
Make sure to wash your hair before getting into the pool. This gets rid of any kind of germs and dirt lingering around your hair and body. Dirt and germs may attract more chlorine into your hair making it more susceptible to breakage. Also, pre-washing your permed hairs before getting into contact with chlorine in the pool will fill the hair mostly with normal water reducing the chlorine soaking amount.
2. Applying Protective Layer
Before getting into the pool full of chlorine make sure to apply some protection in your hair. Applying some kind of oil to the hair makes it super easy to do so. In your permed hair, you can use simple hair oils like coconut oil or olive oil. These oils are lightweight and do not make your permed hair attract chlorine. Oil will create a protective layer on your hair, so less amount of chlorine will be absorbed into your hair.
3. Tie Your Hair Up
If you do not want a higher concentration of chlorine to just sit into your hair for a long time tie your hair into a bun, ponytail, or bread. For permed hair loose bun is easier to handle and will not get too messy in the process. While you are swimming in the chlorine-filled water you would not want all your hair to get into contact with chlorine. This a great way to lessen the amount of hair getting in contact with chlorine.
4. Use A Silicon Swimming Cap
If you are an occasional swimmer, putting on just a silicon swimming cap protects your permed hair just fine and you do not have to worry about anything else. Permed hair in a tight silicon cap might get a little uneasy for you but try to bear it to protect the hair. Silicon swimming caps can completely reduce the chlorine water seeping into your pampered hair if put on perfectly. Try to put all your hair into a bum and then get all of it into the silicon cap.
5. Post Washing Hair
Wash your hair with clean water as soon as get out of the pool. Try to give your hair a thorough massage to get into the scalp and get rid of any chlorine residue. Washing your hair as soon as possible makes a difference and reduces the effects of chlorine on permed hair.
6. Use Mild Shampoo
Use a mild shampoo for permed hair to get rid of any dirt on your hair. When you have just got out of the shower using a mild shampoo on the permed hair will make it healthier and reduce possible damages from chlorine. Make sure not to use too harsh or any deep cleansing shampoo as soon as you get out of the chlorine-filled water.
7. Deep Conditioning
Chlorine can dry your hair really badly so make sure to use something that will restore the stripped-out oil and moisture back into your hair. If you leave your hair without any kind of moisturizing agents the chlorine can make your permed hair very dry and break. So, use a perm-friendly deep conditioner to restore the barrier of your permed hair.
8. Let Your Air Dry
when your permed hair just has been exposed to chlorine do not attempt to blow dry your hair. Let it completely air-dry combing gently often. Since chlorine can dry out your hair, there is no way you would want your hair to be dried out with blow drying. Air drying your permed hair will actually balance your perms and keep them intact after swimming.
Fixing Chlorine-Damaged Permed Hair
To fix the damaged permed hair that has already been damaged by the exposure to chlorine, here are some tips you can follow:
Opting For Natural Hair Cleanser
When you have already been damaged by chlorine, it is best to avoid having harsh chemical products on your hair. Since permed hair is a kind of styled hair it is only normal that it would be more damaged than normal hair. So, when your permed hair is damaged try to opt for something that is natural and would not collide with your perms. You can go for backing soda or apple cider vinegar.
Using Clarifying Shampoo
If you are a regular swimmer, you must wash your permed hair with clarifying shampoo once a week. Massage the shampoo onto your scalp and wash out all the dirt from the scalp.
Moisturize Often
To restore the damaged hair from chlorine you need to moisturize your hair often. Chlorine damages the hair by drying it out. Permed hair will be very damaged by drying out completely from the exposure to chlorine. When you start to moisturize your hair on a daily basis you can restore the damage made.
If you have permed hair there is a high possibility you will lose the perms once gets damaged by chlorine. So, it is best to not expose your permed hair to chlorine at all.
Final Thoughts
Permed hair is indeed one beautiful style to go for but you need to be cautious in everything you do with the hair. Chlorine is really bad for hair when it is exposed for a long time. There is a high chance of losing perms once exposed to chlorine and restoring back from the damage is quite not easy. So, precautions should be taken beforehand. ways to prevent chlorine from getting into your permed hair isn’t that difficult and you can manage to take them very easily. There are concerns going around you cannot swim at all when you get perms. Well, it is not true at all when you know how to put your perms at ease, swimming is no problem. You can restore damaged hair by chlorine with continuous care but restoring perms just by taking care is likely not happening.
