Chlorine, Salt Water and Your Hair: A Swimmer's Care Guide
Chlorine and salt water both dry hair out by stripping the natural oils that coat each strand, which leaves it rough, dull and prone to tangling and breakage. For men who swim regularly the fix is simple and takes about five minutes a session: wet your hair with tap water before you get in, wear a cap if your hair is long enough to need one, rinse thoroughly straight after, wash with a mild shampoo and use a conditioner on anything longer than a crop. Once a week, a clarifying shampoo removes chlorine build-up. A shorter cut, timed sensibly, makes all of this easier.
Many of our clients swim, whether in a gym pool before work, in a lido at the weekend or at the ponds on the Heath. The question we hear most is why their hair suddenly feels like straw, and whether the cut is to blame. Usually it is the water.
What chlorine and salt actually do to hair
Chlorine
Pool water is disinfected with chlorine compounds. They are good at killing bacteria and equally good at breaking down the sebum, the natural oil your scalp produces to coat and protect the hair. Without that coating, the outer layer of each strand (the cuticle) lifts slightly, which is what makes hair feel rough and look dull. Repeated daily, it also makes hair more porous, so it absorbs water and minerals more readily and dries out faster.
Salt water
Salt draws moisture out of the hair as it dries, and the crystals left behind are mildly abrasive. Add sun and wind and the result after a week at the coast is the brittle, matt texture men sometimes like for a day and then dislike for a fortnight. This is also, in small doses, how sea salt sprays add texture, which tells you something: a little is styling, a lot is damage. If you like that look on dry land, our piece on sea salt spray explains how to get it without the beach.
Fresh water and open swimming
Ponds, lakes and rivers are not chlorinated, so they are gentler on the hair itself. The issue there is mainly what is in the water, so a thorough rinse and wash afterwards still matters. The City of London’s Highgate Men’s Pond page carries current swimming rules for anyone using the Heath ponds.
The green tinge on fair or grey hair
Blond, light grey and white hair sometimes picks up a greenish cast after a lot of pool swimming. Despite the common belief, chlorine is not the cause. Dissolved copper in the water, often from pipework or pool treatments, binds to the hair, and chlorine makes the hair more receptive to it. It is cosmetic and harmless. A clarifying or chelating shampoo, used as directed, usually lifts it over a few washes. Prevention is easier than cure: wetting the hair first and rinsing straight after makes the biggest difference. Grey hair is already more porous, so if yours is turning, our guide to grey hair for men is worth a look.
The five-minute swimmer’s routine
Before you get in
- Wet your hair thoroughly under the poolside shower. Hair that is already full of clean water absorbs less pool or sea water. Most pools ask you to shower first anyway.
- Optional: a small amount of conditioner or a light oil worked through the lengths gives an extra barrier. Useful for longer hair; unnecessary on a short fade.
- Cap on if your hair is longer than a few centimetres. A silicone cap keeps most water out of the bulk of the hair. It will not keep hair dry, but it cuts exposure considerably.
Straight after
- Rinse immediately, before you do anything else. Chlorine and salt left drying in the hair on the walk home do most of the damage.
- Wash with a mild shampoo. Not a harsh one: the pool has already stripped the oil.
- Condition anything longer than a crop, concentrating on the ends. Our post on whether men need conditioner covers which kind to use.
- Pat dry rather than rub. Wet, chlorine-roughened hair snaps easily under a vigorous towel.
Once a week
Use a clarifying shampoo designed for swimmers to remove the chlorine and mineral build-up a normal wash leaves behind. Do not use it every day, because it is drying in its own right.
Scalp and skin
Chlorine dries the scalp as well as the hair, and regular swimmers often notice tightness or flaking. That is usually dryness rather than dandruff, and a gentler shampoo and less frequent washing on non-swim days often settle it. If it does not, the NHS advice on dandruff covers when to try a medicated shampoo and when to see a pharmacist or GP. A beard takes the same treatment as the hair: rinse, wash, and a little beard oil afterwards.
Which cuts work best for swimmers
There is no rule that swimmers must keep their hair short, but some cuts make life considerably easier.
| Cut | Why it suits swimmers | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Buzz cut or crop | Dries in minutes, no styling, minimal damage visible | Scalp dryness and sun exposure outdoors |
| Short textured cut with a fade | Towel-dry and go; texture hides rough ends | Needs regular tidies to keep the fade clean |
| Classic scissor cut | Fits under a cap; looks neat when dry | Ends dry out; condition after swims |
| Medium to long | Possible with a cap and conditioner | Tangles and split ends; trim more often |
Ends that have been through months of pool water get rough and split, and no product truly repairs that. The fix is a trim. If you swim several times a week, tell your barber: at Highgate Cuts every visit begins with an assessment of your hair and how you live with it, and that is exactly the kind of detail that changes the recommendation.
Timing a haircut around swimming and holidays
- Before a beach holiday: a cut a few days before you go, not the day before, so it has settled. A slightly shorter length than usual copes better with salt and sun. Our guide to getting a haircut before a holiday goes into timing.
- After a beach holiday: book a tidy in the first week back. The dried, sun-lightened ends usually need to come off.
- Training for an event: heavy training blocks are a good time for a lower-maintenance cut that you are not trying to style each morning.
Questions we get asked
Does chlorine cause hair loss?
There is no good evidence that pool chlorine causes hair loss. It dries and roughens the hair, which can make it break more easily, but it does not affect the follicle.
Do swimming caps actually help?
Yes, for anything longer than a crop. They do not keep hair dry, but they reduce how much water reaches it.
Should I wash my hair after every swim?
At least rinse thoroughly. A gentle shampoo after pool swims is sensible; use a clarifying shampoo about once a week.
Can I swim straight after a haircut?
Yes. A haircut does not need protecting from water, though a fresh skin fade can feel sensitive in chlorine for a day.
Book with The Highgate House
Ready for a proper cut? Email us at [email protected] with the service and the day that suits you, and we will come back to you with times.
Visit The Highgate House · The barbers
The Highgate House, Archway Road, Highgate, London N6.
