Chlorine on Izzy…Oh No You Didn’t!

Today I decided I was going to swim today for Part II of my workout. I haven’t swam laps in FOREVER, but thought I would get in the pool and try. However, I was worried about Izzy and how she would like the chlorine, so I turned to the NaturallyCurly crew to see if anyone knew of any specific ingredients or products to use before going in the pool. I was told to put condish on my hair before I got into the water – okay, easy enough. I swam for about 30 minutes wearing my cute little swim cap, looking like an alien.

But when Izzy and I went to take a shower…goodness me, she was DRY! It was like she was wet, but wasn’t, but all the moisture had been sucked out of her. She was sad (and tangled!), so I put a ton of conditioner on her in the shower, mixed with Jamaican Black Castor Oil, and detangled with my trusty wide-tooth comb. Then, I let it sit for a few minutes as I hopped around the (public) bathroom, then rinsed. For my leave-in, I used Curl Junkie Curl Rehab (obvi) and some of Mozeke’s Whipped Avocado Cream. I must say, I was VERY upset when I first got out of the pool, but Izzy is recovering nicely! At the same time, she doesn’t seem as curly as usual, and she is lighter…I don’t think this fitness initiative is really worth it. I was planning on swimming 3x a week, and I think that would make Isabella MAD. I don’t want to make her mad, she owns me…

I think I’ll stick to the elliptical and Wii Active.

xoxo

9 thoughts on “Chlorine on Izzy…Oh No You Didn’t!”

  1. cherchezlacurl says:

    Hi – Sorry to hear about your hair’s reaction to your pool time. Like Curly Fit Chic, I swim 3-4 times a week, spending 1-1.5 hrs in the pool each session. When I first started swimming, I didn’t wear a cap, and my hair would get caught in my eyes/mouth/everywhere…and the full exposure to the chlorine made my hair feel extra-dry and weak from the tangling.

    I actually found wearing a cap keeps my hair feeling more moisturized (I try to put conditioner on my hair/seal w/ sweet almond oil/shea butter – I found sealing w/ a thick emollient, more than the conditioner, keeps my hair moisturized – but I’m quite lazy and don’t always seal/moisturize beyond my usual regimen, and still find my hair feels ok.)

    Also – I have a 10 year-old niece (also natural w/ mid-back length hair) who swims quite regularly with no adverse effects…I think regular swimming requires an adjustment to steps taken to manage protein/moisture balance

  2. The Curly Fit Chic says:

    Sorry to hear your hair did not like the chlorine. During the warmer months I swim 3-4 times a week and I don’t have any problems. Same with going in the ocean. I just put a ton of conditioner in my hair before going in and put my hair in a ponytail and I’m good to go. Been doing that all my life. Don’t use swim caps because it seems like my hair would suffocate in that plastic LOL! Just me though. 🙂

    • HB says:

      I have a silicone swim cap, but it did feel like that assisted with drying my hair out. It was gross! How do you swim laps without a cap? My hair would drive me crazy, or I’d be scared to get my hair caught in my goggle straps!

  4. lifejourneytobenatural says:

    You look like you’re ready to compete for the Olympic Gold. 🙂 Sorry to read about Izzy being displeased by the amounts of chlorine in the pool. I think chlorine is just too strong for our hair. I remember when I would get my hair wet in the pool as a child and my hair would be a HOT MESS afterwards. It was very kinked up and not manageable. When you’re little, it is like how are we going to be conceptualizing what cause our hair to go from press n comb to not even able to get a comb in it. So it sounds like the protective hair cap does not block out water. Made me even more not to go near the pool. LOL Have you ever got in the ocean at the beaches here in Southern Cal to see if your hair would be just find with levels of salt on your hair?

    It is good that Izzy is recovering from her time in the pool. It sounds like you are going to have to pamper Izzy to make her feel better and at ease. The chlorine probably shocked her. Fighting with the chemicals in the chlorine and any other filtering products in the pool. You can always just stick to yoga, cardio (I once tried hip hop aerobics), and YES hitting the Wii. I should get me a Wii and work it out. 😉 It is time for me to get some sleep. My eyes are crossing each other. Falling asleep.

    • HB says:

      Haha! Even more than the chlorine, I’m so afraid of salt water…it just sounds like it’d dry Izzy out something awful!! And you should def get a Wii, I LOVE mine! The Active More Workouts “game” is absolutely great, I play it about 4-5 times a week and get a great workout in my own apt, rather than driving to the gym. I timed how long it took me to work out yesterday with the elliptical and pool…I think my actual workout time was a little over an hour, but driving to the gym and everything took like, 3 hrs (my gym is pretty close, but when I left it was rush hour in LA – womp womp)! That was way too much.

      • lifejourneytobenatural says:

        I’ve read on one of the articles that salt and pool water is not good for black hair. In fact our hair was described as a magnet for such elements in the water. Due to our hair is already naturally dry, it does not take much for anything else not good for it to zamp out the moisture. I am loving the Wii more and more as you say what you can do with it. That would feel amazing to feel you are swimming in actual pool. I hate LA traffic. I’ve been stuck in it with my boyfriend from time to time coming from visiting something in the city. Cringe on the thought to ever have to commute into LA to work or just living there and having to sit in traffic. Not cool! Does your apartment complex have a fitness center? Some apartment complex does. I prefer to have my own workout gym at home because I hate touching other people’s sweaty somethings on the equipment.

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