Skip to main content

Wash and condition your hair after swimming

After a pool or sea swim, rinse loose hair promptly with fresh water, then use ordinary rinse-out shampoo and conditioner according to their directions.

After a swim, a woman rinses her loose curly hair under a fresh-water shower while a turquoise cap rests nearby.

Step by step

  1. After a swim, a woman rinses her loose curly hair under a fresh-water shower while a turquoise cap rests nearby.
    STEP 1 OF 4

    Rinse promptly with fresh water

    • After leaving the pool or sea and removing the cap, start with a fresh-water rinse as soon as practical.
    • Wet the crown, sides, nape and lengths. Lift loose hair with one hand so water reaches underneath.
    • For sea water, continue until visible grit is gone; for pool water, rinse through every area before shampooing.
  2. The same woman gently massages a small amount of ordinary shampoo over her wet scalp with her finger pads.
    STEP 2 OF 4

    Wash with your ordinary shampoo

    • Move clear of the stream and dispense the label-directed amount, then put the bottle down.
    • Work shampoo over the scalp with finger pads, following its placement, waiting and repeat-wash directions.
    • Rinse until visible suds are gone, lifting hair at the crown and nape so water reaches underneath.

    Use an ordinary shampoo already selected for this wash day. If your routine calls for a specialty swimmer product, follow its directions; this guide does not promise chlorine removal.

  3. The same woman smooths ordinary rinse-out conditioner through the wet middle lengths and ends with both hands.
    STEP 3 OF 4

    Apply your rinse-out conditioner

    • Use the amount on the conditioner label only if its directions support the exact middle-lengths-and-ends placement shown here.
    • Bring reachable lengths forward and smooth the product through manageable sections with both hands.
    • Leave it only for the label-directed time, keeping the bottle and cap off the wet floor.
  4. The same woman rinses conditioner downward through the lengths under a fresh-water shower.
    STEP 4 OF 4

    Rinse through the lengths and underneath

    • Return under fresh water and guide the lengths downward without rough rubbing.
    • Lift sections at the back so water reaches the crown and nape, then rinse the ends.
    • Finish when the label-directed rinse is complete and no visible product remains; continue with the drying step in your routine.

    The photo shows rinsing in progress. Continue until the label-directed rinse is complete and no visible conditioner remains.

About 6–12 min hands-on for fresh-water rinsing, shampooing, conditioning and both product rinses. Add label dwell times; drying is separate.

Practical editorial estimate, not measured. The preliminary swim rinse adds handling to an ordinary wash; grit, length or density can make it longer.

You’re done when…

Fresh water has reached the scalp, nape and lengths; shampoo and conditioner have been used and rinsed according to their separate labels; no visible product remains. The wet hair is ready for the selected drying step.