hair

APRèS SWIM HAIR

Post/photos: Kristin Ess, Graphic Design: Eunice Chun

Are you a big swimmer? What if we told you that for around $75-100 you could save your hair from that dry, brittle feeling you get from swimming (and/or an unnecessary haircut)? Save up those dollars and make it a priority to build a swim kit for yourself! This isn’t a routine you would use every day, just after a long day of floating aimlessly in the pool. I literally spent the last couple of weeks testing out different pairings of product that would help minimize the drying effects that chlorinated pool water has on our hair. We’ve always been taught that clarifying shampoo was great after a long swim (and for removing green from blonde hair, it can definitely help) but I’ve always felt like clarifying shampoo dries my hair out even further. There are definitely some preventative measures you can take but sometimes don’t you just want to canonball spontaneously without thinking about the consequences? This regimine actually worked miracles for me so I have to share it with you guys. You don’t have to use the exact same products, but try and get as close as you can while catering to your own hair type. (It should be noted that I have tons of fine, long, curly, color treated hair which you can see below and I used this technique to air dry/relax my curls into waves.)

1. Living Proof Frizz Shampoo: ($10-24) The technology behind this shampoo is intended to soften, increase shine, prevent traction and block humidity. Those were all very attractive to me when I was thinking about my curly hair air drying in the summer heat. Try to get something that minimizes frizz. Even straight hair can get a little frizzy when in a humid place. I recommend shampooing with this twice because your hair is coated with chemicals and needs to be cleaned well.
2. Wella Enrich Treatment Mask: ($12) This is one of my favorite masks for restoring moisture. I put this on and leave it for 10 min while I shave and exfoliate in the shower. Such a game changer for dry feeling hair.
3. Sexy Hair Soy Leave-In Conditioner: ($12) I mean, duh. Can I possibly talk about this stuff any more than I already do? I’ve always said I will retire when they stop making this. This stuff is the truth. Restores the pH balance in your hair to normal after the chlorine takes it to the deep end. If you’re living with out it, just stop. 5-10 pumps will do depending on the amount of hair you have. Should be sprayed on right out of the shower, after towel drying, when the hair is still super wet.
4. Josie Maran Argan Oil: ($26) Well hello new favorite. I knew it was great for skin but I wanted to try it on my hair to see if it worked well there. Yep. Spectacular, indeed. Smells like rose but not granny rose. I put the tiniest drop in my hand for each section, so depending on the amount of hair you have you’d use about 5-10 drops max. Gave it enough weight to let me air-dry but then disappeared into thin air when the hair was dry, leaving it feeling soft and looking sparkly. If you have pin straight hair, you can skip the next step and just air dry. If you want to create a little wave, try this while air drying.
5. Oribe Après Beach spray: ($19-38) Forget what you know about beach sprays. Apparently Oribe did! This isn’t like any other beach spray. There is no salt feel, no dryness. It almost has a super fine argan oil spray feeling to it. It’s soft to the touch and allows your waves/curls to separate in the good way.

Got any favorites for post-pool hair? You KNOW we wanna hear it below! xo