Taking a dip in the pool is synonymous with any summer day. But what happens when your hair care starts to get affected by chlorine? Dry, damaged locks are never any fun—whether you’re in the sun or not! Fortunately, there are some relatively simple fixes for keeping your hair smooth and silky, even when you want to go swimming.

What Does Chlorine Do to Hair?

On the one hand, summertime is helpful for hair because the warm temperatures cause your locks to grow between 10 and 15 percent faster in the summer than in winter. But the activities we do in summer can negate these benefits. Overexposure to chlorinated water is particularly harmful to hair. When you have color-treated hair or hair that’s typically dry or thin on its own, swimming in chlorine pools can make “bad hair” problems even worse. This is because most swimming pools utilize chlorine treatments to disinfect the water. While this is great for keeping bacteria and other “nasties” away, it’s not a good friend for your hair. That’s because chlorinated water, in addition to killing bacteria, also works to break down the natural oils on your skin and scalp. This can lead to dry, brittle hair.

Hair Care for the Swimming Pool

Rather than just bypass the pool altogether, a lot of people will utilize a couple hair care tips to minimize the chlorine damage. If wearing a swim cap isn’t your style, you can always opt to talk with your hair stylist about different clarifying shampoos or get hair clarifying treatments during the summertime. These types of products are great for removing the buildup of hard water minerals and chlorine from your hair. Pair them with a good hair conditioner, and you might be able to counteract a lot of that damage. The other option is to thoroughly rinse your hair before and after you get in the swimming pool. The problem with this, however, is that it only really works if you have chlorine-free water. Showering with regular tap water just adds more chlorine to your hair (and the rest of your body). Instead of dealing with chlorinated water in the pool and at home, it’s better to have chlorine-free water at home. Showing with water that’s both soft and chlorine-free can help you keep your hair healthy and strong all year long!

Get Clean with Chlorine-Free Water

While clarifying treatments can help mitigate dry hair issues, the best solution is the one that solves the problem for the long-run. So, when you’re dealing with dry hair from chlorinated water, you’ve got to switch to water that’s chlorine-free. While you probably won’t be able to do that with your swimming pool water (since it needs a disinfectant), you can make a difference in the kind of water you use every day around the house. Washing your hair and taking showers with soft water tends to be the best, long-term solution for dry hair because soft water doesn’t strip the natural oils from your scalp or skin. But in order to get soft water, you need a home water softener. Regular tap water is loaded with dissolved minerals and chlorine. But by treating your water in-house with a softener, you can effectively remove both to get clean water. It’s a relatively simple solution for such a big impact! If you’re ready to make the switch to chlorine-free shower water, you can’t go wrong with a whole-house water system. These units are great because they tackle to two biggest problems in tap water—its hardness and the added chlorine. By removing these from your water, you can help guarantee that you have safe, clean water everywhere in your home. That way, it’s easy for your hair to stay strong and smooth all year long.