Swim caps protect your hair in several ways. Not only will a properly worn swim cap offer good protection against pool chemicals, it also keeps long hair safely bundled away where it can't get tangled in a pool filter, get into your eyes or otherwise interfere with you and other swimmers. If you have long hair, leave it loose behind you--it'll get bundled up into the swim cap later--because wearing your hair in a bun or ponytail creates a potential leak in the swim cap seal around your scalp.
Step 1
Work both hands into the swim cap, palms facing together, then pull them apart to stretch the cap so it'll fit over your head.
Step 2
Bend down to the cap and start pulling pulling it on from the forehead back. If you have long hair, you'll need to stop pulling the cap on once it's halfway over your head, bundle the hair as neatly as possible and hold it in one place at the back and top of your head with one hand, then continue with the next step using your free hand.
Step 3
Continue pulling the cap over your head until it comes all the way down in the back. Those with long hair should take a minute to adjust the hair so it sits as evenly distributed on the hair as possible and doesn't protrude near the bottom edge of the swim cap; the cap should cover all the way down over your hair, no matter how long that hair is.
Tips and Warnings
- Some swimmers recommend wetting your hair down to make getting the cap on easier. This has two disadvantages. First, it also makes the cap more likely to slide off at unexpected moments. Second, if your goal in wearing a swim cap is to protect your hair from pool chemicals or dirty water, wetting your hair with that same water immediately defeats the purpose of putting the cap on in the first place. If you find it hard to get the swim cap on over your hair or find it pulls on your hair, just rub some corn starch inside the cap and shake out the extra; you should be able to pull it on smoothly now.
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