Summertime is in full effect so that probably means you’ve been spending a lot of your days at the pool. Whether by yourself, with friends, or hanging out with the kids, heading to the pool or a nearby beach is a right of passage for everyone during the scorching months. For those that have natural hair though, pooltime may be a little more limited than most due to all of the work that goes into getting your hair back to its flawless self afterwards. That doesn’t mean, however, that you have to throw away your swim time completely. Here are four tips to help you prep your hair for summer swimming that are guaranteed to make things easier.

Wet your hair completely before you begin your swim.

Though it may not sound like a necessary step before getting a swim in, you should always wet your hair completely before diving in. But not with the pool water that you’re getting into. You should be doing this with regular old tap water. By doing this, you will minimize the amount of chlorine—or salt if you’re headed to the beach!—that your hair absorbs. A well-needed tip to help keep dryness and breakage at bay!

Wear a protective style.

Used to wearing your hair out when going on a swim? While television shows and movies make this seem like a glamorous outcome, anyone with natural hair knows the dreaded after effect that wearing your hair out during a swim can produce: tangles and knots. In order to avoid being stuck on detangle duty all night, try twisting, braiding, or bantu knotting your hair before going in for a swim. A low or high bun can even work well, too.

Use a protectant.

If you haven’t been using a protectant on your hair prior to jumping in the pool, here’s your sign that you need to start. While there are a few protectants on the market that are made for prepping your hair before a swim, you could also use an oil that you have at home. By applying an oil, your hair will absorb it and help strengthen the shaft to give your tresses the extra protection needed against chlorine and salt. Any of our Natural Growth Oil Blends will work great for this and you can prep your hair the night before or the morning of your swim.

Wear a swim cap.

While this one is not highly recommended (and not our favorite choice for protecting your hair while swimming), if you don’t have a way to do any of the above or just forget to before your swim, always keep a swim cap handy. But, just make sure that your hair is fully covered before going on your swim to avoid the chlorine and saltwater from getting into your hair.