can anyone sadvise of a good shampoo which  will remove the chlorine but not strip the hair? I tried a swimming cap, but it wouldn't stay on....

I found Aussie Mega to be a good clarifying shampoo.  Ultra Swim is also designed to handle removing pool chemicals.  

For preventative care, be sure to rinse your hair with clear water before swimming.  This will hydrated the hair shaft with clean water, minimizing the amount of pool water that can be absorbed.  Then rinse the hair after swimming.  Some people will put a conditioner or oil on the hair before swimming, to coat it.  But this might not be advisable in some situations as it could cause problems with the filtration system.

This is what I do.

Wet hair with tap water
Put conditioner in.
Ponytail at nape with hair-safe band
Bend head down and pull pony up vertically across back of head
With the largest swim cap availible from a pool specialty store, put cap on from the back first, then as you pull the cap over, bend the ends into the cap, then pull your hand out.

I have waist-length hair, and this works fine. If you really don't like caps, conditioner is not bad for pools, the pool owner just needs to run the filter more and add a product called clarifier. (I work at a pool care hotline)

wrote on Apr 5^th, 2004 at 6:34pm:

If you really don't like caps, conditioner is not bad for pools, the pool owner just needs to run the filter more and add a product called clarifier. (I work at a pool care hotline)

Thanks for that confirmation.  I had conflicting information about how conditioners would effect the pool filters.  I couldn't imagine conditioner could be any worse than all the suntan/sunscreen lotions people swim with.  A home pool, jacuzzi, hot tub might be another story, but at least we know it should be OK to pre-condition our hair in most pools.

A lot of people don't do the upkeep and maintence they should on a pool.

Conditioner will just cloud the water a bit, just like sunscreen will. If the filter is adequate for the pool (a common problem in those blow-up pools), and the pool is shocked and chlorinated correctly, any extra cloudiness can be taken care of by clarifier. (it helps the particles clump better to be taken out by the filter, it's not too expensive, and a little does the job if the chlorine and filter are fine)

Don't let someone tell you it's your conditioner, when they haven't kept their pool up.  :)

wrote on Apr 5^th, 2004 at 8:50pm:

Don't let someone tell you it's your conditioner, when they haven't kept their pool up.  :)

We now have it with authority:
Everybody - condition your hair and go swimming!