Any swimmers in the pond?

As someone who spent a major portion of my childhood in a swimming pool, and now dealing with skin cancers 50 years later, you should always use a form of sunblock on exposed skin at any time of day.

We didn't know any better back then. Don't make the same mistake we did.

As for protecting your hair, a bathing cap will help with that.

Most public swimming pools use a high amount of chlorine. They have to in order to help kill all the bacteria in the shared water. Just make sure you shower after swimming. Thoroughly rinsing your suit and your hair while in the shower will help lessen damage to them.

My skin is so white it's blue. I've gotten the worst burns swimming outdoors. What a dermatologist told me is... Wear two sunblocks, two different products, instead of one very strong sunblock. So use two 30's in place of one 60, get products that are waterproof and make sure you apply it frequently. Also, wear a t-shirt or drape yourself in a towel and a hat if possible for any out of pool activities.
There are products that will strip the chlorine from your hair. When I was a kid, I used to go to the local college for hair cuts. They were cheaper than regular hairdressers and didn't totally ***** up my hair, like my mom did.
(* Sorry for the language, but it's the sad, sad truth. I've had every bad hair cut and perm that could possibly ever be thrust upon an innocent, freckled frizzy haired kid.)
The instructors used to pluck hairs out of my head and bring it around to show all the students. My hair was so badly damaged by the chemicals, it would stretch and stretch and stretch. My brothers were blond and their hair turned a to a slightly green hue. We were in the pools a lot.
Talk to your hairdresser if you don't want to wear a cap, but they are the best protection...
Good luck with the lessons.

Unless everything I've read for my entire life is wrong, exposure to the sun at 7am-8am is not really a sunburn issue. From the hours of 10 am to 4pm it is at highest risk. Unless you live close to the equator I can't imagine there'd be much risk. Also, if you're really paranoid, you can put on sunblock of rating 30 and you'll be safe. Also, from the info in your profile and the pic in your avatar is correct, you are from India, correct? Isn't your skin already a bit darker? So, sunblock of 30 should be just fine.

Simple use of a decent bathing cap and your hair will be protected from chlorine. A good shampoo will protect your hair against any incidental chlorine exposure.

Hi Butrflynet!

How are you doing?! Remember we were friends on Orkut? I don' t know whatever happened to that dogdammit site!

OK, swimming. I know about using sunblock - I do that without fail. So not a worry. However, I wanted to know if it's a good idea to apply sunblock before going into water?

Also, you mentioned rinsing hair. Hmm. I'm a little skeptical of washing hair everyday.

Good point about waterproof products, Ceili. Sort of answers the question I just asked Butr. Perhaps Neutrogena would have a waterproof sunblock? I use a normal one and have no idea where I'm going to find one that is water resistant. Not in this godforsaken place!

huge myth

I'm not paranoid, but I don't want to make any mistakes that can jeopardize my health/skin. I've done enough stupid things at the gym to warrant this thread.

Yes, you're right. I'm not exactly fair, and a sunblock of 30 should be just fine. Thanks!

You need to take very good care of your hair if you will be swimming regularly.

In the days I was swimming 5 or 6 days a week, I always wore a very secure swimming cap and still washed and conditioned my hair each day. At least twice a week, I would apply conditioner to my hair before I put the swim cap on - then rinsed, washed, conditioned after the swim.

You may need to order more/different sun blocks online. If you will be swimming outdoors, you need to take every precaution to take care of your skin.

Darker skin does not protect you from skin cancers.

Please don't misinterpret as that wasn't my point (about skin cancer risk). I was directing it towards the possibility of sunburn and/or tanning. At the hour of 7 to 8am there's not much risk - especially with sunblock of 30 applied liberally.

swimming=staying alive in water.

I remember you. We're still there on Orkut, and have a sister gardening group on Facebook too if you want to hook up with a bunch of old Orkut buddies.

Yes, put sunblock on before going in the water, and again when you leave the water. If you are in the water for more than an hour, reapply the sunblock in hourly intervals. Most sunblock lotions are oil-based but the pool water still quickly dissolves them.

You don't necessarily have to wash your hair daily when swimming in a chlorinated pool. A thorough rinse with clean water and some conditioner will remove most of the chlorine.

Since you don't wish to tan, the sunblock will protect you from the sun's damaging rays as well as keep your skin from tanning.

It is a good thing that you are learning to swim. It is a relaxing past time and is a good survival skill to know should you ever need it.

Hi, spider -

In no order - when I last was a swimmer, I used a special shampoo after swimming. I don't know if those still exist. I believe strongly in getting the chlorine or bromine or whatever new chem is used now, washed right out of your hair. At the least rinse at length. I figure there are buffer chemicals.

I trained (heh, trained, she says; better to say I learned through at least six sets of classes, and then off on my own) in an indoor YMCA pool, so sunscreen wasn't the problem. But even in the early days of sunscreen as something to use, I would shower well and then use a moisturizer. Do you have a dermatologist? Advice is probably more specific now.

My history -

At age ten, my parents sent to me take a set of a dozen lessons at the Northwestern University pool - some special session for children. I learned to stick my head under the water (don't remember having any goggles), look around, blow bubbles, get across the pool by dog paddling, and float, tread badly. Dove off the poolside once or twice, oof. Or maybe a low board. Had trouble making it all the way across since I shook my foot instead of really kicking. Watched instructor tell us how to do the crawl. I didn't get it. I have a memory of making my way underwater, not sure how that fit in the lessons. I think I had more trouble with the crawl business than underwater.

In high school, at 13, in a tiny local how to swim place, I learned to blow bubbles, dog paddle, float, jump in from the side of the pool, and stared at the instructor when she was describing the crawl.

For the next 20+ years, I was afraid of the deep end of pools.

At 37, I had been introduced to the YMCA and had been jogging for some years, decided to really learn to swim. I was lucky to have a job where I could show up late and work late. I was lucky to have a very good teacher, who was in memory a slim fish in motion. Her strokes were efficient for good reasons, which she tried to share with us.

I went from, yes, blowing bubbles, floating, treading (never that great at that), dog paddle, to the crawl and a lot of other strokes. The Y pool was 75 feet long, very long to me then. I used the lane by the edge so if I was in trouble I could grab the edge. There came a day when I could do the crawl for one length. Later, after all the lessons and my husband I went swimming three times a week at night - don't remember what time, probably the lanes were open 7:30 - 10pm - I worked that up to a mile each time.

I was best at the crawl. Not best re other people, but among the strokes. I got into a dream state. Once having gotten over the whole matter of synchronizing breathing air while in water trying to keep good form, which includes face down, I relaxed and swimming became something hard to describe, a kind of pure pleasure.

In a public type pool in Los Angeles, lanes matter. (I swam at UCLA outdoor pool a few times when there was hardly anyone there, but I suppose that has changed.) The baby lane at the Y pool turned out to be pretty buffeted at free hours, as the honkers in the middle lanes would send waves to the side.
Second lane, my territory, once in a while had someone faster than me, so I had to learn the swim lane culture. In the interior lanes you had wonderful swimmers and total clucks who would get you with their odd efforts at propulsion.

Then there's diving. Even though I'd gotten to swim in deep water just fine, I was still a fool at treading for any extended period of time, although I could turn it into a float.. So what seemed to me a high board (not really, but fear build things up) was a big eek to walk out on. I walked out. I turned to walk back. Gwen talked me into doing it. Cripes, but I did surface and live. I dove many more times, got to like it.

Gwen was at least a dozen years younger than I am. I hope she is still out there kicking. Fabulous teacher, West Los Angeles YMCA, circa '78, give or take a few years.

What do you when you have your period on, ladies? I've never worn a tampon before, so that is not an option for me now. Do I avoid the pool?

Learning how to swimming doesn't have to be boring or traumatic but can actually be many fun, if the right strategy to diving training is used.Swimming is a sport that is not natural to everyone. Walking, running, biking, all of these are quite easy to master, however, it takes some coordination and stamina to learn how to swim and to top it all off, before we improve our swim technique, we all have a different swimming style based on our physical ability which makes it that much more challenging.

I usually go swim around 5pm. and i do it in the pool and in the ocean too. and still my skin is the same