How to deal with chlorine's negative effects

**Mermaid Wesley** · 07-08-2014, 09:18 PM

It's gonna get wet *nod* i had a straightening treatment done once, I tried everything to keep it dry at daily swim practice and nope.

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**AniaR** · 07-08-2014, 10:25 PM

Blaze. Have you tried shampoo and conditioners that have your colour built in? I use a red shampoo and conditioner that has a bit of dye in it so when I put it in my hair it refreshes my colour

**Blaze** · 07-09-2014, 08:36 AM

Originally Posted by AniaR

Blaze. Have you tried shampoo and conditioners that have your colour built in? I use a red shampoo and conditioner that has a bit of dye in it so when I put it in my hair it refreshes my colour

Oh yep. After 18+ years of coloring my hair red (It was black for one month during that time... I don't know either lol) I've tried all of the things. ;D The color depositing shampoo I really liked got discontinued a few years ago and I'm completely out of it. If you happen to have a good suggestion on a brand I'd love to hear about it!

Still it's the wear and tear on my hair I'm concerned about rather than the color loss. My hair is happiest the less it's messed with and since it's messed with pretty heavily for burlesque shows I am hoping to minimize the 'daily' restyling.

**AniaR** · 07-09-2014, 09:33 AM

I hear that. Mine is shot no matter what I do it seems

**The Harlem Mermaid** · 07-10-2014, 04:59 PM

Thank you so much for all this important and helpful information!!

**Lily** · 07-12-2014, 01:45 AM

You could try using GenTeal eye ointment. It creates a protein barrier over your eyes, so the chlorine will attack that before it gets to your actual eye. It can also help soothe your eyes afterwards. I haven't used it yet (too scared to go without goggles right now) but I've heard great things.

**Winged Mermaid** · 07-12-2014, 02:55 AM

Originally Posted by Lily

You could try using GenTeal eye ointment. It creates a protein barrier over your eyes, so the chlorine will attack that before it gets to your actual eye. It can also help soothe your eyes afterwards. I haven't used it yet (too scared to go without goggles right now) but I've heard great things.

That's in the original post

**Lily** · 07-12-2014, 03:07 AM

Oops, my bad! I saw Mermaid Galene's post on the "what's new" page and didn't think to check.

Also: I got my first chlorine rash yesterday, around my eyes and cheeks. Looked like a terrible sunburn. Guess my (admittedly delicate and fair) skin isn't as immune to chlorine as I'd first thought, or else my pool has started upping the chlorine levels to deal with all the summer swimmers. Time to invest in some TriSwim.

**Winged Mermaid** · 07-12-2014, 03:43 AM

Galene, omigosh, I just saw your post- that's awful!! I'm so sorry D: Did you go to the ER? As it says in the thread now, if you have visual disturbances over 3 hours you REALLY need to go to a doc/ER! I hope your eyes are okay

Sucks you had to cut your trip short too.

**Mermaid Bree** · 07-02-2017, 06:40 PM

Chlorine is actually an oxidizer - the Chlorine molecule is highly reactive (likes to bond to) organic material (such as certain fabric dye and organic fabrics). This is why it 'eats' things. The BEST way to neutralize this is to use good old hydrogen peroxide. When you rinse the fabric (tail), use a bucket and dump like 1/4 a bottle of the peroxide (drug store strength) in the water and slosh around for a few minutes. The peroxide reacts and produces salt NaCl and plain water H2O. At worst, a TINY amount of chlorine gas is produced, but is so minute as to be a mute point. THEN rinse again with clear water. This also works for neutralizing any laundry treated with bleach (NaOCl)

**TheChimera** · 12-04-2021, 03:50 AM

Originally Posted by Mermaid Bree

Chlorine is actually an oxidizer - the Chlorine molecule is highly reactive (likes to bond to) organic material (such as certain fabric dye and organic fabrics). This is why it 'eats' things. The BEST way to neutralize this is to use good old hydrogen peroxide. When you rinse the fabric (tail), use a bucket and dump like 1/4 a bottle of the peroxide (drug store strength) in the water and slosh around for a few minutes. The peroxide reacts and produces salt NaCl and plain water H2O. At worst, a TINY amount of chlorine gas is produced, but is so minute as to be a mute point. THEN rinse again with clear water. This also works for neutralizing any laundry treated with bleach (NaOCl)

Just came to this really old thread. This is fantastic advice. Thank you, will definitely give it a try.

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**AniaR** · 07-12-2014, 09:59 AM

I have taken kelp tablets right after and the cold symptoms vanish if that's any help!

**Talia** · 07-12-2014, 01:12 PM

Galene, I am so sorry that happened to your eyes. I hope you feel better now.

I don't do gigs, so I always take my googles while swimming. I have had kids asking if I am a mermaid, why do I need them? I tell them that I am fine with salt water, but human-made chlorine hurts my eyes. I also wear glasses (strong myopia, can't see a thing without them), and they asked about them too. I told them that I see fine underwater, but I see blurry in the surface, so I need them to see clearly.

**Max-Mermaid** · 07-12-2014, 03:31 PM

Does this apply to fabric tails?

**SeaChange** · 08-23-2014, 11:45 AM

This is some great information, and I'm seriously wishing it were more common knowledge. I royally screwed up my eyes as a kid -- Due to Les Parents work, we moved a lot and sometimes wound up staying in hotels for weeks on end while things got sorted out. Naturally, I spent 80% of that time in the hotel pool, fetching pennies off the bottom. I knew all that swimming made my hair dry and coarse, but I didn't realize the damage I was doing to my eyes until one night we sat down in the hotel restaurant and I happened to be facing the window -- the minute the light from the sunset hit me, My eyes began to burn, swelled shut and just poured tears. I literally could not open them. My parent were so pissed off with me!

Of course, now I look at that and realize I probably had pretty crazy chlorine damage, and could have lost my sight... but that's cool, getting angry at your ten year old for making a scene is probably the best way to deal with that, definitely...

**Mermaid Jaffa** · 12-01-2014, 10:20 PM

I put sunscreen in my hair last week, my hair did not go crispy crunchy after my swim, though it was a bit tough washing it out. Had to shampoo three times then put my conditioner in for 10 mins as normal. Next week, I'll try the pure olive oil I bought from the grocer's.

**Elodea the Mermaid** · 04-13-2015, 01:22 PM

Sorry to be posting on this thread so randomly, but I did not see this info anywhere else. As a mexican MOC (mer of color, lol), I deal with all of these issues, but also the IMMEDIATE visibility of ashy skin. I swim three days a week, and I find that the dry skin is actually visible on my face as soon as I take even a minor break between laps. Does anyone else deal with this? It is a cosmetic problem for parties and events.

**Vrindavana Starfish** · 04-13-2015, 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by Carabosse

Sorry to be posting on this thread so randomly, but I did not see this info anywhere else. As a mexican MOC (mer of color, lol), I deal with all of these issues, but also the IMMEDIATE visibility of ashy skin. I swim three days a week, and I find that the dry skin is actually visible on my face as soon as I take even a minor break between laps. Does anyone else deal with this? It is a cosmetic problem for parties and events.

I am a MONC (Mer of no color!), but because of the dryness of the desert and the hard water we deal with here, I get the ashy face thing when I swim too. I even get it from just showering, the water here is that bad. I'll have a line of white powdery-looking ash, typically around my lips. My solution for swimming is to put a light layer of oil on my face before I apply any sunblock. My favorites to use are almond and coconut, and sometimes I'll use a mixture of castor and almond oil. Castor oil is a cleansing oil, and can be drying, so adjust ratios accordingly. I do not get breakouts from this, in fact, it prevents breakouts from my sunblock.