Yep! I always wear a cap when swimming.
Yep! I always wear a cap when swimming.
I have to admit. I'm really confused when it comes to chlorine neutalization. I don't understand why some people recommend baking soda and others recommend vinegar. Now, chemistry wasn't my best subject, but one is an acid and the other is a base, so they would have opposite effects. Some places (like the OP) say that chlorine is acidic (hence baking soda neutralizing it), but chlorine bleach is basic, is it not? Is there a fundamental difference I'm missing? (I"m not being facetious, just honestly confused.)
And then there's the vitamin C option, which is ascorbic acid. Another acid, which would suggest that chlorine is basic.
I'm sorry if this has been covered. I've been reading all over the place and am still confused.
From what I was able to find out, the chlorine used in pools is an acid. Here's some stuff on chlorine and ph levels: http://www.pahlen.com/users-guide/ph-and-chlorine
However, if you're going to wash your hair with baking soda (which I've found to be effective), then you'll want to rinse with a diluted apple cider vinegar. The baking soda will shift the ph of your scalp and hair too much, the acv rinse will bring it back to a good ph.
If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
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)
Getting my hands on it
Mela.Mermaid
Sorry if this has been touched upon, but I was born with congenital glaucoma and cateracts, and had many surgeries before I was eight years old, so my eyes are very sensitive. Currently, I close my eyes or use goggles, but if there’s anybody with similar eye issues who can recommend anything, please let me know. I’m also ok with accepting the fact that I’ll just never be able to open my eyes under water, if it means preserving what eyesight I have.
I'm not a fan of opening my eyes underwater, even in nonchlorine bodies of water, so I'll be decorating my goggles to make them more mer-like.
Bookmarks