There is nothing quite like a swim at Buttermere on a still morning, or a quick plunge into a fell tarn when the sun finally shows up. Your hair, sadly, does not share the enthusiasm. Lake water is cold, often soft or peaty, and carries fine silt and minerals that settle onto the hair shaft. Add wind, a vigorous towel rub and a day of drying in the sun, and you can end up with something closer to straw than hair.
The reassuring news is that most of the damage happens after you get out, not during the swim. What you do in the first half hour — and once a week after that — decides whether your hair stays soft or spends the summer in a permanent sulk. Here is a routine that fits real lake days, not salon schedules.
Why lake water is harder on hair than a shower
Shower water is treated and fairly consistent. Lake water is not. It can be mineral-heavy in one spot and soft and peaty in another, and it carries organic matter — the same stuff that tints the water brown — which clings to porous hair. Lightened, blonde, grey and naturally porous hair tends to pick up a dull, brassy or slightly greenish-brown cast after repeated dips, while darker hair is more likely to feel coated and stiff.
Cold water also means less sebum moving down the shaft, so hair dries out faster. Then there is the mechanical damage: wet hair stretches and snaps more easily than dry hair, which is exactly when most of us attack it with a towel and a fine-tooth brush.
Before you get in: five minutes that save the day
Dry hair soaks up whatever it touches. Wet it first with clean water from your bottle or the tap at home, so there is less room for lake water to be absorbed. Then add a layer of protection.
- Rinse and saturate. Soak hair completely with fresh water before you swim.
- Add a leave-in. A light leave-in conditioner, a few drops of argan or jojoba oil through the mid-lengths and ends, or a rich rinse-out conditioner left in.
- Braid it. A loose plait or a low bun keeps hair from floating, tangling and knotting around weed.
- Wear a swim cap if you can tolerate one. Silicone caps keep most of the water off the lengths, even if a little seeps in at the edges.
- Take a hat. Wind and UV do as much drying as the lake does.
Coming out: the first ten minutes
Resist the towel turban. Rubbing wet hair against rough cotton roughens the cuticle and creates tangles that then have to be torn out. Instead, squeeze water out gently from root to tip, then wrap hair in a microfibre towel or a soft cotton T-shirt and press rather than rub.
Rinse with clean water as soon as you can — a bottle of tap water poured over your head on the shore helps, and it stops silt and minerals from drying onto the hair. Comb through with a wide-tooth comb while hair is still coated in conditioner or leave-in, starting at the ends and working upwards. Never drag a brush from the roots through a wet knot.
The wash: gentle first, clarifying when needed
Wash when you get home, or that evening. Use lukewarm water, not hot — hot water strips what little oil your scalp has left. Focus shampoo on the scalp and let the suds rinse down the lengths rather than piling hair on top of your head and scrubbing.
If your hair feels coated or looks dull
Once every week or two, swap your usual shampoo for a clarifying or chelating one. These remove mineral and product build-up that ordinary shampoo leaves behind. Do not use them every wash or you will strip hair further; follow with a mask.
If your hair has taken a peaty tint
Peat staining is stubborn and builds up gradually. Gentle clarifying washes, a chelating shampoo and plenty of conditioning help over time. If the tint is significant on blonde or bleached hair, a salon colourist can advise on a safe toning or treatment option rather than a home fix that might make it worse.
Conditioning is where the recovery happens
After every lake swim, condition generously. Squeeze excess water from hair first so the conditioner is not diluted, then apply from mid-lengths to ends and leave it for at least three minutes. Once a week, replace it with a deep conditioning mask and leave it on for fifteen to twenty minutes — a warm towel or shower cap over the top helps it work.
If your hair feels stretchy, mushy and limp, it likely needs protein as well as moisture; if it feels brittle and snaps, it needs moisture. Alternate a protein-rich mask with a hydrating one every other week rather than using both at once.
Drying and styling without undoing the good work
Air dry when you can. If you need a hairdryer, use it on a low heat and low speed, keep it moving, and stop while hair is still slightly damp. A heat protectant spray is worth the ten seconds it takes. Leave-in conditioner and a small amount of oil on the ends keep things soft between washes.
Choose hair ties carefully: soft fabric scrunchies and spiral ties cause far less breakage than tight elastics. Loose braids for sleeping cut down on friction overnight and mean fewer tangles in the morning.
Habits that keep hair soft all season
Keep a small swim kit in the car or your bag: microfibre towel, wide-tooth comb, leave-in conditioner, a bottle of fresh water and a hat. Book a trim every eight to ten weeks if you swim often, since split ends travel upwards and no conditioner repairs them.
Take care of your scalp too. Rinse it well, avoid scratching with fingernails, and if you notice persistent itching, soreness, flaking or hair loss, speak to a pharmacist or GP rather than self-treating for months.
A simple post-swim routine at a glance
- Rinse hair with clean water as soon as you leave the water.
- Squeeze, do not rub, and wrap in a soft towel.
- Comb through with a wide-tooth comb, ends first.
- Wash scalp with lukewarm water and a gentle shampoo.
- Apply a generous conditioner or mask; leave for three minutes or more.
- Rinse cool, squeeze out water, add leave-in or oil to the ends.
- Air dry or use low heat, then loosely braid before bed.
Swim often enough and you will find your own rhythm — some people need a clarifying wash weekly, others once a month. Start gently, add treatments only when hair asks for them, and your hair will happily survive a full season of Cumbrian lakes.
Photo: StockSnap / Pixabay
