It’s a big misconception that caps are designed to keep your hair dry. Though some caps do successfully keep your hair dry, it’s an added bonus as opposed to its primary purpose.
This leaves the burning question…
What are swim caps for?
Swim caps are made for a multitude of reasons. Listed below are the key reasons to wear a swimming cap.
Streamlined
A swim cap will reduce water drag and keep your hair out of your face so that you can see as you swim. This is important for competitive swimmers as a cap will lessen the hydrodynamic drag whilst in the water. Put another way, they make your swimming more efficient, and faster as a result.
Hygiene
People who swim without a cap lose hair in the pool, resulting in hair floating in the water and clogging up the pool filters. To help keep your local pool clean, you can wear a cap that will stop stray hairs from getting in your, or your fellow swimmers’ way.
Protect your Hair
While your hair will still get wet, caps prevent the chlorinated water from saturating your hair; preventing dry and damaged hair. This is particularly important for those that swim regularly.
Visibility
To be seen – whether you swim at the pool, or in open water. It helps lifeguards and bystanders to identify a swimmer in the water. In addition, competitive swimmers will wear certain caps to represent their team and keep track of their laps.
Warmth
If you swim in open water a neoprene swim cap will help you to retain heat whilst you’re in the cold water. Similar to wearing a woolly hat on a cold winters day.
Fun
Okay, so that was all rather serious. But sometimes you just have to wear a cap that is super fun, and stylish. Whether it’s a quirky design or crazy pattern, sometimes you have to unleash your wild side.!
Now that we have cleared that up, if you are looking for the perfect cap to keep your hair dry then the best advice we can give is to ensure you have a tight-fitting cap such as a silicone cap, or where possible you can wear 2 caps (maybe a Lycra cap and a silicone cap over the top).
Lycra and Polyester swim caps are also a great alternative to children learning to swim that is unnerved by their usual swimming caps.
For more on this, advice on fitting your swim cap and the benefits of each type of swim cap go to: https://www.simplyswim.com/pages/choosing-swimming-caps
