Can you actually swim or shower with a hair system?

[Natalee Chand]

Hi everyone,

I’ve seen a lot of mixed opinions online about whether it’s safe (or smart) to swim or shower with a hair system on, so I thought I’d ask here, where people actually wear them every day.

Do any of you regularly swim or go to the gym with your system? I’m especially curious how both lace and poly bases hold up — and whether there’s a big difference in how they react to water.

A few questions:

• Does the bond weaken quickly after swimming or showering?
• Any adhesives or tapes you’ve found that stay solid even when wet?
• How do you handle chlorine or saltwater — do you rinse or condition right after?

I’d love to hear real experiences — the good and the bad. I’m pretty active (running, gym, occasional swimming), so this is one of the few things keeping me from making the jump.

Thanks in advance for any tips or stories — always appreciate the honesty on this forum!

Cheers,

 

[mania]

I think it is better not to wear wig or hair extension during swimming ....

 

[Natalee Chand]

I think it is better not to wear wig or hair extension during swimming ....

Thanks! Or is there something we can do, like apply some protectant before going into water?

 

[janna]

The clinic in which I used work offered Hair transplant procedures as well as offering hair systems and maintenance. The hair systems are treated like your native hairs so you'd wash/shampoo and swim as if you didn't have a system on. Every 6 weeks you'd get the hair system re-glued and native hairs cut and trimmed. This was 25 years ago and the maintenance likely has changed since then.

 

[Natalee Chand]

Thanks for sharing that — The process has indeed evolved a lot over the years. But sounds like the basics are still pretty similar now, just with better materials and stronger adhesives. The newer lace and thin-skin bases feel a lot lighter and more natural, and most glues or tapes can handle showers and even swimming pretty well.
Some people say wearing a rubber swimming cap helps keep the system drier, though I’m guessing it’s best not to let the water get under it — or the friction from the cap might loosen the bond. I’ll probably still try to avoid soaking it too much, just in case.
Crazy how far the tech’s come since those days!

 

[Dr Bicer Consultant]

Hair systems vary greatly, synthetic hair to real hair to real hair stripped of the cuticle to real hair with the cuticle, often known as "virgin hair", always a premium. As there are no natural oils running through the hair system, the oils help to stop the hair from matting, without the natural oil from the scalp you have to treat the hair differently, when getting wet, including when you wash/shower. For instance combing the shampoo through the hair system rather than massaging.

If fixed with tape it would be less secure than a bonding adhesive, if it would speed up the time frame between refits is likely to depend on how often you swim. Hair length will play a role how easy it would be also, and as consideration would be to wear a swimming cap if possible. That would at least protect your hair system and should make it easier to maintain, it would need to be tight to the scalp and whether it affects the hair system may depend on the hair system base size. If the base is only over the top of your head it´s unlikely to affect, but would be harder the longer the hair to take off and on.