How to Keep My Swim Cap from Slipping Off

If you are an avid swimmer, you probably know the importance of the swim cap. You need one whether you are a casual swimmer or serious athlete.

Swim caps prevent hair from falling on your face and ears and guard it from the harmful effects of chlorine.

Most caps are made from silicone and latex, materials which are extremely sticky. Wearing your cap the wrong way presents challenges such as slipping off.

This brings us to the question, “How do you keep your swim cap from accidentally slipping off?”

The answer to this question is based on the following useful tips that you should start following. Once you have mastered the process of wearing your cap, you will be confident that no more accidents will occur.

1. Dry Hair, Don’t Dare!

Swim caps are designed to slide over wet surfaces easily. Don’t you think it is a bad idea to put on your cap without lubing up a little?

If you have been looking for ways to efficiently wear your cap over dry hair, stop trying. It is likely to end badly. You could even accidentally rip your hair out! And you don’t really want that pain.

Henceforth, moisturize your hair then proceed to slip your cap on. You don’t actually need to douse your head with an entire bucket of water either. All you need to do is make sure that your hair is damp enough to let the cap material glide over it perfectly.

You will notice that putting your cap at this stage is an easier task. If you can bring in some form of conditioning, the better! The conditioner makes the process easier on your hands.

2. Set your hair in a bun

Your hair is what goes into the swim cap, right? Well, it also presents the most challenges. If your hair is long, it is always good to set it up in a bun before attempting to put your cap over it. Better yet, go for swim caps designed for long hair.

Don’t try to randomly force the strands inside! All you will achieve is a complicated mess. If your hair is twisted or braided, it even becomes easier for you. 

If you don’t put long hair in a bun, the swim cap might slip off easily.

Take caution while putting your hair up in a bun. If you use sharp accessories such as bobby pins, they could end up piercing the cap reducing its effectiveness. If the cap rips, it won’t be easy for it to stay put.

3. Stretch the cap wide and good

Once you have prepared adequately, you need to wear your swim cap correctly or better yet, learn how to do it. 

Start by stretching the apparel wide. Don’t overdo it though. Stretching your cap too much can rip it up! It will surely slip if you wear it afterwards.

Using a gentle motion, place the back part of your hands inside the cap and pull the sides away. You need to do this without stretching the cap too much.

If you want to monitor how well you are doing, get your mirror. For perfect results, begin by placing your hands on your hair as opposed to starting at the chest or eyes.

When you start pulling, you will be able to monitor the level to which your cap stretches. This precaution also serves to include all hair into your cap.

4. Sliding through

At this point, your cap has stretched optimally. Get ready to move to the next step. This involves sliding the apparel along the shape of your head.

The preparations that we mentioned earlier play a very crucial role in this stage. Conditioned hair makes the sliding process seamless. 

You could adopt a method that is used by most people. This involves bending over while getting ready to put the cap over your head. To find if it will work, try putting the cap in this position.

Nevertheless, in any position that you decide to put the cap in, you will need to align the swim cap with the general disposition of your head. Also, ensure that the inner regions touch your hair directly.

Once you have achieved this, adopt an instant motion then pull your cap backwards and downwards so that it covers every part of your head. (The quick motion ensures that no hair strands are left behind.)

As you remove your hands from the cap, take care not to rip the material with your nails. Longer nails complicate the process of setting a swim cap. Having such nails could be the start of your problems. It could even mean that you remove your cap and repeat the process of wearing it.

If you are like other swimmers, you will want to try all you can to put the cap neatly because swimming without it will make you uncomfortable.

5. If you have to make adjustments, tread carefully

Your first attempt might not produce proper results. Even after following all the steps religiously, the swim cap might have other ideas. Luckily, minor imperfections can be corrected easily.

Truth be told, it is not uncommon for a few hairs strands to be sneaky. They will find a way of not getting into the cap probably because you weren’t able to tie them properly or they are too short to be restrained.

Sneaky hair strands are no problem. All you need to do is ensure that the strays are securely brought back into the cap.

Once you start tucking the loose hair, ensure that the swim cap is sealed tightly. A water-tight cap prevents pool water from finding its way inside the cap. If there are hidden holes, water will keep on filling the cap and interrupting your fun time!

6. Ask for help

Most things become easier when you get help from someone. A little help could go a long way in securely putting a cap on your head. It also makes the whole process easier for you.

Consider asking a member of your family, team or friend for help. To save time, ask them to help you stretch the cap so that it covers your head and glides easily. They can also hold your hair nicely so that the cap slips on tightly and securely.

Getting help will reduce the time taken to fix the cap securely. In addition, you might get it right on your first attempt. 

This is mostly helpful to parents. Children have a tendency of being in a hurry to get into the pool. They usually don’t have time to prepare adequately and place the caps correctly. In their hurry, the cap ends up covering just a portion of their hair.

7. Find out the temperature of the pool water

The temperature of the water plays a crucial role in determining how long your cap will stay put. Every swimmer needs to pay special attention to the water temperature if they want to have a good time while swimming. 

Before anything else, you want to get swim cap made from durable material such as silicon. Such swim caps are designed to handle different temperatures and give you peace of mind as you swim. Fumbling with your cap as it slips off because of temperature isn’t cool at all!

Swim caps made from thick material tend to gain hear faster and since there is inadequate room for heat to escape through, your swim quickly becomes unpleasant.

Fortunately, with silicon swim caps, high temperature shouldn’t be an issue. They also protect your hair adequately and won’t slip off easily.

8. Swim cap do’s and don’ts

There isn’t that much science involved while putting on a swim cap. You mostly need to learn a few tips to ensure that you get it right. Once you have found a technique that works, don’t stop practicing. With time, you will start to get the hang of it.

Nevertheless, you need to pay attention to how you treat your cap if you want to get more service from it. Well-kept caps typically last longer than haphazardly stored caps. They also give better results in the pool.

Most damages occur during the process of putting them on. You might think that you are putting the cap properly, but in real sense, you are just damaging it. This is particularly true if you have long and sharp nails. They will definitely get in your way when you are stretching the cap.

As you get ready to pull the cap over your hair, remove accessories such as earrings and rings. Tell your helper to remove theirs too. The sharp objects are particularly notorious and will rip your cap without much of a notice.

The bottom line

We hope that this answer post has covered the topic adequately. As you can see, preventing your cap from slipping off is as simple as learning how to put it on properly. If you have long hair – which could facilitate the cap to slip off – consider getting a cap that fits.

And once you do, don’t forget to put your hair up in a nice bun.

Enjoy swimming, you deserve it!