Fat headed girrrl seeks swim cap

March 27, 2021 8:06 AM

I swim three times a week and it's murdering my hair. All swim caps I've tried are so tight they give me an almost instant headache. Help me!

Endless googling just results in caps for people with lots of hair. I measured the circumference of my hairline, i.e. where the edge of a cap would be, and it's 58 cm. The speedo cap that gives me a headache is 38 cm unstretched, no wonder it's too fucking tight.

Please help me find a cap with a wider opening.

posted by mareli to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)

I am also a long-haired swimmer and hate those little speedo caps. They give me a headache too and I was forever punching through them with my surprisingly sharp fingernails.

I found a cloth swim cap kinda like this one (sorry about the amazon link) and it works great. I have worn it ~3x a week for a year with no problems. I can look up the exact brand when I get home today. It doesn't keep your hair dry and since it doesn't lie flat against your head, it's not ideal for competitions because it doesn't help with drag, but I'm just a casual swimmer anyway. From my searching I see that there are also swim caps for dreads as well as super-long hair, so it looks like there are many options out there. They're a bit more expensive than a normal plastic speedo-style cap, but it's been worth it tenfold because they're comfortable and sturdy enough to survive my sharp fingernails.
posted by Gray Duck at 8:40 AM on March 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

are you talking about the silicone ones? those are the worst no matter what your head size.

I only wear these fabric ones. they're soft and stretchy to start out with (and chlorine wears them out... then they get even softer/floppier.)
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:47 AM on March 27, 2021

Response by poster: I don't care about drag, I just swim slow breast stroke laps. I would, however, like to keep my hair dry. I'm also thinking of coloring it but know the pool chlorine will bleach out the dye very quickly. I have long hair but it's not thick.
posted by mareli at 8:52 AM on March 27, 2021

This one! Wide pliable rubber headband for comfort, plastic liner for waterproofing.
posted by MiraK at 9:14 AM on March 27, 2021 [2 favorites]

You might give this a try. L/XL fits head size 21 inches.

"The Speedo Silicone Stretch Fit Swim Cap is the best swim cap for serious recreational swimmers, who have experienced headaches from the one-size-fit-all silicone swim caps. ... This silicone cap has a comfortable liner, so it doesn't not pull your hair and yet keeps the water out."
posted by SageTrail at 9:22 AM on March 27, 2021

Here's one that comes in larger sizes (but it is $$):
posted by SageTrail at 9:33 AM on March 27, 2021

Best answer: Have you tried the Sporti brand? Some silicone swim caps claim a 27.4" circumference; a 'long hair' model is 29.8".
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:42 AM on March 27, 2021

I'm yet to find a cap that keeps my hair completely dry, but I have recently started putting some leave in conditioner (I use this) in my hair before I head to the pool. Even if a little bit of water gets to my hair, it seems to help stop it from getting really dried out. My hair hates chlorine.
posted by cholly at 1:39 PM on March 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! I've ordered the larger Sporti one Iris Gambol mentioned.
posted by mareli at 5:48 PM on April 1, 2021

Response by poster: And their measurements are full of shit: what they're calling a diameter is the opening laid flat, the width of the flattened cap is not the diameter. ( You could call it half the circumference, I guess.)So they say the diameter is 9.5 inches but in fact if you fit the opening to a circle shape the diameter of that circle is around 5 and 5/8 inches but they calculate the circumference as if 9.5 is the diameter. It fits nicely on a bowl I have but it does not fit on my head. I am going to send it back and complain.about their bizarre method of measurement. And yes, I did try it on, and got the instant headache.
posted by mareli at 5:18 PM on April 9, 2021