What About Using A Swim Cap?

Can I or should I wear a swim cap? 

The short answer: Maybe. 

If the facility requires all swimmers to wear a cap, then yes, wear one. In the USA it is not common for pools to require this. In Europe it is common for pools to require every to wear a swim cap. 

If you have hair long enough to get in your face, then it can be very helpful, especially in swim lessons, to wear a swim cap to keep it all contained and out of the way. 

If you are concerned about pool chemicals damaging your hair, or if you are easily chilled in the water, then the swim cap can provide a little help insulation against that, but certainly not complete. 

The swim cap reduces some of the surface drag around the head, so it may be slightly more streamline to wear one. 

But if you don’t feel the need for a swim cap, you may go without. The water flowing against the nerve receptors on the skin of your head is one more area of sensory information that can help you in your proprioception! 

You may read more about Hair Care for The Pool.