Chlorine effect on the hair

I'm planning on starting to swim regularly to get myself into a better shape, is chlorine used in swimming pools bad for the hair? Also, how do I prevent ear infections from swimming?

Tooyoung,

Chlorine in pools probably isn't a factor for your hair, but it is bad for you. When you absorb lots of chlorine in pools through the skin it gets into your system in large amounts. People buy shower filters to get rid of the relatively small amount in the tap water for the same reason. The chlorine in pools is much much more. If you could find a salt filtered pool, that would be healthier for you. Overall I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just make sure and rinse off well to avoid getting any additional chlorine in your system.

Chlorine is a goitrogen that competes with and lowers iodine in the body. It is possible that over a long period of time you could develop thyroid problems, but as long as you take some sort of iodine you'll be good.

Hmm, in that case I'll probably just stick to treadmills. Thanks a lot.