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10/04/26
swim gear
How to Put On a Swim Cap
Cupped hands, nails out of the way, and no tugging at your hair. Step by step with drawings, plus how far over your ears it goes, other ways to get it on, and how to put one on a child.
A swim cap should go on in one smooth move, not a tug-of-war.
It takes a little technique, and the technique is mostly about your hands. Get them inside the cap and keep your nails away from the edge, and the cap slides on without pulling your hair or tearing.
should your hair be wet or dry?
it depends on whether you want it dry afterward
If you want your hair to stay dry, put your cap on over dry hair. That’s the answer for most of us.
You’ll also see “wet your hair first” in a lot of swim advice, and it sounds like the opposite. It isn’t about putting the cap on; it’s about chlorine. When your hair is going to get wet anyway, as it does in a lap workout, wetting it first with clean water means it soaks up clean water before it meets the pool. Our swim cap guide explains it under protecting your hair from chlorine. (One more reason lap swimmers like it: latex grips dry hair, and wet hair slides under it more easily.)
| how you swim | your hair | cap and tips |
|---|---|---|
| a dip or light swimming, hair should stay dry | Dry, smoothed back flat, every strand tucked in. | A silicone cap, which slides on easily over dry hair, over our Hair Guard. Go easy on conditioner underneath; a slick layer can help the cap slip. |
| laps, hair will get wet anyway | Wet it with clean water first, so it soaks up clean water before pool water.1 | Silicone or latex. Latex grips dry hair, so wet hair makes it much easier to put on. |
| a tender scalp or thin hair | Dry, and go slowly. | Lycra stretches on without pulling. It won’t keep hair dry, but it’s the gentlest. |
three more things before you start
- Take off rings and jewelry. Anything with an edge can tear a cap, and so can fingernails. You’ll keep yours out of the way with cupped hands.
- Powder for a latex cap. Latex sticks to itself, and pulling a stuck cap apart can tear it. A light dusting of cornstarch baby powder inside a dry latex cap keeps it from clinging, so it opens up and goes on easily. Silicone sticks much less and usually doesn’t need it, unless it’s been stored damp.
- Find the seam. If your cap has a seam, line it up with the middle of your forehead so it runs from front to back over the top of your head.
how to put on a swim cap, step by step
hands inside, and no tearing
A cap forced on the wrong way can rip or tear. Work from the inside with both hands to reduce pulling as you ease the cap over your head.
Keep sharp things away from the cap. Fingernails, jewelry, hair pins and anything else with an edge are what tear a swim cap.
Gather long hair first.
If your hair is long, pull it into a ponytail or bun at the back of your head before the cap goes on.
Stretch the cap with cupped hands.
Slide both hands deep inside the cap, one on each side, palms against the inside and fingers together, curved to the shape of the cap. That cup keeps your fingernails away from the material. Then gently stretch the opening wider. A nail that catches can cut right through a cap, and so can pinching the edge with your fingertips.
Cup it over your head.
With your hands still cupped inside, lift the cap over your head and set the front edge on your forehead, a little below your hairline. Then ease it down and back over the crown until your head and any hair are completely covered. Slide your hands out carefully, still cupped.
Adjust if it needs it.
Slide one cupped hand back inside the cap and ease it gently outward and down until the fit feels secure. Always adjust from the inside, never by pinching the edge and tugging. Tuck any stray hair under the edge. If the cap has crept up high on your forehead, bring it back down; a cap sitting too high is the one that shifts off.
taking it off
Same rule in reverse. Slide your fingertips under the front edge, nails turned away from the cap, and peel it back over your crown so it turns inside out as it comes off, the way you’d take off a disposable glove. If it’s clinging, dip your head under the water as you start: water slips in under the edge and lets go of the seal. Pulling it off from the top is what tugs at your hair.
after your swim: caring for your cap
- Rinse it inside and out in fresh tap water.
- Dry it completely, patting it with a soft cloth inside and out.
- Store it cool and dry, out of direct sun and away from heat. A latex cap does best with a light dusting of cornstarch baby powder inside so it doesn’t stick to itself.
With regular swimming, expect to replace a cap every few months, and sooner if it tears or stops fitting snugly. Our swim cap guide has more on caring for your swim cap.
should a swim cap cover your ears?
how far down it goes
Usually, yes. Swim instructors suggest tucking your ears in and checking that the cap sits snugly over them, with the front resting on the upper part of your forehead.
For extra protection around the ears, wear our Hair Guard under the cap. It seals at the hairline and adds water protection over your ears too. It goes on with the same cupped-hands move as a cap: how to put on a hair guard.
how to put on a hair guard
the band that keeps water out at the hairline
No swim cap keeps hair completely dry. Water finds its way in at the edges. Our Hair Guard is a 100% silicone band you wear under your swim cap. Pulled down over your hairline, it helps seal out water right where it gets in, and it adds water protection over your ears too. It also extends coverage at the back of the neck and along the ear line, and you can pull it down as low as you want or need. Any swim cap goes on over the top, it comes in plenty of colors to match or blend with yours, and you can even wear it on its own to cover your ears when you swim.
Put it on the same way you put on a swim cap: hands inside, cupped, and nails away from the silicone.
Hair back first.
Pull your hair back off your face. If it’s long, make your bun now.
Stretch it with cupped hands.
Slide both hands inside the band, fingers together and curved, and gently stretch it open.
Set it at your hairline.
Place the front on your forehead and pull it down over your hairline, so it covers the hairline all the way around and sits over your ears. Smooth it flat with your fingertips, nails turned away.
Cap on over the top.
Put your swim cap on the usual way, so the cap’s edge comes down over the Hair Guard all around.
In our experience, a swim cap over the Hair Guard is the best option there is for dry hair, and it makes a huge difference. For a dip in the pool or light swimming, your hair can stay dry, and plenty of our customers come out of the pool that way. Lap swimming is different: with your head under the water stroke after stroke, expect to see some water around the edges. It’s water.
How dry you stay depends a lot on how you put it on, on whether any hair is coming through at the edge, and on things like your head shape and hairline. Set it low on your forehead and over your ears, tuck every strand of hair under it, keep your bun flat and low, and bring the cap’s edge down over it all the way around. Any gap at the edge is where water gets in. More on getting the closest seal is in our swim cap guide.
tricks that make it easier
for the cap that won’t cooperate
The standard way works most days. When it doesn’t, try one of these.
an experiment to try: the water trick
Some swimmers swear by this one, and it doubles as a fun bit of science. Standing in the shower or in shallow water, turn the cap inside out and fill it partway with water. Hold it over your head and let it drop. The weight of the water turns the cap right side out as it lands and pushes the air out on the way down.
Try it with a silicone cap. Latex is thinner and tears more easily, so it’s the wrong cap to be turning inside out and filling. Expect to get wet, and if it doesn’t land right the first time, the standard way is right there waiting.
back to front
If you keep trying front to back and the cap won’t cooperate, flip it. Stretch the cap at the base of your head, at the nape of your neck, and pull it forward over your head to your forehead.
with a helper
Hold the front inside edge of the cap against your forehead and bend your head down a little. Your helper holds the back of the cap open and brings it over your head, then you both tuck in any stray hair.
a new, tight cap
If a cap feels too tight or too new to go on comfortably, stretch it out with your hands a few times before you try.
if your cap keeps slipping off
- Push out the air bubble. Trapped air lifts the cap. Duck your head under the water and press on the bubble until it’s gone.
- Wear it lower. The front edge belongs on your forehead. A cap sitting high is the one that shifts.
- Look down when you push off the wall. With your face toward the bottom of the pool, the water presses the cap down onto your head.
- Rethink the fit. A cap that’s too tight can pop off as easily as one that’s too loose, and caps are shaped differently from one maker to the next, so the cure may be a different cap. Silicone goes on and off most easily but can move around more; latex grips tighter.
- Give long hair room. A long hair cap has extra space at the back, so the bun isn’t pushing the cap off your head.
goggles: over the cap or under it?
Either works. Most recreational swimmers wear goggles over the cap, so they can adjust them without taking anything off, and a cap’s grippy surface helps keep the strap in place. Racers tend to wear goggles under the cap so the strap can’t slip or get knocked off. With long hair, over the cap is kinder: the strap rests on the cap and leaves your hair alone.
how to put a swim cap on long hair
the detailed version
With long hair, most of the work happens before the cap leaves your hands. Make your hair small, smooth and low first, and the cap slides right over it.
Detangle first.
Brush or finger-comb out the knots. Any knot that goes under the cap gets pulled when the cap comes off.
Keep it dry, or dampen it for laps.
If you want your hair to stay dry, leave it dry and smooth it back flat. If you’re swimming laps and it will get wet anyway, dampening it first helps the cap slide on with less pulling, especially a latex cap. More on that in should your hair be wet or dry?
Make a ponytail at the back.
Gather your hair at the back of your head, medium to low, but not so low that it slips out the bottom of the cap. Use a soft hair tie. Skip clips, bobby pins and anything metal: they tear caps.
Twist it into a flat bun.
Twist the ponytail and wrap it into a loose, flat bun. Flat and low sits in the cap’s extra room; high and round pushes the cap up and off. If your hair is very long or very thick, braid it first and coil the braid, or split it into two ponytails and two small buns.
Cap on from the front.
With your hands cupped deep inside the cap, set the front edge on your forehead and ease the cap back over your head and over the bun. A helper makes this easy with very thick hair.
Tuck and check.
Tuck stray hairs under the edge with your fingertips, nails turned away. Press on the crown to push out any trapped air.
Goggles over the cap.
That way the strap sits on the cap, away from your hair.
the right cap does half the work
A cap made for long hair is easier to put on and easier to take off. The extra room at the back holds your bun, so you’re not stretching the cap over it, and there’s less pulling at your hair on the way off. Ours is the Sync Silicone Long Hair Swim Cap: 100% silicone, with extra grip around the hairline so it stays put once it’s on.
For the driest hair, wear it over our Hair Guard. Some swimmers go further and wear two caps, an inner cap pulled low over the ears with a second cap on top, for a tighter seal.
Very thick, curly or braided hair, and locs, may need a cap cut with even more room. Our swim cap guide has more on choosing a cap for long hair.
taking it off long hair
Peel it from the front, back over the bun, and let the cap turn inside out as it comes off. Leave the bun in until the cap is off, then rinse your hair as soon as you can.
how to put a swim cap on a child
the same move, with you doing the stretching
Tie long hair back.
Put your child’s hair into a ponytail or bun. Skip sharp clips and bulky accessories; a soft hair tie is kinder to both the child and the cap.
Check the seam.
If the cap has a seam, it runs from the front of the head to the back.
Stretch it between your hands.
Both hands inside the cap, cupped, with your thumbs toward the front.
Start at the forehead.
Place the front of the cap against your child’s forehead and gently stretch it back over the top of the head, then take your hands out and tuck in any loose hair.
Check the fit.
The cap should sit snugly over the ears and stay clear of goggles. Goggles need to seal against skin, and a cap edge underneath them makes them leak.
if your scalp is tender or your hair is thin
gentle, and in no hurry
Start with a lycra cap. It stretches on without pulling at your hair or your scalp. Keep your hands cupped and go slowly. Pool chemicals can make a tender, itchy scalp worse, so rinse well after your swim and follow with a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner.2
If you’re in cancer treatment, our guide to swimming during chemo and cancer treatment covers what to ask your care team before you swim. Or call us at 1-800-264-4287 and a person will talk the options through with you.
putting on a swim cap: questions
open only the one you need
which way does the seam on a swim cap go?
Front to back. Line the seam up with the middle of your forehead so it runs over the top of your head to the back.
why does my swim cap keep slipping off?
Usually one of four things: trapped air lifting it, the cap sitting too high on your forehead, a fit that’s too tight or too loose, or a bun pushing it up from behind. Push the air bubble out under water, wear the front edge lower, and give long hair a cap with room at the back.
do goggles go over or under a swim cap?
Either. Over the cap is easier to adjust and kinder to long hair; under the cap holds the strap more securely, so racers tend to prefer it.
can you put on a swim cap by yourself?
Yes. With your hands cupped inside the cap, stretch it wide, set the front edge on your forehead and ease it back over your head. If front to back isn’t working, try starting at the nape of your neck and pulling it forward. A helper makes it easier with thick or very long hair.
why we care about this
specialists in hair loss since 1995
My mother Carol and I started Headcovers in 1995, after breast cancer treatment left her with nothing comfortable or attractive to wear. So how a piece goes on has always mattered to us as much as how it looks. A swim cap is no different. It should slide on, stay put, and leave your hair and your scalp alone.
Ready for the pool?
Find a cap that slides right on.
keep learning
1 American Academy of Dermatology. Must-try summer hair care.
2 Swim England. Swimming during and after cancer.
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