According to the CDC, more than one in three Black adults can’t swim. Some people with textured hair have faced the issue of wanting to swim, but not having a good swim cap to protect their hair. There’s an entrepreneur in New York working to create a solution that will eventually be available to the masses.

In a modest office on Cornell’s campus is the fashion and body tech lab.

“Our focus is to understand body garment relationship, to understand body variations and anything that will be worn by people,” said Fatma Baytar, and assistant professor with the Department Of Human Centric Design.

What You Need To Know

  •  Entrepreneur from New York City is working with Cornell to research head sizes to eventually make a new swim cap

  •  Some people struggle with the current swim caps options on the market

  • 3D head scans will be measured and the information will contribute to a finished product

This research is part of the JumpStart program, which is funded by Empire State Development's Division of Science, Technology and Innovation. Their current project focuses on measuring heads, and they use a machine to make a 3D scan.

“There are four lasers coming out from the machine, so it comes down parallel and it will scan you in like three seconds,” said Yoon Yang, a research assistant with the lab.

Computer models from the 3D scans will help researchers measure the ideal size for a new type of swim cap for long and curly hair.

“[We] purchased some prototypes that we put on participants' heads with their hair all tucked in so that we can measure the hair volume and the outline of the cap,” said Yang.

They’ve found that ethnicity hasn’t made a difference in head measurements, but rather the amount of hair and where it sits inside the cap. Saira Patel is an entrepreneur out of New York City. Her organization is called rsspcts, and she is working to make swimwear for Black hair.

“So if you say jump in a pool and you want to go to work afterwards, it's not just going to be a 'shake it off and jump in the car and get to work on time' situation,” said Patel.

She wanted to find a swim cap that worked with her hair so she could swim with her family. But she didn’t like the options on the market.

“The hair itself dries pretty quickly. But what happens is that it shrinks and curls and kind of tangles within itself. So it's a little bit of a labor intensive process to, to restyle the hair properly without damage after it's been wet,” said Patel.

“I believe that, those [products that are] limiting a person is not OK,” said Yang.

So far, they have measured at least 30 heads. And researchers will continue taking measurements so they can have the best prototype possible, and eventually even more people can jump in.