The Swimma Cap, a revolutionary new swimming cap designed by an African woman for African women, has become a viral success, solving an age-old problem of how to fit a lot of hair into a very small swim cap.
After years of struggling to fit her own long dreadlocks into her swim cap, South African mum Numvuyo Treffers decided to do something about it herself. It lead to the creation of her more elongated swim cap, with more room at the top for hair to fit into.
"I often avoided going swimming, because I could not bear the chore of having to blow-dry my dreadlocks for hours. My children also complained about uncomfortable swimming caps that could not fit over their high-volume hairstyles. Seeing my children frustrated motivated me to design swimming caps suitable for bulk hair," Treffers said to Bona magazine.
Practicalities aside, the caps also prevent black children from feeling inferior to their white swim mates.
"My company is not just about swimming caps, but catering for everyone. It is vital that we do not let our children grow up feeling that their hair is a problem because a swimming cap is too small or too big. I want them to wear their hair with pride,and not worry about not fitting in."
The caps come in three sizes: regular, midi, and superlarge, manufactured from waterproof silicone material in a range of colours.