Knotted and Tangled Hair / Chlorine Damage

It's really important that she wet her hair before entering the pool. The first water it soaks up will be tap water not chlorine.

I like Jaycee's advice of putting an oil or conditioner in it too. School's in session soon so the weeks of swimming 3-4 times will likely end, too bad for her but good for her hair.

wet her hair and apply conditioner (dont rinse) BEFORE she goes swimming and put in in a braid. Coconut oil will probably work too. after swimming she needs to wash her hair RIGHT AWAY and not let it sit. Use any shampoo that is moisturizing on her hair.

I don't know about the cap, but my friend's daughter's hair was nearly in dreads this summer and she is now in love with a product called Kinky Curly Knot Today. It's a leave in detangler I found it in Target. I use Dove intense conditioner on my DD's hair and let it soak in when her hair is a mess. You may also want to look for shampoo specifically for swimmers.

You can try a deep conditioner with plain olive oil. Brush her hair our as best you can, and apply the olive oil to dry hair ends. The put her hair in a shower cap for about an hour or so. Then rinse, shampoo (repeat), and condition. Also, a leave in conditioner might be your best bet. My daughter's hair is straight, stringy, and knot prone. I make a spray out of California Baby conditioner and water and then just leave it in.
Unfortunately, I don't know much about swimming caps, but I have long hair. When I swim, I always rinse my hair with tap water first before getting in. The hair shaft will absorb the tap water and not the chlorine water from the pool. Just rinse it at home, braid it, and go to the pool!

Ultraswim Shampoo and Conditioner - can be bought at Wal Mart or online.

You can condition hair once a week or so with olive oil or coconut oil. Aussie makes a 3 minute deep conditioner that I use on my daughter's crazy curly hair a few times a week and it works well. There are several shampoos made specifically for chlorine removal and they are all about the same.

You need to try a shampoo/cond called Ultra Swim. It removes the chlorine from the hair but she needs to shampoo and cond her hair right after swimming. Tell her not to let the chlorine sit in her hair that is what causes damage. It dries the hair out! Good luck!

I was a competitive swimmer and being in the water every day was horrible on my hair. A swim cap won't keep water off of her hair. What you can do is get her hair wet in the shower, saturate it with conditioner, and then put a cap on. Most swim caps are probably latex. Ask at a sporting goods store or look online for latex free. You can get cloth caps, but they definitely won't keep water off.

Look for swimmer shampoo and conditioner. Ultra Swim is one brand. If a hair salon doesn't have it, a sporting good store might.

You can try rinsing her hair with apple cider vinegar. Look online for a "recipe" for hair rinse.

First thing to do is to get her a trim. It will remove all of the dead ends.

Next, buy some product:

1. A good conditioner for damaged hair. Tell her to use it after she shampoos and to let it sit for a minute or two before rinsing. As for shampoo, get a moisturizing one. No need to spend a lot on any of these products.

2. I suggest an argan oil. Use it on her wet hair after her shower.

3. A leave in conditioner. Fructis makes a good one.

4. A very wide-tooth comb

5. No snag elastics.

Doesn't matter if my daughter's hair is up or down. The chlorine is so rough on it. I use the leave in conditioner in the AM before camp.

Also, the best thing she can do for her hair is to wet it with clean water before jumping in the pool. Her hair will absorb the clean water and not the chlorine.

Good luck!!

Keep her hair braided most if not all of the time - not too tightly.
It will have less chance to tangle, snarl up and get damaged.
There's no repairing split ends.
The splits will just continue up the hair shafts - so get her hair trimmed to remove the splits.
Strong hair (and nails) comes from good nutrition.
A chewable multi vitamin might help.
A spoon of molasses every day is a good sulfur source (healthy hair needs it).
A swimming cap won't keep water out but if she wets her hair first before putting a cap on then her hair won't absorb as much chlorine.
After swimming she should rinse off and condition her hair right away.

I just wanted to add that we started using a leave-in conditioner every day and it makes a huge difference!!! I also use a special swim shampoo, we use the one made by Suave, I've never tried the other, after we swim each time then other days she uses regular shampoo and conditioner. We use the Garnier Fructis leave-in conditioner. It works great and smells nice. My kids (girl and boy) put it on after the shower and every morning while combing their hair.

I've also found that shampoos without phalates, etc. really leave our hair feeling nicer and looking better. I think there is something to it, honestly. You can get phalate free products everywhere now…grocery store, Costco, Target, etc.

Ditto the others.

Wet her hair before she goes into the pool, and work a good conditioner into it and LEAVE IT IN. Then, as soon as she is done in the pool, she should shampoo and condition (as normal) during her shower.

I couldn't tell you about caps, I've never used one, nor has my daughter. But she has long blonde hair and I have always required her to shower and shampoo/condition immediately upon exiting the pool (we have one at home). It makes a huge difference just doing that. She never just gets out and puts on dry clothes... she goes to the shower and shampoos/conditions and THEN gets dry clothes.

If she were swimming regularly in a public pool (the chlorine content is much higher than is necessary in a home/privately used pool), then I would wet it first, apply conditioner and leave it in prior to getting in the pool, and then follow the rest of the post-pool procedures as well.