My daughter has extremely thick, lightly wavy hair that is well past her shoulders. We’ve used Ultra Swim on it regularly for a couple years now with no problems. However, we do keep it braided pretty much all the time and if we didn’t it would tangle very quickly.

Not up to date on the current trends, but in our case, we definitely kept the hair short (as much as DC will allow - have short hair!)

The comb you need is a large big toothed comb. Hold the hair in one hand, and (below your one hand that is holding the hair) comb out the tangles with the other hand, so you are not pulling the scalp. Make sense?

I would not put too much crap in the hair, just shampoo and condition with a creamy conditioner, and only leave a little bit of conditioner in the hair (rinse most of it out). Then comb.

I agree with the satin pillowcase and the braiding. The short hair helped us the most. So many tears with the hair brushing!

Once a week, if you can swing it, go to a child's salon, where the have the child lie down and they shampoo/condition, comb the hair. Works like a dream. I think it used to be Cartoon Cuts, but they are likely no longer around because I haven't seen them in a while.

The swimming and products are likely drying out her hair and causing more problems. Is a swim cap a possibility?

Just discovered (and LOVE) Garnier Fructis tangle spray!

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, UltraSwim is terrible for your hair. It made my fine hair worse—sticky and dry and damaged—and my stylist was horrified when I told her I’d been using it. See if eliminating that helps the texture.

Wet her hair with tap water before swimming and comb in a little conditioner. That will help keep it from absorbing chlorine, and you can wash and condition with regular products afterward.

And if she can wear a swim cap, even better. If she balks, try a cute one designed for kids. My DD had one at that age that looked like a fish.

+1. UltraSwjm is awful on hair.

I think many of the pp suggesting to cut it short either don’t have curly hair or kids with curly hair. Keeping it at a length where it can be braided is the most helpful thing. A super short haircut with curly hair can be a total nightmare.

In the summer, my kid only goes swimming if her hair is braided, otherwise it is a horrible tangly mess. We use sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner and a comb when her hair is wet. We use some extra spray-in conditioner after squeezing the water out of her hair with a towel.
Here’s the shampoo we use (same brand of conditioner): https://www.amazon.com/Sulfate-Free-Sport-Swim-Shampoo/dp/B01DQ8GQ4Q

My 11 year old is like this...when it's bad we do this:
- wash and rinse
- condition and rinse
- condition and brush out with conditioner in - I swear by this one but any heavy one will do: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E0ZCIA/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- rinse out.
- Final key step!!! Shampoo again to get all the conditioner out of her hair that you needed to brush it so it will be smooth tomorrow.
- Brush every morning and evening.
- Braiding before bed helps as does a satin pillow.

Enjoy!

Moroccan Hair Oil (no substitutes) will help. It's expensive but just a dab rubbed and brushed into damp hair will end all tangles and frizz. It also smells divide. Sephora has it but I order mine off Ebay for a discount. (salon size bottle for about $60 lasts me a year) I would keep hair braided.

Anonymous wrote:I use mason Pearson detangler comb.

I think the wet brush is a scam.

Comb in really small sections from bottom to top. Hair gets tangled, that’s life!

Says the person who uses a $34 comb LOL!

Oh and we use rock your hair detangler/ leave in conditioner

I use mason Pearson detangler comb.

I think the wet brush is a scam.

Comb in really small sections from bottom to top. Hair gets tangled, that’s life!

I also agree with maybe finding another shampoo. Fairy Tales and Babo Botanicals both make swimming shampoos that work fine for us. Also, I’d probably do one or the other with the conditioner or detangling.
I’m not sure which detangler you’re using but my 5 year old’s hair has a very sticky feeling when we use L’Oréal Kids detangler but is fine with Johnson’s and Suave kids. I’ve actually found the Suave to be the best for the least sticky feeling. All the natural ones we’ve used have also made her hair feel sticky and greasy looking. She has short , fine, straight hair though, but it tangles very easily, it looks like cotton candy in the morning if we don’t braid it.

13:18 here, one other question. Does she use a swim cap?

My DD swims 5 days a week. Her hair is just past her shoulders. I don't think OP's daughters hair is long at all.
My DD had very long hair a year or so ago, I used to braid it every night before bed, but now that it's cut shorter it's not necessary.
She washes it every night after practice using whatever random shampoo and conditioner we have. I've told her to wash the roots and condition then ends. She has a wet brush and a big paddle brush and they both work fine. Starting at the bottom and working to the top. No detangler or treatment used.
I think part of your problem is her age and the lack of patience at that age.

My 3yo has don’t, curly hair that tangles easily. I wet and brush it in the morning and after her nap and before bed. If I don’t stay on top of the tangles they get worse, it’s much easier to spend 2 minutes 3 times a day wetting and brushing it. It is a little over her shoulders.

Get her hair wet with tap water before swimming so it won’t absorb chlorine and ditch the swim shampoo, just use regular.

Only brush or comb her hair when it is wet! Never try to do it dry. I use a wet brush or a wide tooth comb, whatever is handy. I use alba products, my kids love the coconut conditioner smell. Always use conditioner! I found some detanglers make hair sticky, but we now use the honest brand kind which works well. I get her hair pretty much soaking wet every morning with a water spray, then use a little derangler/spray on conditioner, then comb.

Anonymous wrote:Do

NOT

Brush

Ever!

Only use a comb. Only comb when hair is wet. Start at the tips/bottom and work your way up to the roots. I find hair products tend to leave a sticky residue so I only use a little coconut oil. If you put some in the hair when it’s wet, it’ll make the process even easier. The one thing you should continue doing is a braid at bedtime.

Do you recommend wetting the hair and combing it, for instance when they wake up in the morning?

Also, is there a comb brand or size that works better than others?

OP, how often do you wash her hair? We wash every other day at a minimum, every day if they get sweaty or dirty, and we use shampoo then conditioner and use a wide tooth comb while the conditioner is in before rinsing. As for detangler, I love Mane and Tail. I used to use it on my horses all the time and I like the way it works on my girls' hair. And it's not at all sticky. In the morning I spray first with that and then brush as needed until untangled.