damaged hair

[mamallama]

My girls and I swim at an indoor pool once a week or so. We wash and condition
our hair when we get out. No biggie, no issue.

The girls have just returned from a week long visit to their grandparents house. They went swimming every day, and rather than go to the trouble of caring for their hair properly, mil just bought some spray in detangler. She washed their hair once, but didn't condition it at all.

Apparently their (indoor) pool has a wee bit too much chlorine in it. Their swimsuits are totally bleached out. I'm not fussy about such things, but seriously, two brand new swimsuits are totally ruined. It's not so much the clothing, but the fact that my kids spent so much time in such a strong chemical bath. I'm horrified and furious. But that's another issue.

Short of cutting it, I don't know what to do about the hair. It's literally crispy. Combing it is a major ordeal. It looks horrible. My girls' healthy, shiny hair is totally ruined. My younger daughter doesn't care. My 9yo is just starting to care about her appearance. She is upset.

What do I do? How can I fix this?

[loriedna]

I love the spray detangler

I am afraid I have no real solution to this. I am actually happy with the spray detangler right now, for my DD's hair. She has curly dry hair (like her father) and it was always a mess. I don't like using conditioner so much, first because she's still so small and it's hard to rinse her hair twice - shampoo and conditioner - and secondly because I am not sure I want to put so many products in her hair (haven't found a really nice, really natural conditioner). Anyway, even with conditioner her hair would be a mess again after a nap. Now I have discovered that there is such thing as a spray detangler (Aubrey organics is the one that I bought) and I am quite happy with the results. Really happy. I can almost comb her hair now. Anyway, I am sorry about your trouble and I can feel your pain.

[aprilibarra]

i would do intensive olive oil or coconut hair masks at night and use jojoba as a detangler. once the hair is damaged, there really is no bringing it back. it may need to be cut.

[Alkenny]

Unfortunately, my DD went through this a couple of years ago and we had to go have her hair cut. Not majorly, but an inch or so from the ends really perked it up. We were also advised to put conditioner in her hair BEFORE getting in the pool too, to 'seal' it up as much as possible so it didn't soak in so much chemical next time.