Surviving Pool Hair

By Beth

My daughter is almost seven and has hair past her waist.  (All her idea, definitely not mine, I keep telling myself it is good practice for when she comes home with a blue mohawk.)  She is also a swimmer.  In the summer, we go to the pool at least twice a day almost every day, sometimes three times depending on the swim practice/swim meet/pool playdate schedule.  Dealing with her hair in the summer can drive a girl to drink.  But this year, I finally solved it!

To deal with pool hair (especially a couple feet of pool hair) you need four things.  A bottle of whatever shampoo you prefer from Costco, ditto a bottle of conditioner, a hairbrush that lives in the tub, and UltraSwim Chlorine Removal Shampoo.

We've tried UltraSwim before, and it was disappointing over the long run, which is where all the other supplies come in.  What works for me is to mix the UltraSwim shampoo with a generous amount of whatever I've bought at Costco (those huge bottles are key, you need a lot of product) and scrub.  Then I put in an appalling amount of conditioner and brush through her hair in the tub before rinsing the conditioner out.  Not only is my daughter's hair still in great shape several weeks into the swim season, but it has saved both of us a lot of tears.

(Photo from: amazon.com)

Comments

[jennielynn]

This is a great tip! Even my 8 year old's chin length bob is green from the pool and I've not liked the overall results from the UltraSwim. I don't why I never thought to mix it with regular shampoo before.

[Brenna]

My best (only) tip from my old swim team days: pre-wet the hair with plain water before you get in the pool. If it's already saturated, it can't absorb as much pool water.