We live in Long Island and my 7 year old daughter is a total pool rat. She has long thick (slightly wavy) hair and it turns just awful in the summer (like horse hair), I feel as though we use a bottle of conditioner a week on her hair, just to get a comb thru it. And, we braid her hair after every washing to help keep the knots down

Thanks

Also, there is stuff you can buy to remove the green from hair after swimming that won't be as harsh as Windex.

BTW the green comes from the copper added in the water and is not caused by chlorine.

If you do have any success with getting your wee one to don a swim cap, make sure you get a silicone one. The others snag the hair getting them off and on and are more painful than fun.

I belong to a high intensity water aerobics class and most of the women in the class wear shower caps to protect their hair. It won't protect for actual swimming laps or diving of course, but it keeps the hair out of the water and protected from splashing. It is NOT allowed to oil or put conditioner in hair before classes, as it gunks up the pool. Braiding hair before swimming is a good idea as it won't become so tangled and saves comb-out time later. Don't use hair products that contain silicone as they dry out the hair.

Wetting hair before going into the pool is a good idea as the hair soaks up a lot of plain water rather than chemical laded water. (Same goes for protecting your swimsuit.)

Some kids think swim caps can be 'cool' if you buy the right kind and let them wear it sort of "styled" more on top of the head rather than over the ears with a dorky chin strap.

Some schools require swim caps on both boys and girls for swim classes, so it is not all that unusual for kids to wear them. Tell your daughter that swimcaps are what the "older kids" wear when swimming. That can overcome reistance to wearing one if her friends don't.

Also, I've found that glomming on conditioner can attract bees, so be careful about which you use. And for heaven's sake, don't use windex. There are shampoos and conditioners especially formulated to remove chlorine safely.