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One of my daughters has long hair, and it's somewhere between curly and straight. She has some breakage from swimming, and her hair is dry to begin with, so she gets little fuzzy/frizzy broken hairs at the top of her head. She has bigger curls/waves at the bottom that mostly straighten when she brushes. She's decided she doesn't want to brush her hair anymore, because she likes the curls. She's tried brushing while her hair is still damp, so the curls don't straighten, but with her hair being so long, that's really hard to do.
What products can you recommend that will do the following:
De-fuzz the top, so she doesn't have that frizzy halo.
Moisturize without weighing down, since her hair is long and weighted down already.
Find a way to brush while letting her keep the curls at the bottom.
First of all, if it were me, I wouldn't brush my hair while it's still wet. I'd use a comb. If she really feels like she HAS to brush it, use a Wet Brush Detangler. Stores like Walmart or Target sell them for around $10.
Also, don't use a towel to dry the hair. Use a tshirt. The fibers in the tshirt are kinder to the hair than the fibers in a towel. Plus, the weight of the towel can lead to hair loss.
And last but not necessarily least, I'd use a morrocan oil to help smooth the hair. But don't use too much, cause it IS oil, and can weigh the hair down.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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She should wet her hair prior to swimming. Ideally, she should apply some conditioner, too.
I'm a big fan of the curly girl method to start, but I've tweaked it for my hair (wavy, curly).
Avoid silicones in hair products.
No brushing, only combing (I do it in the shower with a wide-tooth comb).
Sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase (not cotton).
Allow hair to air-dry, if possible.
Use gel.
I'm using Jessicurl products right now and I love them, but they can be a bit pricey.
For beauty on a budget: I'd use Suave Naturals or herbal essences (check the label) conditioner to wash hair and then rinse it out. Then I'd apply aussie freeze gel.
Then, while hair is soaking wet, scrunch gel in, use a tshirt to gently scrunch and/or wrap. Let air dry. If there is a cast (crunchy), lean over and scrunch/shake hair.
Just wanted to ask, does she wear a bathing cap while swimming & does her hair still get wet with the cap?
I find the old fashioned rubber, plastic or even silicone caps are really tough on hair... breakage, fit so tightly that they don't cover it all so it still gets wet. I have straight hair but lots of it & it's long, so it dries out & gets brittle from swimming, too, even though I have extra oily hair.
There are newer caps that are softer & don't pull & ravage the hair so much when pulling on. Still, I can never fit all my hair underneath a cap & since chlorine is bleach, it does a number on anyone's hair.
I have not yet tried this one, but once settled & I'm back to laps, this will be my next purchase. It's got a good bit of room at the top to stuff hair, it appears. Not expensive, either. You also get 25% off your first order, so with shipping, it should come to about $10, if you'd like to test it out.
Also, if she wets her hair before putting on the cap, the hair has already absorbed non-chlorinated water. It's not much of a help, because the chlorine will still eat through fiber (hair), but it is better than putting it on over dried hair, although, it is harder to get on a cap over wet hair. If you put conditioner on the hair, it may help a bit, but again, chlorine will eat through it anyway & many pools ask that you not do so as it clogs the filters. It may also make the cap slip off... I've always had terrible trouble protecting my hair while swimming... it's the bloody bane of my existence. I just stopped coloring/highlighting it in anyway, since it just makes it more susceptible to damage.
I have horrible frizz and this is the only product that helps...I do use a conditioner from biolage also but this made my fizzy calm down. BIOLAGE Hydrasource Daily Leave-In Cream | Smooths Dry, Frizzy Hair & Prevents Breakage | Paraben-Free | For Fine To Medium Hair | 8.5 Fl. Oz.
Forgot to mention, I'm a hairdresser & often make my own products, oftentimes as 1 doesn't work well, but mixing 2-3 or more together does. Make your own detangler/leave-in conditioner by pouring conditioner into a spray bottle with a few drops of a hair oil (or mix multiple products) & watering down to either a thicker liquid or very thin in order to spray it on hair. You can test your own formulas, but keep track of "recipes"... I've often concocted a few things that worked wonders, but in the end, Valhalla knows what I mixed together & I couldn't quite recreate it.
Also, use distilled water... tap water will grow algae if you intend to keep the end result for a few months. I honestly don't know if home filtered or spring water need the same caution... if using, I'd just test in smaller batches... a few oz at a time.
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