Children's Hair

[mandeloo]

I have a two year old little girl and started to lightly oil her hair with coconut oil after each wash. When I say lightly I mean super duper tiny amount since she has short hair I mean like almost non existent. I also have started to only use boar bristle on her if I have to brush her hair.
I want my little girl to have beautiful healthy hair all of her life, starting at an early age.
I still use the Johnson and Johnson no more tears though, anyone have any other suggestions?

[Alana2000]

I am blessed to have two daughters, both with very different kinds of hair... I think you are off to a good start, the only suggestion I have is to be sure that while detangling you be very gentle, use some conditioner, and work from the very bottom upwards, the last thing we want as mothers is to have our children think that having long hair is a painful thing to have! I think we need to make the grooming process a loving bonding time.

I even have my daughters play with and braid my hair as it grows, and they get a huge kick out of it, and yes they pull some hairs, but I feel its worth it, and I love spending time with them that way...

So I guess that was a few suggestions.. ah well!
Enjoy your daughter and Be Well!

[Kirin]

Many don't like Johnson and Johnson or any other baby shampoos because their no more tears formula is alkaline. Theoretically, the scalp likes an acid enviornment.

However, if your daughter's hair is doing well, there is no reason to change. My two daughters used baby shampoo for years and it never damaged their hair in any way.

[ktani]

Baby shampoo is better for babies than children or adults IMO. That is because the acid mantle of newborns is different. Click on "Free Abatract".

" .... contrast to adults, human newborn .... displays a near-neutral surface pH, which declines rapidly over the first postnatal month."
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB...rtikelNr=66140 (http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF&ProduktNr=227090&Ausgabe=228715&ArtikelNr=66140)

Also, baby shampoo is not designed to remove the conditioning ingredients and styling additives, used on the hair of children or adults, including oils.

[ktani]

More on the acid mantle

".... demonstrated that skin with pH values below 5.0 is in a better condition than skin with pH values above 5.0 .... shown by measuring the biophysical parameters of barrier function, moisturization and scaling."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18489300

[julya]

I use the conditioner only method on my son's hair, he's nearly four with very fine hair to about mid back length.

[Eryka]

CO 2 times a week even with active kids is about all they need. Makes brushing a breeze. Just remember to contain the hair when sleeping. Morning go SO much faster and with less tears that way.

[chainedangel]

With 3yo dd I do WO with occasional CO or oiling when her hair gets dry and hard to comb.

[lawyermom]

My 2 (3.5 and 2 weeks shy of 6) get a wash with Dairy Whip every 3 or so days - otherwise it's just WO. My daughter gets a very light coconut oiling every few days.

I hadn't considered doing CO - I think I might try that with them.

[angelthadiva]

DD7 has 3a/3b ii/iii waist length hair. I've done it all on the quest to find the perfect hair routine for her.

I had good results w/CWC; I did that for myself for a while as well. I'm currently doing a watered down HE totally twisted poo wash (on her); then I use the condish as a "leave in". I only wash her hair 1-2x a week. It's cold and dry here, so we both are having flaky issues w/our scalps. :(

[Alley Cat]

I also wash my children's hair with conditioner only and only once a week, and often less often than that as they hate having their hair washed but they wet it in the bath and their hair never looks dirty really. :)
They are 6 son and 8 daughter.

[sahiba]

My son's hair is in my avatar and as you can see they are pretty curly. So not only do I wash them weekly but oil them everyday or the tangles hurt like hell to him.

[Albrun]

I rarely wash the hairs of my daughters. The hair get wet when they're having a bath. Irregularly I CO if the hair is to tangly (or more often if lices are in the area).
My younger daughter has thin wurly hairs and loves to oil like her mom.

[Katze]

When do you start washing a kid's hair? Presumably after a year or so...I just know BF and my baby is going to be bald, since we were both bald. But he had beautiful pale gold curls by age 3. Almost too pretty to be a boy.

Presumably, you can't wash a kid's hair until it HAS some... :silly:

[Tapioca]

I do CO with my 5yo daughter, with a non-sulfate shampoo only if there's actually something *in* it. (Fingerpaint happens.)

I did a henna gloss on her once (after reading all of the concerns, I decided to go for it since she was older than three, female, and from northern and western european descent), and it drastically improved the managability, but she won't let me do it again. She hated having a bag on her head for an hour.

[sahiba]

When do you start washing a kid's hair? Presumably after a year or so...I just know BF and my baby is going to be bald, since we were both bald. But he had beautiful pale gold curls by age 3. Almost too pretty to be a boy.

Presumably, you can't wash a kid's hair until it HAS some... :silly:

Well my kid was born bald and his scalp was washed every day with johnson's baby top to toe .:)

[Eden Iris]

The almost four yo gets a CO wash once a week in the bath; the almost two yo has her hair washed with diluted Dr. Bronner's, along with her skin. The older one is WO on her body because she has very sensitive skin, which is why I prefer the CO: no shampoo suds in the bathwater. The younger one gets a tiny bit of coconut oil on her hair when dry.

Both girls were born with some hair; I always washed their scalps with whatever baby soap I used on their skin (CA Baby, Dr. Bronner's). Olive oil on their scalps helped immensely with cradle cap.

[andber]

Julya, it's great to hear your 4 year old boy have midback length hair. How does he like it? Are you going to keep it that length? Have you had any comments from his friends or people around you?

[lora410]

On my dd's 5 curls I just use the same shampoo I use on mine. Avalon Biotin B-complex It's gentle and sulfate free. I also oil her hair as well. baby shampoo is very harsh because of the high alkaline content. I only wash her maybe once a week and co from there. Also becuase she is curly I briad her hair at night for tangle free ouchless mornings :)