Need advice to help me with daughter's hair

[SerenityBlue]

Hello Everyone! I am fairly new here and would like to thank everyone for contributing such a wealth of information on hair care.

I am currently growing my hair out from an extremely short inverted Bob. Over the past year it has finally reached shoulder length. I have never had long hair, so caring for long hair is a mystery to me.

I have a five year old daughter, who has never had her hair cut. Currently her hair is past her waist and slightly above her tailbone.

I braid it or put it up for preschool to keep it from getting in her way. We live in Florida and lately her hair is a bit dry. I still use children's shampoo on her.

What should I be doing to keep her hair healthy? After washing her hair, I use a leave in conditioner and brush through it with a wide tooth comb. I braid it before bed and when I do brush it in the morning, I start at the end holding it gently in one hand so I am not pulling on the roots and work my way up her head.

Should I stop using baby shampoo and get something more conditioning?

I apologize for all the questions, but she has told me she does not want it cut and I do not want to cut it unless it is her choice. I want to keep it strong and healthy. She has a natural wave and has her daddy's thicker hair, not my fine hair. When I put it in a ponytail it is almost 2" thick.

[UltraBella]

Baby shampoo..... Yikes ! That can be terribly drying. I would switch asap. And sometimes keeping it strong and healthy means trimming the ends to avoid breakage.
Good luck !

[Loreley]

I use baby shampoo, too, and my hair has never been this soft and shiny. It depends on the ingredients of it. Mine is sulfate-free and it's very gentle. :)
You can try to put a few drops of oil on her hair after washing. It helps seal the moisture in and makes hair softer and less dry.

[UltraBella]

Most "traditional" baby shampoo is full of sulfates and very drying in order to treat the cradle cap that is common in babies. It is also ph balanced to not sting the eye, but that puts it out of balance for the needs of our hair. If you are using a better version of baby shampoo then it may not be the culprit, and that's great, but it you are using one of the well known brands, check the ingredients. You will probably see at least three surfactants listed. Pretty harsh !

[Melisande]

IMO you should dilute any shampoo you use. For the sensitive scalp and hair, undiluted shampoo is even less necessary and more damaging than for adults.

I second the advice with oil.

For my own daughters, I mixed distilled water, some drops of gentle conditioner, a bit oil (jojoba, grape seed or almond), shake well and mist the hair with it. Easier to detangle, no overload of chemical ingredients (except for the conditioner, you can take leave-in conditioner), keeps the braid in tip top shape all day long and makes the next detangle session very easy.

Invest in good ponytail holders and continue to treat her hair gently.

And your own, too! The Rules ;-) are always the same: gentle care, gentle treatment, minimal product use, maximal efficiency of these products.

More power to your daughter! Clever girl ;-)

[Arctic_Mama]

With my girls, I honestly just rinse their hair with water most nights and use a Giovanni leave-in as a detangler. Then we CO with Suave conditioner once a week (usually Saturday night) and call it good. Their hair is silky and manageable, and not at all dry. They do not have the same sebaceous issues as adults, so the or hair doesn't get greasy unless they rub pizza hands in it :lol: I basically keep it mild and simple and it works great for us.

[SerenityBlue]

Thank you for the advice everyone. I have some plain jojoba oil I use as my facial moisturizer. I will try using that in her hair after washing. I will take your advice on a better shampoo. I try not to wash her hair more than twice a week, but as you said there are times when arts and crafts supplies from school end up in there, or whatever she was eating makes it into her hair. She seems to think it makes a good napkin.

I have been doing CO in my hair because it is so thin and that works better on it, so I may try that with her hair and see how it reacts.

My youngest daughter has hair totally different from her, so I am doing CO on her. She is three and has fine textured curls. The three year olds hair is always soft and never dry, so I think I will try doing my oldest's hair like that too.

Melisande: Thank you for the leave in conditioner recipe!

I am not opposed to trimming split ends. I check her hair often and her ends are not split, so if needed I would trim it. :)