Getting Your Child to Care for Their Hair

With children back at school, nursery and playgroup we all know that with playing in such close proximity head lice is a very real possibility.  They may be harmless but the little critters sure know how to make us itch! 

What can I do? I hear you cry. The lovely people at Lyclear have the following advice.

Getting your child to take an interest in their own hygiene can be a bit of a struggle. You know full well that in a few years’ time you won’t be able to get them out of the shower, but right now, washing is way down the list of their priorities.

We all remember our parents practically dragging us into the bathroom. Sometimes we’d even tell them we had washed, when really we had just waited for an appropriate length of time until we deemed it safe to tell this little white lie.

Of course, as a parent, even if you get the child into the shower and they do engage in some basic washing, there is one pesky area that the child will often ignore, we’re talking about hair, people.

Sure you can spend week after week washing your child’s hair for them but that’s not going to teach them much except that they can rely on their parents to spoon feed them (you should also stop spoon feeding them before they hit puberty) well into the latter stages of childhood. It will be more effective in the long run if you teach your child how to take care of their own hair. You can turn it into a game or reward them for keeping the hair shiny and clean.

First you should wet your child’s hair with warm water (just how you would yours, in fact the whole process is remarkably similar) and put some shampoo in your child’s hand. Next comes the exciting bit, get them to massage the shampoo into their hair. Give them encouragement as they do so and make sure they keep their eyes closed. Nothing makes a child grumpier than a little shampoo in the eye. It is also important to ensure that they are rubbing the shampoo into their scalp and not just their hair, as this can damage their hair and make it look unhealthy. 

Next comes the rinsing. You might need to give them a bit of help with this, at least initially. They are only little after all. Make sure that the shampoo is completely washed out and help them wrap a towel around their head.

So that’s that done, but how often should you encourage a child to wash his or her own hair, they do lead active lifestyles after all. Well, if your child has oily, straight hair and if they happen to be over the age of 12, they should be washing it at least once every other day, particularly if they are the energetic type. Before the age of 12, children’s hair should be washed at least once a week, preferably twice. If the hair is curly and dry their hair should be washed every seven to 10 days.

You can also tell if the child is shampooing too often or too little. If their hair and scalp is oily, then the hair is being washed too little, if they are washing it too often, the hair will probably be dull and dry.

Of course, it’s not how often they rinse and repeat that determines the health of a child’s hair, styling gels that contain chemicals can damage their hair too, so if possible try and pick a hairstyle for your child that doesn’t involve the use of styling products. Use of heat on your child’s hair can also cause some follicle issues, as well as dyeing the hair or putting it in tight ponytails or braids, so it might be best to avoid these kinds of hairstyles for a few years at least. 

Sometimes, your child’s hair can succumb to conditions that aren’t really under their control, like lice. If your child does catch lice, the best method for removal is using Lyclear Sensitive Spray. The spray will get rid of lice and their eggs but will also keep the hair soft and shiny.

This may seem like a lot of information, simply to get your child to care about the condition of their hair, but applying the above tips properly and encouraging your child to be more independent should increase their willingness to keep their hair clean. Don’t worry, give them a little time and they’ll soon be experts.