How To Look After Your Children’s Hair….
As a hairdresser working with ladies and families all day every day, I see a lot of struggles when it comes to dealing with little ones hair.. As there is no help and guidance on how to treat their hair and as a mama or papa focussing on your babies overall health and everything else to worry about becoming a parent, their hair and scalp health can feel irrelevant and lets face it, the bottom of the pile when it comes to priorities in the grand scheme.. but the thing is, if babies hair is left to its own devices and care isn’t took from a very early age, it can affect the way the hair grows, how thick it gets, their hairline and overall health of the hair as they grow bigger..
New Born and Early Years
I can’t stress enough how important it is to take your babies hair and scalp seriously starting at around 5-6 months old. Dependant on what their hair is like, some new borns come with a full head of hair, some as bald as a cheeky pumpkin (awww) - the main thing is getting it into a good shape and healthy, solid ends, this is paramount to it growing and starting as we mean to go on.. Boy or girl a good haircut is important for creating shape and health. The hair should be short and solid creating abundance and thickness ready to grow long and luscious.. Having worked with a LOT of new mummies, I’v done my fair share of very first haircuts and know the difference it makes when trimmed regularly..
Keeping the hair and scalp clean at all times is very important. Its easy to bypass the hair but a routine should be put in place to ensure your baby gets used to having their hair done, this makes it easier as they get older to accept. Using a child friendly, light and sensitive shampoo is the best way to keep the hair and scalp in great condition. On thicker hair, conditioner should be applied to the mid lengths and ends, combed through, then rinsed. Preferably blowdried using a cool setting and parted to the Childs natural parting. This all seems very trivial but your future child and her gorgeous locks will thank you.
If you have a child who is slightly older, 5-12 years, a detangling spray can be used to make sure the hair stays silky and tangle free, this makes it so much easier to style and plait.
Cradle Cap is a harmless skin condition that’s common in babies. It usually goes away within 6 - 12 months but there are things you can do to make it better.
The main symptom of cradle cap is patches of great, scaly skin.
It's usually found on the scalp and face, but sometimes affects the nappy area. It can look like:
patches of white or yellow greasy scales on the scalp and face that form a crust which might flake off
small, dry flakes of skin on the nappy area
The scales look similar on all skin tones. But the skin under the scales may look pink or red if your baby has white skin, or lighter or darker than the surrounding skin if your baby has brown or black skin.
It is not itchy or painful and does not bother your baby.
The cause of cradle cap is not clear, but it cannot be caught from other babies.
How to treat cradle cap…
Back in the day it was known to use olive oil on the scalp, after recent research it has been found that this may not be the best product as its not suitable on some skin types and can cause further irritation.. I recommend Childs Farm Sensitive Baby Oil, simply massage into the area gently and leave for around 15 mins, then use a super soft baby brush (shop here) in circular motions to lift the flakes off the skin.. Continue to shampoo and blast dry the hair if possible, this give the scalp chance to recover and settle…
Once you get some lovely thick hair on your little lady your going to want to experiment with super cute styles to get it up and out of the way.. Pigtails and French plaits are a lovely way of keeping it out of her eyes.. I love these Invisi Bobbles with ‘no ouch’ technology keeping it friendly on the hair and scalp..