Teach your Child Hair Care

Habits learnt in childhood are likely to be followed after becoming an adult as well. Hence this is the best time to teach your kids importance of hygiene and good habits. Explain your child importance of hair care and teach your child hair care and hair hygiene measures. Remember that if you want your kids to follow what you teach, you will have to take good care of your hair. Be their role model. After you have implemented good hair care regime, teach your child to practice her or his own hair maintenance routine.

• Hair hygiene: Teach your child to wash his or her hair. For a 5-6 year old you may help them to wash hair, but older children can wash their hair. Let them wash hair every other day and if required daily in summer. Use a mild shampoo and teach them to rinse well after washing. If needed use a conditioner in an older child with long hair. Do not apply conditioner on the scalp. Encourage good hair hygiene, as this improves the chances that they may never face hair problems like hair fall, dandruff etc.

• Hair care products: Encourage them to use natural products and gentle ways of dealing with their hair. An older child should not be told a direct no for any harmful hair products and tools. Explain him or her bad effects of these products and styling tools. This will increase the chance that your child will listen to you, where as a direct no is more likely to make them rebellious.

• Hair length: Keep your child’s hair at a length that he or she can easily manage. This decreases the risk of lice and nits, and makes it more easy for them to keep it clean. If your older girl wants to keep long hair teach her to maintain them.

• Combing: Teach your child to remove tangles before he or she washes hair. A wide tooth comb makes removing tangles easier. Start from the bottom of the hair, and go up. Removing tangles can be painful. To decrease the pain while removing tangles hold taut the section of hair you are combing. For painful tangles you can use oil. Teach your child to comb his or her neatly. Encourage them to use an individual comb. They need not brush hair 100 times before bedtime for improve look and texture of hair. This is a myth that it makes the hair look better. Use a good quality brush or comb.

• Hair accessories: For girls use good quality hair accessories. Avoid hairclips or other hair accessories with sharp teeth. These can hurt your child’ scalp and damage their hair. Neatly tied hair is comfortable for your child and a good way to prevent hair tangling.

• Nutrition: Teach your child about the importance of nutrition for hair. Encourage them to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables as these contain minerals and vitamins that make hair healthy.

• Dry hair: If your child’s hair is dry teach them to oil the hair before washing. This prevents loss of moisture from hair and scalp. Don’t wash their hair often as this dries the hair. Use a mild shampoo and conditioner. Avoid use of dryers and other styling products like dyeing, bleaching, perming and straightening.