Your baby’s hair is sweet, soft, and smells great, then it’s tangled, snarled, and knotted. What are you to do? Whether your child’s hair is long or short, straight or curly, it can all become a tangled mess that causes anxiety and tears to get it sorted back out, until now.
The Tear-Free Method to Hair Care
We all know that bath time can be a great way to segue into sleep. It’s relaxing, playful, and great for bonding. However, none of that matters if you have to struggle with tangled locks after drying off. In order to keep the calming train moving right through hair brushing, start by using a gentle shampoo and conditioner with the bath. Conditioner helps to soften and smooth your baby’s fine hair and help keep it from tangling. It can also condition the scalp and relieve itchys. Conditioner is especially important for long hair, just make sure you work it all the way to the ends.
Never brush or comb hair that is wet. Wet hair is more prone to breaking which can cause uneven ends that can tangle even more and leave her hair looking frizzy and unhealthy. Even little boys with short hair can wait for brushing until the hair is dry. Most of the time his hair will be dry after a couple of naked laps around the house anyway.
As with most of the more unpleasant things that we do with our children, providing a distraction can be a huge help. You can sing, play I Spy, watch a short video, or let him play with his favorite toys.
Using a detangler on longer hair may make things a bit easier as well. Detanglers are conditioning sprays that help to smooth hair strands so that they don’t stick to each other. They just help take some of the pulling and tugging out of combing out knots and snarls.
Best Detanglers for Kids
There are many, many detangler sprays on the market. It’s best to look for one that’s all natural with few chemicals in the ingredients. You can also make one at home by watering down your child’s conditioner and putting it in a squirt bottle. The mixture should be slightly thicker than water and able to be sprayed on the hair easily.
What About Cradle Cap?
Those of you with infants may be wondering how to get rid of cradle cap once and for all. Cradle cap, or infantile seborrheic dermatitis, is a non-itchy, scaly condition that occurs on the scalp of newborns and infants. Cradle cap will usually go away on its own in a few months, but there are some things you can do to help speed that along.
Before bathing baby, rub a small amount of baby oil into the patchy scales. Let the oil sit on the scalp for a few minutes and then wash with a mild shampoo. You may have to let the shampoo sit for a few minutes to remove all of the oil. Use a washcloth or soft brush and gently remove as much of the scales as you can while in the bathtub, then repeat after drying the hair. Most cradle cap will go away after just a few treatments like this. Remember that frequent washing or using a harsher shampoo can actually cause cradle cap to worsen. If you notice the scales spreading to other areas of the body like the back or chest, it is time to see your pediatrician.
The Best Baby Brushes
For newborns and infants, the best brushes are soft bristled since you’re mostly brushing the scalp anyway. Once your baby gets more length to her hair, look into switching to a bamboo brush.
Bamboo brushes are 100% biodegradable and made from sustainable resources making them better for the environment. They will naturally break down after you are done using them instead of lingering in a landfill like plastic brushes will.
Hair will appreciate bamboo brushes too. Bamboo bristles create less static charge on hair leading to less frizz and fly-aways. The bristles are soft and smooth meaning they won’t snag and break hair, and can gently detangle those knots. Bamboo brushes also help evenly distribute natural hair oils down the hair strand to lead to healthier, shinier hair.
Hopefully these tips help to make hair brushing more of a happy time instead of a dreaded, tear-jerking time. To add even more satisfaction to grooming, look into Kyte Baby Bamboo Brushes.
