Washing your child’s hair

A baby’s hair doesn’t get greasy and dirty, so the water only needs to be lukewarm for your little one at bath time. When you bathe your little baby, you can wash the baby’s hair in the lukewarm water by gently massaging it with your fingers about once a week. Most young children enjoy a little pampering. If your baby has been born with a lot of hair, there may be a need for a little extra attention while washing the baby’s hair and sorting out all the small tangles. A baby’s soft hair usually rubs off before new hair grows out, and sometimes the new hair can be a completely different colour. Attending infant swimming classes when your baby is still little can help your child feel more at ease in water, and it could perhaps also make things a little easier when the time eventually comes to wash your child’s hair with shampoo.

When should I start using shampoo?

The next time your child gets a new type of hair is around the age of two, when the baby hair is gradually replaced by slightly coarser strands of hair. At this stage, you may need to wash your child’s hair using a mild and gentle shampoo at regular intervals – especially if the little rascal has started eating without your help, as scraps of food then have a tendency to find their way into a child’s hair (among even more surprising places!) during a meal. It is a good idea to rinse your child’s hair thoroughly, to ensure that you remove all shampoo residue from the hair. But bear in mind that you don’t need to wash your child’s hair every time they have a bath – children’s hair is not as greasy as that of an adult.

Tips on how to make hair washing a simple and fun experience for your child

Washing your child’s hair will not always be a bed of roses – many children find it boring to have to sit still in the bath, or to have to close their eyes on command to avoid getting foam in their eyes. However, here are a few helpful tips on how to make hair washing a somewhat simpler and more enjoyable activity:

• Make sure that everything you need is within reach, so that you don’t have to let go of the child.
• Massage the hair and scalp while the child is lying securely in the bathtub, then tilt the child’s head back so that he or she is facing the ceiling while you rinse the hair. One tip is not to say “look up at the ceiling” but rather “close your eyes in the direction of the ceiling”.
• Let the child hold a towel over their eyes if you are rinsing their hair with a handheld shower head.
• If the child doesn’t like washing their hair, make a distinction between having a bath and hair washing as two different activities – otherwise the child may develop an aversion to bathing.
• If the child thinks it is laborious to have the whole of their hair washed, try only shampooing and rinsing the ends of the child’s hair to gain more practice.
• Let the child use a shampoo shield, swimming goggles, etc. if this makes things easier for both of you.
• Make bath time as much fun for the child as you can – it may help to use bath toys, bath crayons or other such fun items.
• Let the child have a go at washing your hair sometime.
• When you have started using shampoo, you can let the child play and shape their foamy hair into fun hairstyles.

If your child has an aversion to washing their hair

Some children strongly dislike washing their hair, regardless of whatever efforts you may make. In such situations, it is usually a good idea to primarily focus on allowing the child to practise playing in water and getting water on their face and head. If having a bath becomes a fun activity during which the child can explore being in water relatively freely, there is a greater chance that the child will not find it as disconcerting to have water poured over their head. A public swimming pool can be a good place for a child to get comfortable being in water and develop positive feelings associated with diving and splashing around, and the same applies to swimming outdoors during the summer.

A child who experiences a sense of panic about having their hair washed should not be forced into it – instead, you should try to entice the child in some way and ease the situation as much as possible. Sometimes it may be necessary to stop washing your child’s hair for a period of time, until the child feels ready to start practising the activity again.

Please note that all information above is based on Swedish recommendations.