First off, don’t use shampoo when you wash your child’s hair. Shampoos may contain harsh chemicals. They may sting the eyes, or make baby-fine hair more unmanageable than ever. I never use shampoo. I haven’t for over a year, and I wash my granddaughter’s hair the same way. I wash my hair with baking soda, and about every third or fourth wash, I rinse with an apple-cider-and-water rinse, which restores the natural pH balance of the hair. (Lemon juice will do, too) My hair is cleaner, healthier, longer, shinier than ever, and baking soda costs pennies to the dollars of fancy shampoo. It doesn’t sting the eyes, or contain harmful chemicals. If you want more info on baking soda shampoo, it’s all over the web. It’s often referred to as “no poo” or “no shampoo”. I have a previous post here, Never Shampoo Again.

I make my own “conditioner” too. I float a tablespoon of light olive oil in a small amount of water in a spray bottle. I shake well, and spritz this on my granddaughter’s hair in the morning before brushing. It helps make the hair shiny and tames down the frizzies. It even helps with detangling.

I bought a super-soft hair brush. Don’t get something stiff and scratchy and made of plastic. For your preschooler’s hair, you can get a natural boar’s bristle brush, which is often very soft. It may seem like it doesn’t do the job, but it will, and it won’t pull. Your child may enjoy having her hair brushed again when she learns it doesn’t hurt.

I bought a bunch of pretty hair things. I let my granddaughter pick out a couple in the morning that she wants in her hair. She holds the hair things, and she holds a small hand-held mirror while I brush. This keeps her interested, as she can’t see herself in the big bathroom mirror. Some mornings, if she’s very wiggly, I let her watch a cartoon while I fix her hair in the living room.

Finally, I let her brush my hair. I let her see how much I LOVE to have my hair brushed. I let her put funny hair things in my hair. I’m modeling preferred behavior for her, the way I want her to act.

This is a “killer combination”. You use modeling, positive reinforcement, and make it a really enjoyable experience, and the hair battles should end. If after you’ve tried everything else, and it’s still a problem, then you may want to discuss a very short hair cut with your child. Don’t cut her hair without her permission- she may never forgive you! But she can help to be part of the decision making process. Either she lets you brush her hair, or she needs to have it cut short.

Good luck!

For Further Reading:
Meal-Time Battles
Traveling with Tots
Nail Biting

Photo Credits:
Top: http://www.flickr.com/photos/londonlooks/ / CC BY 2.0
Bottom: http://www.flickr.com/photos/table4five/ / CC BY 2.0

What if your hair becomes fly-away, like you just licked an outlet, or rubbed a balloon up against your scalp? You have two options.

1. get a small spray bottle. Add 1/2 cup tap water, and a teaspoon of olive oil. Shake the bottle well before each use! After washing your hair and towel drying, spritz some of the olive oil and water on your damp hair and brush it through. This works great for me!

2. if you still have hair conditioner left from your old shampooing days, you can delute a teaspoon of the conditioner in 1/2 cup of water and follow the steps the same as above.

I found I only needed to use the olive oil and water combo during the winter months, when my house is dry and I’m pulling a hat on and off all the time. I may need to use it later, once the swimming pool warms up, but I’ll let you know!

Then, once in a while, you may want to do a hot oil treatment. This is not necessary for shiny hair, but is recommended for dry, itchy scalp.
You can use any type of vegetable oil, but olive oil is the one most recommended. Heat 1/2 cup olive oil and 2 tablespoons of rosemary leaves (use a microwave, or heat in a bowl over water on the stove). Don’t get it too hot! It’s going on your scalp!

Next, strain the rosemary leaves. Wrap a towel around your shoulders, and apply the warm oil to your scalp, massaging gently. Next, wrap your head in a plastic bag or wrap, and cover with a heated towel (warm it in your microwave, or wet it with hot tap water and wring out). Wait fifteen minutes, then shampoo out the excess oil.

The first time I tried this, I had to shampoo several times to get out the oil. Another blogger suggested that I used too much oil, or left it on too long. I haven’t re-oiled my hair, as I haven’t needed it for anything. But I will try again, just so I can report the efforts here.

If you want more information on making your own hot-oil treatments, there is a darling how-to videoHere.

Here’s to no more bad hair days!

In an effort to save money and the planet, I’ve been looking for ways to eliminate toxic chemicals from my home. Making your own soaps and cleaners doesn’t have to be difficult, and giving up shampoo is a great place to start.

Shampoo is expensive! The chemicals in shampoo are irritating, drying, and may be hazardous to your health. And shampoo strips the hair of the natural oils, which in turn causes your body to produce more oil, which makes it get dirtier faster… so stop the cycle, and save some money too!

There are two methods of washing your hair without shampoo. The most popular method is the baking soda and vinegar method, and the one I’ve used for over a year now. The second method uses nothing but water and a good scrub.

Baking soda is a natural substance found in mineral deposits around the world. It cleans, scours, and deodorizes. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is made from fermented apples. It’s literally been around for centuries! Hippocrates is said to have used it as a health tonic, more than two thousand years ago. The vinegar adds highlights, restores the acid mantel, removes soap scum and sebum oil. It can also have a drying effect. so some folks only use the vinegar every other wash, or add honey to their vinegar.

To use the baking soda and vinegar method:

Pour one to two tablespoons of baking soda in a large plastic container (recycle an old shampoo bottle, or an empty dish soap bottle). Fill with warm water and shake until dissolved. Then spritz the soda/water solution onto your scalp and gently massage. Baking soda can be used to scrub stains off counters, so be gentle! You don’t want to damage your hair. Massaging is good for the scalp. Use your fingertips and massage all over. Then rinse, rinse, rinse. Make sure you rinse thoroughly. You don’t want your head going off like a fifth grader’s science experiment.

Next, pour one to two tablespoons of vinegar into an empty plastic container and fill with warm water. Spritz this all over your scalp and massage again. Then rinse thoroughly. And you are done!

Natural baking soda and vinegar does not foam, but there is no scientific research that links foaming action with cleanliness. All soap is supposed to do is break the surface tention of the water so that it can clean. Water gets things clean – not the soap! And I feel so much better about flushing baking soda and vinegar down the drain, than all those hard-to-pronounce shampoo chemicals!

Oh, and by the way, my hair has grown faster this year, been healthier, softer, and even lovely. My friends can’t believe it when they ask me what hair product I use.

If your hair is too dry, you can add honey, lavendar oil, or rosemary to the vinegar. I like to fill a small spray bottle with water, and float a couple of tablespoons of olive oil on top. Then I shake the bottle well, and spray my towel-dried hair with this. Brush well, and the hair is shiny and manageable, with no frizzies.

The other method of non-shampooing is to just wash your hair with water. Period. Stand under the shower spray and “brush” your hair thoroughly with a washcloth to remove all the sebum and dirt. I have heard from people who use this method that they like the results, and it is so much easier to travel with than a small box of a white powder substance.

Two final notes on the no-shampoo method. It may take a while to adjust to this. If you have been using shampoo religiously, then your body is probably over-producing sebum. You shampoo daily, or every other day, because your hair is oily, but the frequent shampoo is causing your body to produce more oil. Once you stop shampooing, your body will eventually slow down its oil production. And finally, just because you’re taking a shower, doesn’t mean you have to wash your hair. You can get it wet, and just let it dry again. Only wash your hair when it is dirty.

Happy no-pooing! And welcome to the new generation of consumers who only consume what they need.

Related Articles:
Laundry Soap for Pennies a Gallon
Home-Made Hot Oil Treatment
Home-Made Baby Wipes

Photo Credits:
Top:http://www.flickr.com/photos/mymollypop/ / CC BY 2.0
Bottom: Mine