First off, don’t use shampoo when you wash your child’s hair. Shampoos may contain harsh chemicals, which scientists are now discovering are absorbed through our skin! They have identified dozens of toxins in the umbilical cord blood of newborns, believed to have passed through the mom to the baby from her shampoo and other common household products. Shampoos may sting the eyes, or make baby-fine hair more unmanageable than ever.

I never use shampoo. I haven’t for over years, 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.

Making Dolly's Hair Beautiful

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, here is a darling how-to video.

Here’s to no more bad hair days!

Related Articles:
Never Shampoo Again
The Battle of the Hair Brush
Bath Time Blues

Photo Credits:
Top: photo by Gezelle Rivera

Baking Soda Shampoo Won't Suds, but Cleans Well

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!

(As an update to this post: a recent study of newborn cord blood has found 232 toxic chemicals! Once it was believed that the placenta protected the unborn child from most environmental contaminants, but now we know that is not true. The very shampoo that mom washes her own hair with, contains toxic chemicals that are absorbed into her skin and passed on to her unborn child, along with hundreds of other toxins she is exposed to on a daily basis.)

Two Methods to Wash Hair Without Shampoo

The most popular method is the baking soda and vinegar method, and the one I’ve used for several years 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 second or third shampoo, or add honey to their vinegar.

How To Use the Baking Soda and Vinegar Method:

Thirty-Five Days Without Shampoo

Next, pour one to two tablespoons of vinegar into a clean, 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 tension 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!

Two Years Without Shampoo

If your hair is too dry, you can add honey, lavender oil, or rosemary to the vinegar. I like to fill a small spray bottle with water, and float a tablespoons of olive oil on top. Then I shake the bottle well, and lightly spray my camp, towel-dried hair with this. Brush well, and the hair is shiny and manageable, with no frizzies. Olive oil has been used as a hair-care product in the Mediterranean for centuries.

How to Clean Hair with Plain Water

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.

Sometimes hair will be very dry and fly-away, especially in the winter, when the air in our homes is dryer than a desert. You can float a tablespoon of olive oil in a spray bottle of water. Give it a good shake and lightly spray your fly-away hair before brushing. Olive oil used in moderation can make your hair shiny and manageable. Used too heavily, and it will be oily and sticky again.

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: photo by Molly Pop
Middle: photo by Squid Ink Kollective
Bottom: photo by author