Are you tired of the battle that unfolds every time you try to wash your baby’s or toddler’s hair? We’ve got the game-changing solution you’ve been searching for!
Everyone feels excited about becoming parents for the first time. You have to do a lot of new things that you may not have done ever in the past. And, one of the biggest challenges that parents face is washing their kid’s hair without triggering tears or distress.
Babies are sensitive, and their delicate scalps and limited communication skills can make it more challenging. Improper washing can cause damage to your baby’s hair.
But don’t worry we’re about to reveal the ultimate damage-free hack that will make washing your little one’s hair a breeze.
How To Wash Baby’s or Toddler’s Hair Properly?
To be honest, you just have to wash your baby or toddler’s hair once in a week. Probably, the best time for taking on this challenge is when your child is in a happy mood.
Now, here’s what you need to do once you’ve chosen the right time and your child is ready to take a bath.
Step 1 – Preparation
- Gather all the necessary supplies before you start, including a mild shampoo, a soft washcloth or sponge, a cup for rinsing, and a towel.
- Ensure the bathroom is warm and comfortable, minimizing any potential drafts.
Step 2 – Wet the Hair
- Use a cup or your hand to wet your toddler’s hair gently with warm water.
- Ensure the water temperature is comfortable to avoid any discomfort.
Step 3 – Apply Shampoo
- Take a small amount of mild baby shampoo and lather it between your palms.
- Apply the shampoo to your toddler’s hair, focusing on the scalp and roots.
- Use gentle circular motions to massage the shampoo into the hair and scalp, promoting cleanliness and relaxation.
Step 4 – Rinse
- Use the cup or a gentle stream of water to rinse off the shampoo thoroughly.
- Tilt your baby’s head backward slightly to prevent water from getting into their eyes.
Step 5 – Conditioner (optional for toddlers, not necessary for babies)
- If your toddler has longer hair or tangles, you can use a small amount of conditioner.
- Apply it to the ends of the hair, avoiding the scalp, and gently comb through the hair with your fingers or a wide-toothed comb.
Step 6 – Final Rinse and Dry
- Ensure all the shampoo or conditioner is completely rinsed out by gently pouring water over your toddler’s head.
- Check for any residual product near the ears, neck, or hairline and rinse it off carefully.
- Wrap a soft towel around your toddler’s head and gently pat their hair to remove excess water.
- Avoid rubbing vigorously to prevent tangles and hair breakage.
Step 7 – Post Hair Wash Care (only for toddlers)
- Comb through your toddler’s hair gently with a wide-toothed comb or a brush specifically designed for toddlers.
- Style their hair as desired, keeping in mind their comfort and preferences.
That’s it! You can wash your baby or toddler’s hair following these simple steps without causing any damage to their scalp.
How to Wash Your Baby’s Hair Without Tears?
Now, that’s probably one of the biggest challenges moms have to face as they wash their toddler’s hair. It rarely happens that your kid remains calm and quiet while you wash his/her hair.
So, is there anything you can do about it? Do you know how to wash toddler hair without crying? Well, there are a few things that you can try for that. Let’s check out!
1. Play Games
Yes, it is common for many kids to love playing games in the bath and if you have any bath toys for your kid then you must rely on them to make sure that your kid remains calm during the bath.
So, if you don’t know how to wash toddler hair without crying, the catch probably is to ensure that you keep their playtime going as you wash their hair.
You can even create your custom games by asking your kid to count the lights on the ceiling or something similar. Obviously, the idea is to keep them busy.
2. Let Them Wash Your Hair
That’s another good trick to keep your child busy and ensure that they do not cry. Or, you can make the kid to wash their daddy’s hair as you wash theirs.
Ask the daddy to lean over their bath and tip a jug of water one after the other on daddy’s and toddler’s head. This cool dodging around can make the happy family enjoy some really good time together.
3. Use Shampoo Visor
If you want to know how to wash toddler hair without crying, and haven’t found a way out yet, this cool little accessory is right there to help you.
Shampoo visors come with usage instructions and, therefore, you shouldn’t have any issues using them. The visor comes with a soft edging made of plastic which turns into a watertight seal as soon as you push it onto the forehead of your child.
As a result, the water can’t run down your kids’ face. You may have to do some effort for agreeing your kid on using such a product but when they realize that it will help stop water from entering their eyes, things will get a lot easier for you to manage.
So, that’s how to wash a baby’s hair without crying and you can use all these simple tips to distract your kid and wash their hair without any problems whatsoever.
Other Post: How To Brush Baby’s Hair
How to Prevent Water in Your Baby’s Ears While Washing?
Next comes another big challenge! It is really important that you do not let water enter their ears. Water gives a breeding ground to bacteria inside the ear.
Water can cause infections inside your baby’s small ear canal. Making sure that your kids’ ear is all dry and clean even during the hair washes can help protect them against any infections.
So, what options do you have? Let’s find out.
The Old School Trick
It is true that, in many situations, our old-school methods still work. In olden times we used some Vaseline and cotton wool to keep water out of ears and that’s what you can do with your toddler as well while giving them a hair wash.
Just make sure that you don’t put anything small into your kid’s ear canal. Rather, make a small ball using cotton wool and ensure that it is enough for covering the ear opening before coating it with some Vaseline and putting it into your toddler’s ear.
Once done, this water repellent will help keep water out of your kids’ ears as you wash their hair.
Bathing Accessories
If you want to know how to wash a baby’s hair without getting water in ears using some market designed products, there are quite a few bathing accessories available today that can keep your kids’ ears dry as they bath.
For instance, earplugs can do the job rather nicely. The problem, however, is that they’re usually made in the generic sizes which may restrict them from working for your kid.
Ear putty can also be a good alternative. These are small putty pots that are quite inexpensive and still very effective in protecting ears of your kid from water.
The putty can be molded by gently pushing it into your kids’ ear opening and it will be shaped automatically into the right shape and size you need. The best part is that you can always reuse such putty earplugs if you can store them in some sterile container.
Neoprene Head Bands
Another good option for washing your toddler’s hair without letting water to enter their ears is to use neoprene head bands. Quite a few different bands are available in the market and you can find one in an appropriate size for your baby. You can also use these head bands with ear plugs or cotton wool for providing the protection your kid needs.
So, the next time you have to wash your kid’s hair, you won’t really have to worry at all about soap or water getting into their ear canal. And, once you are done washing their hair, just completely dry up the area around their ears using clean towel.
How To Wash Toddler Hair In Tub?
Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of a proper bath tub where you can wash your toddler’s hair and all you have is a sink that you can use for the same purpose. So, how to wash toddler hair in sink?
Well, there’s nothing so different about it and just taking the right approach will let you wash his/her hair properly. Here is how to go about it.
- First of all, you have to ensure that the sink you have available is safe for bathing your little one. Most of the online stores sell free-standing plastic sinks or inflatable tubs that fit inside a sink and can give a perfect place to give your kid a hair wash. You can also line the existing sink with rubber mat for preventing slipping if you don’t want to buy a new one.
- Fill the sink with 2-3 inches of some warm water and make sure that you keep a hand on the toddler as you do all that.
- Figure out a way to hold your baby in the sink. You have to ensure that your baby remains safe and secure in the sink. Make sure that you figure out a position that’s not just safe but also keeps your child comfortable and he/she doesn’t move around too much. Even your hold shouldn’t make the baby feel uncomfortable.
- Use your arm to support the torso and the head of the baby and use your other hand for washing his hair out. This can be done by wrapping your kid into your arms by making it go around his back.
- Once you have everything set up, it’s time to wash his/her hair. It shouldn’t take more than 10-15 minutes.
- Before you put your child in the sink, undress him/her to the diaper.
- Apply mild baby shampoo onto your hand before gently massaging it into the hair of your little champ. Explaining what you are doing as you do it would also help make your child feel comfortable.
- Next, you can either rinse it off using a washcloth or simply run his/her head under the water faucet. Make sure that you make your kid to look downwards and protect their eyes from water by putting your hand on his/her forehead so that the water or shampoo doesn’t enter his/her eyes while you rinse it all off. Flannels can also help with wiping away the dripping water but using the method described here can also help you with that.
- Once you have washed the hair, remove your kid from the sink and wrap him/her in the towel quickly. After that, pat your toddler dry gently and dress them up in cool clothes.
Some Other Tips And Advice
So, now that you have your fair share of knowledge on how to wash your baby’s hair in all sorts of different conditions, you may still want some other tips and advice on washing your toddler’s hair. If that’s the case, here we have listed a few things that might prove to be helpful for you. Let’s check out.
Applying deep pressure on the scalp prior to bath time always helps. It is often called as “Hairdresser Massage”. However, it’s not something that should specifically be done at bath time and you should do it otherwise as well.
The simple reason is that if you do it only at the time of giving your kid a hair wash, it will signal to your kid that it’s about to begin and their tears might start flowing before even you begin.
So, take it as a tip if you are interested in finding out how to wash toddler hair without crying.
- It is advisable that you should use a toy or weighted blanket almost 10 minutes prior to bath time. This deep pressure should be incorporated with a small story time.
- This method can also be used in the bath simply by placing folded towel across your kids’ lap. It gets heavier as it gets wet and can offer the pressure and sensory input needed during stressful times.
- Take the shampoo out on your hands and don’t start rubbing it directly on to your kids’ scalp. The reason is that trickle of the shampoo can be quite stimulating if poured directly onto the kids’ head.
- When choosing a shampoo, try to go with low sud products and make sure that it’s not too thick either. It shouldn’t also have very strong scent. Using no-tear shampoos is also advised so that your kid doesn’t have to close their eyes.
- If it is not allowed to lean your toddler’s head backwards for rinsing it all off, make them to lean in the forward direction and hold some dry cloth over your kids’ eyes. At times, leaning backwards may be threatening as your kid doesn’t see where they’re going causing a frightening and unfamiliar feeling.
- Use different methods when it comes to rinsing the shampoo off. Deep pressure put with a big water jug may work for some children while others can do it with hand-held shower as well. For some, different pressure and more control would be needed and they might prefer trickling water on their own – in such cases you can provide small watering can, jug or cup to your kid so that they can rinse it off themselves.
- A special foam shampoo visor or a typical sun visor can be used or protecting their eyes or you can go with some cool colored goggles strapped around their head. Washcloths may also help when held to their eyes like some blindfold.
- Earplugs can also be a great way of protecting their ears and making them not to notice that rushing water noise. It’s probably the best option that will work for you if you want to know how to wash toddler’s hair without getting water in ears.
- Try to have your kid wash the hair of their dolly and encourage roleplay for addressing fear. It will really turn into a fun activity and will really make your toddler feel in better control of the proceedings.
So, that’s really a perfect guide for you if you had one single question to start off i.e. how to wash your baby’s/toddler’s hair. If you follow the tips given here precisely, you won’t have to worry at all again when you’re faced with the job of washing your toddler’s hair.