Oluchi Madubike: 5 Important Things to Note About Your Child’s Natural Hair Care

I have a thing for natural hair care. Not only do I like to tackle a hair care challenge, I also love to talk about natural hair care. I love to write about natural hair care and hear what other people have to say about the subject too. More so I am extremely “obsessed” about Child Natural Hair Care and I am passionate about helping you understand how to care for and nurture your child’s hair to healthy long locs that he/she is proud to wear everywhere.

If you are reading this post, I am certain that you want beautiful, long, healthy hair for your child, but most times, it seems like it’s an unachievable task. So you just end up doing what everyone else is doing, and hope that one day, your child’s hair will eventually start growing and looking good. In this post, I am going to list 5 important things that you need to know in order to make caring for your child’s hair a lot easier for you.
In addition to that, I will also show you how you can create a system that will enable you take charge of your child’s hair care, which will eventually help you achieve that healthy long hair you want for your child.
So let us dive in!

Excessive Washing Dries out Your Baby’s Hair
Your child’s afro hair texture was not made to withstand excessive exposure to soap and you do not need to wash your baby’s hair each bath time. You only need to wash your baby’s hair once a week. This is because washing your baby’s hair with soap, strips it of the hair of natural oils produced from your baby’s scalp – Sebum.
This natural oil, is meant to keep your baby’s hair soft and supple at all times. Most baby bath wash and shampoos are made with a moisture stripping ingredient known as Sodium Laureth Sulphate. This ingredient tends to wash off natural oils from the surfaces of the hair cuticle, making it squeaky clean which leads to dryness.
This stripping process is responsible for changing the soft supple curls your baby was born with, into a hard mass of thick hair that is often difficult to manage.
So, to avoid this, you need to ensure you keep washing your baby’s hair to a minimum and also stay away from using shampoos that contain harsh ingredients such as Sodium Laureate Sulphate.

The Health of Your Baby’s Hair Depends on His/Her Diet
Your child’s diet is one of the major determinants of whether or not he/she will have a healthy hair. It is also important to note that, your child’s hair is an accessory part of his/her body, and that means that all the vitality that comes from food will only get to his/her hair, after it has gotten to the principal parts of your child’s body such as, the heart, kidneys, lungs, brain etc.
Therefore you need to feed your child a variety foods that constitute a healthy balanced diet, in order to achieve that healthy hair you want for him/her. Investing in quality hair care products is great, but it will not make much impact in your child’s hair journey if his/her hair is not nourished from the inside.
Some foods that will encourage a healthy hair growth for your child are; water, proteins, whole grains and of course, fruits and vegetables.

Your Baby’s Scalp Is Delicate and Cannot Stand Tight Styles with Extensions
Another important thing to be aware of about your child’s hair care is that a baby’s scalp is delicate and is still in a developmental phase and must be handled with tender loving care. Your child’s hair strands grow from tiny holes on the scalp called hair follicles. These hair follicles are supported underneath the scalp by a bulb of living cells and blood vessels that help build the hair shaft. This delicate system of cells and blood vessels can be compromised by the simple act of putting your child’s hair into tight styles such as little puffs with colourful hair ruffles, braids with baby wool extensions and even tight cornrows. The resulting effect is damaged hair follicles, which lead to poor hair growth and in some extreme cases, hair loss which could be temporary or permanent.
The best child hair care practice is using low manipulation hair care methods and putting his/her hair in styles that are safe and comfortable for him/her. Examples of such safe styles include; simple afro for babies under 12 months (decorated with a cute hair accessory), single strand twists and single braids without any kind of extensions.

Your Child’s Hair Needs Moisture to Remain Soft and Manageable
The African hair texture gets dry easily, mainly because of its coily nature which creates a long, coily path for moisture and oils to be properly distributed throughout the hair strands. In addition to that, toddlers and some bigger children tend to play a lot with their hair.
They also love to play outside, and that means that their hair is constantly exposed to conditions that could strip it of moisture. When it comes to babies under twelve months, these ones are usually in restricted places such as their car seat, bouncer and/or crib. The landing area for your child’s head in these restricted conditions, present a rough surface that absorbs the natural moisture in his/her hair, thereby leaving it dry and susceptible to breakage.
So it is important to ensure you moisturize your child’s hair on a daily basis by applying some sprits of water, followed by some cream based product or leave in conditioner and then finally sealing in the moisture with some oils. This is called the Liquid-Cream-Oil (LCO) method, and it will help keep your child’s hair soft and easy to manage.

You Need a Hair Regimen for Your Baby
Finally it is essential to develop a hair care system that you can use in caring for your child’s hair on a regular basis. Life happens and when things get busy, certain things we want to achieve fall behind and is left undone. So to avoid this, you need to put a plan in place to ensure proper care of your child’s hair on a regular basis. Having this will help you manage your time more effectively. It also saves you the stress of having to explain to everyone else caring for your child, on what to do for his/her hair care.
In addition, it enables you control how much you spend on hair products, because you know exactly what your child’s hair care needs are, you automatically identify what you should and shouldn’t be spending your money on. But because I know it takes a lot of trial and error to come up with a hair regimen that works, I have done the work for you. All you have to do is click here to download the 30 Day Hair Care Regimen Plan. Over 200 mothers have used this plan to change their child’s hair care game and their feedback has been amazing.

Was this post was helpful? Are there things you need help with in your child’s hair care? I would love to hear from you, so you can send me an email to [email protected].

Photo Credit: Miroslav Ferkuniak | Dreamstime.com