Hair care for your child and what to do about nits...
GENERAL HAIR CARE TIPS
Don’t blow dry children’s hair, but finger dry it and use some gentle mousse from the mid-lengths to the ends (so that it doesn’t touch the scalp) to separate the hair into loose curls or sections.
Harsh brushing can damage the hair, but if you must brush it often then make sure you use a non-abrasive, easily detangling brush.
Try to keep your kids away from styling products as long as you can – there is plenty of time for them to be slathering it in gel and mousse but the longer they can have clean, natural hair the better.
Keep the scissors out of children’s reach!
Keep it calm and fun. Encourage your child to enjoy having their hair cut and maintained.
You don’t need to have their hair cut properly until they are about two years old. Just a few trims until are enough to keep it out of their eyes, and it’s also dangerous to be waving sharp scissors around a very young child’s head, as they really can’t sit still long enough. For babies, cut the bits you need to while they are asleep. We did this for all of ours and they never noticed a thing.
NITS!...
Use a comb instead of chemical washes. A study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that nit combs have a 57 per cent success rate of eradicating lice, where chemical methods only managed a poor 20 per cent.
Always use a special nit comb, such as a Nitty Gritty NitFree comb, as it has teeth much closer together, and use conditioner to help the lice and nits slide off more easily.
Do this at least every four days, though we have found that every single day for a month is the only way to get rid of them for certain. Nobody said it would be easy!
If you must use a chemical lotion then check the contents, and don’t use anything with alcohol on children who have eczema or asthma. Personally I’d steer well clear of them though – they absolutely stink, and anything which smells that bad cannot being doing much good for my children’s scalp, I shouldn’t think.
