How to Care for Children's
Hair
Children
are not Dolls
Give
your children a good grounding on caring for their hair
that they can take with them the rest of their lives.
Teach them how to wash and dry their hair in non-destructive
ways.
Having
said that, the most damage is probably caused by parents
themselves, especially to little girls. To make them
look cute or to keep their out of their faces, common
styles are ponytails, pigtails and braids that can pull
out the hair at the roots and produce traction alopecia.
Hair loss arising from this condition is especially
common amongst African American children, who often
have multiple pigtails pulling at the scalp at many
areas or Caucasion children with kinky or curly hair.
This type of hair loss is often permanent.
Parental
pride does not always equate to something good, especially
when the little girls are treated like dolls. Cute hair
styles are usually counter to natural growth tendencies
and can harm the hair over time.
The
following precautions are recommended to handle children's
hair:
- Encourage
children's involvement in caring for their hair. Show
them how to properly wash, dry, comb and untangle
knots in their hair.
- Don't
keep the hair tied with rubber band for too long.
- Avoid
keeping the hair in any one style that calls for pulling
at the hair roots, such as ponytail and braiding.
- Keep
the hair manageable by using good hair conditioneers.
- Avoid
generating static electricity by using a plastic comb
instead of a brush.
- Don't
back comb the hair to avoid damage to the hair.
- Children
tend to get infected with hair lice from school. So
check their hair frequently.
- Encourage
them to enjoy caring for their hair.
Important read on better hair care below:
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