Basic Regimen

Deciding on a healthy hair regimen for you child in the beginning can be down right scary! Healthy hair doesn’t just happen, it’s the result of proper care and maintenance. But what if you don’t know where to begin when it comes to a routine for your child’s tresses? Don’t worry; a hair regimen doesn’t need to be complex or super expensive, but you should set aside some time to really develop a proper routine to keep your child’s hair as healthy as possible.

Your little one’s basic hair care regimen should incorporate the following:

Step 1: Detangling

Detangling is the most difficult step in the regimen because it can cause a little bit of discomfort for your child. You’ll want to make sure hair is detangled before washing so that you can gently remove all shed hair. Gently removing tangles from your child’s hair helps you retain length and also helps you dodge those nasty single-strand knots.

Here’s how you should properly detangle your child’s hair to minimize breakage and discomfort:

1. Part hair into 4 sections and put each section into a ponytail. The parts don’t have to be perfectly straight. The goal is to detangle one section at a time.
2. Mix 2 cups of water and 1/4 cup of cheap conditioner in a spray bottle and shake vigorously. Spray that hair making sure to saturate it. It should be soaked and dripping. Wrap a towel around your child’s shoulders so that the water doesn’t get them wet.
3. Take one section out of a pony tail holder and use your detangling brush to gently brush out the hair from the ends to the roots until the brush can glide smoothly through the hair.
4. Double strand twist the section and use a butterfly clip to pin it out of the way.
5. Continue with detangling the other sections until the hair has been completely detangled.
6. Rinse out conditioner and continue on with shampooing.

Some great products to use for detangling your child’s hair are:

• Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner
• Aussie Moist Conditioner
• VO5 Strawberries & Cream Conditioner
• Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner
• Garnier Fructis Haircare Hydra Recharge Fortifying Conditioner
• Hair Clips
• Detangling Brush
• Spray bottle
• Or, you can make your own detangling spray!

 

Step 2: Shampoo

Shampooing your child’s hair and scalp is a must. Washing their hair once every 2-3 weeks is sufficient if their hair isn’t excessively dirty. Whether you use shampoo or prefer to do a co-wash, shampooing is just what your child’s hair needs to maintain ultimate hair and scalp health.

Here’s how you should properly detangle your child’s hair to minimize breakage and discomfort:

• Apply a generous amount of shampoo to the hair
• With the pads of your finger tips, massage the shampoo into the hair and focus on the scalp to break up dirt and debris.
• Make sure not to use your nails for this step as it can irritate the scalp.
• When the hair has been thoroughly cleansed, rinse out the shampoo.

Some great natural hair shampoos for kids are:

• Camille Rose Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse
• Kinky Curly Come Clean Shampoo (Great for removing product buildup)
• Mixed Chicks Gentle Kids Shampoo
• The Doux LADIES FIRST Honey Shampoo
• Young King Shampoo for Boys
• Mielle Organics Pomegranate & Honey Moisturizing and Detangling Shampoo
• Or, you can make your own!

 

Step 3: Deep conditioning

Deep Conditioning can be used interchangeably with a regular conditioner. Some people choose to deep condition a few times a week, however, deep conditioning once or twice per month is acceptable as well. Try warming up the conditioner (not too hot though, you don’t want to burn their scalp) and applying it to the hair after it has been washed and conditioned. Let it sit for about 30 mins – 1 hour and rinse. 

You can also apply the conditioner to their hair and have them sit under a hooded dryer on medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Some great deep conditioners to use in your child’s hair regimen are:

• Camille Rose Naturals Algae Renew Deep Conditioning Mask
• Eden Body Works Jojoba Monoi All Natural Deep Conditioner
• Camille Rose Vegan Black Castor Oil & Chebe Deep Hair Conditioner
• tgin Honey Miracle Hair Mask
• The Doux THAT’S DEEP Conditioner
• Curls Blueberry Bliss Reparative Hair Mask
• Or, you can make your own!

 

Having product recommendation overload? Check out these resources that will help you pick the right product for your child’s hair without costing you a fortune. 

 

Trimming

If you are starting to see a lot of damaged split ends, notice hair balls at the ends of the hair, or hear a lot of snapping or popping of hair strands during detangling, then it is time for a trim. Please do not confuse a trim with a hair cut. Trimming only removes about ^1/2 to ^3/4 of an inch of hair. Only trim the minimum amount needed to get rid of these damaged ends using shearing scissors or have a professional do it. Check out this hair trimming tutorial from Discovering Natural

 

Lock in moisture with The LOC Method

 

Leave-In Conditioner

Applying a pH-balanced leave-in conditioner is important because it closes the cuticles of your child’s hair shaft. This ensures that all the nutrients and moisture that you added during washing and conditioning don’t escape. It also leaves your child’s hair super soft and alleviates breakage due to dry hair.Some great leave-in conditioners to use in your child’s hair regimen are:

• The Mane Choice Sweet Strawberry Fruit Medley Moisturizer
• Mane Choice Kids Green Apple Fruit Medley Detangling Leave-In Conditioner
• Camille Rose Naturals Kids Sundae Glaze Leave-In

Oil

Oil helps seal in moisture. Apply a thin layer of oil to your hair to help lock in the moisture. Common oils are coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil and Jamaican black castor oil.Some great oils to use in your child’s hair regimen are:

• Tropic Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil
• Jamaican Mango And Lime Black Castor Oil Peppermint (This smells amazing too!
• Spectrum Naturals Organic Coconut Oil (You can find this in Target in the baking section)

 

Cream

Apply a butter-based, cream to your hair to seal that moisture in. Shea butter is PERFECT for this step!Some great cremes to use in your child’s hair regimen are:

• Camille Rose Almond Jai Twisting Butter
• Shea Butter
• Mango Butter
• Cocoa Butter

Or, you can become a mixologist and try your hand at making your own!

You may find that adding products in the order of Liquid, Oil, Cream does not work. Try other variations of this method and you may be surprised at just how your child’s hair responds to this small change.

 

 

Protective Style

Any hairstyle that protects the ends of your hair from breaking and over exposure to harsh elements is considered a protective style. Cornrows, braids, twists and the like are invaluable at growing out your child’s hair.

If you are styling hair into a high puff or ponytail, then be mindful of the tension and pulling that these styles put on their edges. Try to switch up the styles to give the edges of the hair a break.

These hairstyles are perfect for protecting hair and promoting growth:

 

 

 

 

Need more protective hairstyle ideas?

Download our latest ebook!

 

How to Grow Long Hair

Since we are on the topic of growth, check out our Ultimate Guide for Growing Waist Length Hair! With over 10,000 downloads to date, it is one of the only ebooks that isn’t going to try to sell you a magical elixir that guarantees 10 inches of hair growth in 3 days.

If you are committed to growing your child’s hair the right way, and keeping it healthy, then this guide is for you!

If you want a magical hair growth potion, then this isn’t the book, or blog, for you!

 

Daily Moisture

Adding moisture to your child’s hair in between washing is important. Depending on how dry their hair is, moisturizing it only once per day or even 3-4 times a week is perfectly fine. Moisturizing can be as simple as spritzing their hair with some water and applying oil afterwards or using a store-bought moisturizer. Some parents have had a lot of success with putting 2 tbsps of a leave-in conditioner and 1 tablespoon of oil (coconut or black castor oil) in a spray bottle with 1 cup of filtered water and spraying that on the hair when needed.

Some great daily hair moisturizers to use in your child’s daily regimen are:

• SheaMoisture Kids Extra-Moisturizer Detangler Coconut & Hibiscus Spray

• The Mane Choice Sweet Strawberry Fruit Medley Hydration Spray

• The Mane Choice Do It “FRO” The Culture Sophisticated Sheen Spray

• Or, you can make your own!

 

A Sample Regimen:

Sunday: Detangle, shampoo, condition, deep condition, LOC method, protective style

Monday: Moisturizer

Tuesday: Moisturizer

Wednesday: Moisturizer

Thursday: Co-wash, moisturize

Friday: Moisturize

Saturday: Moisturize

Struggling with moisture? Check out these resources that will help you keep your child’s hair moisturized! 

 

Nightly Routine

No regimen is complete without nightly protection! Make sure your little one either wears a satin bonnet to bed or sleeps on a satin pillowcase. This will keep their hair moisturized and also prevent breakage. You can find satin bonnets and pillowcases at The Natural Hair Shop(www.naturalhairshop.com).

Now, all of this knowledge does you no good if you aren’t consistent. With most parents, finding the time to do all of these steps is the main reason why hair doesn’t get the proper TLC that it needs. But, if you want your child’s hair to grow and be healthy, then you will have to MAKE time! Try setting up alerts on your phone to remind you that you need to deep condition their hair, or write them down in a day planner or online time management program. Most parents spend the weekend deep conditioning and protective styling so that there is enough time. Whatever you do, don’t give up! Your child, and their hair, will thank you for it.