Salon Woes – save her from them

Shampoo, sharp scissors, combs and hair brushes—all seemingly harmless things that – ‘ we use to enhance our beauty but which have the potential to put your 4-year-old into a fit of temper.

Many of us recall going to the dreaded salon in our childhood, particularly if our hair was the ‘steel wool’ type. In those days, there were no hair straightening chemicals for kids and after sitting through the torture of having your hair scrubbed in the name of washing, one had to bear with the next monster—the blow drier or the hot-comb. The comb, with heat, had to go through our totally tangled hair despite our futile tantrums or slight insinuations that the hairdresser was being unruly. If it was one of those unfortunate days, plaiting would follow immediately after that. This left a good number of us with the easier option—a clean shaven head!

Well, your child needs not go through that. Look for a child-friendly hair stylist who seems to have a way with children. They tend to work fast and have the patience to deal with the little clients who constantly wiggle in their chairs, if not cry uncontrollably.

The salon’s environment also matters, as one with kid-sized chairs, colorful pictures, and some toys is more likely to put your child in a relaxed mood.

You can test the stylist on your head before having them attend to your child. Make sure he or she understands that a kid’s hair and scalp is way different from an adult’s who has gone through years of this and is therefore much more resilient. If your child has a delicate or sensitive scalp, make sure you let the stylist know about it.

For boys, it is important to find a barber that you can trust to give a safe, clean hair cut. In today’s world, even toddlers can get a hair cut using fast and reliable technology. Keep the hair cut simple and easy to manage to allow your child little concern over their hair and for their general neat look.

Contrary to belief, your child’s beauty can be achieved with minimal drama -one just needs to be smarter.

Hair Care Tips
Hair is a byproduct of bodily functions. The body will produce better hair with better nutrition. Make sure your child’s diet has enough nutrients especially vitamin B complex, vitamin B7 (biotin), Vitamin B9 (folic acid), Iron, zinc, flax seed oil and black currant seed oil.

With your pediatrician’s go ahead, give food supplements to compliment nutrients if your child cannot obtain them from natural food.

Massage the little scalp daily for five minutes. A massage stimulates the scalp’s blood supply which brings nutrients to the hairs’ follicles. This helps the nutrients to do their work, hence more beautiful hair.

Massaging can be done while shampooing, on dry scalp or with an oiled scalp. Use the pads of your fingers and not your nails to massage.

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