Hair and Care for Infant

Hair and Care for African American

TIPS FOR SHAMPOOING HAIR:

It is generally recommended that the hair be washed no more than every 7 to 10 days. Shampooing more often than that tends to dry it out.

The Process of Shampooing:

1.Shampoo a child’s hair by having them kneel in a chair and bend over the kitchen sink or under the bathroom tub faucet. If possible, attaching a removable spray nozzle to the sink or showerhead greatly aids the process.

2. Squeeze some shampoo (approximately 1 tbsp.) into the palm of your hand and gently massage the shampoo all over the child’s hair.

3. Using the ball of your fingertips (don’t use your nails- scratching can irritate the scalp), gently massage the scalp with in and out motions, moving your fingers through the hair starting around the hairline and the nape of the neck and working your way to the center of the scalp.

4. Especially when a child has tightly curled tresses, be sure NOT to gather the hair in a bunch on top of the head, as this may cause unnecessary tangling.

5. For thicker hair, it may be necessary to apply and rinse out shampoo two or three times, with one-two minute rinses in between.

6. Also, for thicker hair, caregivers may choose to wash the hair within the sections they divided it into when combing it out before washing. This can make the washing process easier.



Considerations for What Type of Shampoo to Use:





1. Assess the characteristics  needs of the type of hair for which you are selecting a shampoo. You may have to try several before finding one that “fits”. Generally you want to look for a mild, moisturizing shampoo with a balanced pH value. The pH balance refers to the alkalinity or acidity of a particular product. A pH of 5 is supposedly the closest to that of normal hair and scalp. A balanced pH value will help maintain the hair’s natural acidity level giving hair its shine and manageability. Look for shampoos that primarily include the following in their ingredients: water, lauroamphoglycinate, cocoampha carboxyglycinate or a sulfosuccinate.

2. The one ingredient to be careful to avoid in a shampoo is lauryl (or laureth) sulfate. Shampoos with this ingredient are designed to strip the hair’s natural oils, and were not created for very curly hair.

3. Use of a “clarifying shampoo” every 4-6 weeks removes residue build-up from all of the various products being used on the hair (e.g. shampoos with protein, oils, gels etc.).



Why Do I Need to Use a Conditioner and How often?


Conditioner is a lotion / cream for the hair and is intended to improve the surface
qualities of the hair by smoothing the cuticle, keeping hair soft and giving it sheen. A
conditioner should ALWAYS be applied after a shampoo.


 What’s the Best Way to Apply Conditioner:

1.After shampooing the hair and rinsing it thoroughly, gently squeeze all of the excess water from the hair. Section the hair, and add about a handful of conditioner to the palm of your hand and massage the conditioner through. A wide-tooth comb is an excellent tool to use to work conditioner through the hair. You can also use the fingertips to do this.
 
2. Give special attention to working conditioner through to the ends of the hair, as the ends tend to be the driest part of the hair and the most prone to tangling and knotting.
 
3. Rinse (or leave on if you’ve used a “leave-in” conditioner) and then comb out and twist the hair into 6 to 15 sections depending on how thick and long the hair is.