Hard to Wash Kid Hair

[susiestar]

My kids have super thick hair. The boys have curly super thick hair. All 3 have eczema and have scalp sores from time to time. With thank you esp, getting him to really clean his hair/scalp can be tough. the problems with hand coordination (his fingers don't bend the way most people's do, no one knows why but Wiz does it too) don't help this AT ALL.

I stopped coloring my hair years ago because scalp problems but kept this bottle for applying color to the roots. Just recently thank you's scalp was a super mess and he was having fits getting it washed and getting the medications on his scalp instead of his hair so I pulled the bottle out. This bottle has a top with 5 fingers that the contents can come out of and it is designed to put hair color on your roots only.

WOW did it make a big difference. We put the normal amt of shampoo in the bottle, diluted it with warm water, and then used it on his hair. Soap got all the way to the skin, it didn't hurt the way it normally would to get it there through the thicket of hair, and he actually enjoyed the experience (a first since before he was crawling). I thought I would post here because I know hygeine can be a big issue with our kiddos.

You do have to rinse the bottle well to make sure nothing clogs the fingers, but if they get clogged a paper clip or pin can open it up. I have used the same bottle for five or six years.

 

[InsaneCdn]

OK, Susie... for a girl, I might try it.

For a boy? Much faster solution: brush cut.
Much easier for both hair-wash and hair-comb...

 

[buddy]

IC, what is brush cut??

 

[InsaneCdn]

Is that another Canadian term?!

Normal hair-cut is done with scissors, with electric hair razor for "finishing".

Brush cut is a razor cut - not shaved, but using a #3 or #4 attachment to leave an even coat of very short hair.
Some military guys wear it this way, seems to be a bit of a fad that comes and goes.
The hair is short enough that you can't really grab it - but the head is NOT left bald.
It leaves the hair sticking up a bit - like the bristles on a hair-brush...

 

[buddy]

OH.... you know what Q calls that..??? a pokey cut. he loves it... when he was little he liked it one time when someone cut his hair shorter than I wanted... he liked how it felt when he ran his hand on his head (which is a huge sign of anxiety but became a comfort when he could feel that). so all the hair cut people would just go nuts wondering what the heck he wanted. he still likes that. but can explain it better.

I love his hair kind of medium with the big curls he has. he likes how it ifeels short and that is one thing I am so ok with... it is his hair. he has little control in life so I let him decide.

But these days, many kids with thick curly hair like to let it grow big. I guess if they cooperate with this squirt bottle method... it gives them a way to feel good about their hair and to not have the itchy sore scalp.

I used a color kit with that kind in it and it actually does feel kind of cool.

 

[susiestar]

Brush cuts are fine when they are little, but after a while they start having preferences about their hair. doesn't mean they can get it clean well, but they can resist the brush cut pretty hard. Around here that cut gets them teased a LOT - they get called "speds" and it IS a slur big time - supposedly only kids in Special Education have that hair past little kid (age 4 or 5) stages. So some of us have to get creative to suit all the needs.

It was SOOOOOOO much easier when I just buzzed them with a guide on the razor. I did that because my kids would scream through a haircut. Jess was the worst, problem because I never pushed it for thank you - any fussing and we left right then. Jess would scream until she passed out literally at every haircut. EVERY one. My mother swore it was because I didn't take her to a nice enough salon, but she did it at the fancy ones with my mom too. I had serious haircut ptsd for a couple of years after that.

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Brush Cut? Hmmm, didn't know there was a name for how I cut difficult child's hair! I use the elec hair trimmer on #4 then #3!! We do let it grow in the summer, but during the school year we try and keep it fairly close......

Sharon

 

[Hound dog]

Susie

husband had the thickest hair (and the curliest) of any person I've even known. If it had any length to it at all, you couldn't even find his scalp. easy child and Travis got his hair. easy child got the curls but now her hair is too heavy and it pulls the curl out. easy child as far as I know doesn't have scalp issues.

But Travis and husband did. The ONLY way I ever found to solve it was the brush cut, whether they liked it or not. (and no Travis didn't like it for years, but he didn't like the horrid rash either) Tar shampoo can help the scalp a LOT, but it's expensive as all get out and not easy to find. (even for a dog) And if they're not getting it TO the scalp, it does little good.

With husband and Travis it wasn't that the soap wasn't reaching the scalp as much as their hair was so thick and heavy that near the scalp was always damp to some degree, regardless of the season......although it was a horrific issue during warmer months.

Brush cut was the only thing that kept it away. It took some time to prove it to them. Now? Travis begs to have his hair cut that way.

 

[susiestar]

Lisa, I know exactly what you are talking about. My boys get it from both sides. My husband's aunt has some funny stories about catching him and holding him down to get his hair washed when he was little, and finding bits of hay, etc... in it later even if he hadn't been unsupervised for a second. My gma told us ALL about how my dad's hair would MILDEW in the summer because it never got really dry (they lived a football field from the area pool).

Just before Thanksgiving thank you had 3 inches cut off and you mostly couldn't tell anything had been done except it looked neater. There was enough curly hair on the floor to crochet a cat.

If/when the scalp issues get severe, he gets clipped. If he can keep on top of it, well, it isn't MY head that itches. If he was getting sent to the office for suspicion of lice each day due to scratching his head so much, we would have his hair cut like the brush cut, but he is now 12 and in my opinion this is just like hats/mufflers/coats on cold days. I am not itching, or cold so he has to make his choices and live with them.

I just thought this was a pretty good way to help minimize a sensory problem that a physical condtion was making more challenging and that maybe it would spark ideas in someone else.

 

[InsaneCdn]

In our parts, "brush cut" just happens to be one of the "acceptable" styles right now. Cadet kids, wrestling team - in particular, its an advantage for the wrestlers. So it doesn't have a negative label here. If it did... you're right, tricky.

 

[Lothlorien]

Susiestar, I know I'm a bit fanatical about the food coloring, but I will tell you that I had wicked excema on my scalp for almost a year. I also started getting it on my face and legs, but my hair even began falling out at one point. I realized, at some point, the excema got so much worse when I had something especially with red dye. I cut out all food coloring and it went completely away. I've been drinking too much Coke Zero lately and my scalp is beginning to bother me again. I know it's difficult, but if you can cut out the food coloring, I bet the excema will go away. husband notices excema with the same.

Missy (along with severe attitude and raging) will break out in zits all over her forehead from food coloring. She's been sneaking it at school. During the holiday break, her face cleared up considerably.

As far as the hair, Mighty Mouse has extremely thick bushy hair as well. We just buzz it....2 on the side, 4 on the top. We cut his hair about every 4 to 6 weeks and the amount of hair that comes off his head is amazing.