Advice sheet: children and babies 

• What is the hair of babies and children like? Is it similar to adult hair or different?
• How do you take care of it?
• Do’s and don’ts
• Specific natural ingredients for children and babies
• The Yoroshe tip

How is the hair of babies and children?

Babies’ and children’s hair is different from that of adults. They require special care because they are more fragile, and their scalps are more sensitive.

At birth

Baby’s hair is quite fascinating: extremely thick or almost non-existent, blond or brown, wavy, soft or very fine… Throughout the first few months, it will change its structure and sometimes even fall out. A real genetic identity card, everything is already planned at fertilization.

How to take care of it?

At birth

There is no need for much maintenance until they are 1 year old.

A gentle hypoallergenic, dye-free, fragrance-free, non-stinging shampoo with a neutral pH every week is sufficient. Be careful to use good and natural products if possible because they are very sensitive to perfumes and different chemical ingredients.

We rinse the hair of the babies with the hand or with a small container by wedging the head of the baby because the fact of doing it directly with the shower head can be impressive for them.

Use a soft nylon brush.

Dry their hair by dabbing a microfiber towel.

For sleeping, a silk or silk satin sheet can be used as it regulates the temperature in addition to not drying out their hair from behind.

1 to 3 years:

• A shampoo every week or to be adapted according to the needs, if the hair has accumulated too much dust, dirt etc.
• Depending on their hair type, you can shampoo every other day, if necessary, but if your child has dry hair, prefer to shampoo every week to avoid drying out their hair even more.
• Choose a gentle shampoo, without aggressive agents and which does not sting the eyes.
• You can also make a treatment to be done once a week and you can start to put some vegetable oils.
• Use a soft brush with small pins of different levels.
• The first haircut can be done from 1 year and a half / 2 years.

My child has curly hair

If necessary, use “co-wash”; a conditioner that will wash the hair but is gentler than a classic shampoo in order to space out the shampoos.

To detangle the hair, I recommend doing it when the hair is wet after shampooing.
Use a conditioner so that detangling is not aggressive and detangle from the ends to the roots.
When finished, finish by putting a hair milk or a hair cream on the hair and make a protective hairstyle to sleep. Choose a satin/silk pillowcase or a satin or silk cap to sleep in.

3 – 6 years old and over: my child has curly hair, and it is dry: do a treatment before shampooing with a light oil such as coconut oil, this will reduce the aggressiveness of the shampoo by shining the hair fiber.
Separate the hair in four to detangle by section, it will be easier
Apply conditioner to the lengths of wet hair and detangle with a wide-tooth comb, starting with the ends and working your way up to the roots. For less traction, you can hold the hair at the roots with the other hand while the other detangles. Sleep with a protective hairstyle, braid or tail and protect with a satin or silk pillowcase or cap.

My child has straight/curly hair

Detangle before shampooing by section if necessary to distribute oil throughout the hair
Shampoo every 2/3 days as needed always with a mild shampoo for children
Use a conditioner to detangle if there are a lot of knots in wet hair
Use light products such as a moisturizing spray or hair milk and do not use a lot of products

DO:

For all children

It is important to start eating foods rich in vitamin B (biotin), it is found in these foods: eggs, wholemeal bread, cheeses, yogurt, raspberries, trout, sardines, avocados, salmon, nuts, bananas, tomatoes
Use hypoallergenic products that respect the natural pH of children’s hair
Use natural brushes that do not attack the scalp or promote breakage, use brushes with soft pins and a wide-tooth comb to detangle
Protect their hair when they sleep with a protective hairstyle such as a braid, a high tail and a silk or cotton pillowcase

Protect their hair for sleeping with a protective hairstyle such as a braid, a high tail and favor a silk or satin pillowcase

DON’T:

Do not use essential oils or products containing essential oils, they can be allergenic or harmful to children
Do not straighten your child’s hair, some of these components are aggressive or even carcinogenic
Do not color your child’s hair with chemical dyes, they contain allergenic and harmful components and endocrine disruptors.
Do not dry your child’s hair with too much heat and use a curling or straightening iron as little as possible
Do not cut your child’s hair thinking it will grow, this is a myth

Specific natural ingredients for children and babies

AT BIRTH

Nothing more than sweet almond oil, broccoli oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil
around the age of 2: sweet almond oil, hemp oil, jojoba oil, baobab oil
Then around 3 years: marshmallow powder, coconut milk powder, aloe vera gel
Especially for dry and thick hair: shea butter, nilotica shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, avocado oil, argan oil, jojoba oil, baobab oil, broccoli oil, Abyssinian oil, borage oil, Brazil nut oil, Yangu oil

The Yoroshe tip

At their 1-year-old, children can also have deficiencies in vitamins, iron and / or vitamin B, they will result in a dull and brittle hair, go see your pediatrician may be that your child suffers from anemia or dietary imbalance.

From their youngest age, children need to be reassured about their hair texture, even if it is sometimes different from others, you should not hesitate to reassure them and tell them how beautiful they are and not say that their hair is difficult to comb or make a face when detangling. Even if the mother does not have the same hair type as her daughter or son, do not hesitate to buy her a doll that looks like her or show her pictures of people who have the same hair type and point out how beautiful it is. Self-confidence also goes through the hair and it’s more important than you might think.

For more personalized information, do not hesitate to take a personalized diagnosis for your child.

After a few months, the mother’s hormones will be eliminated by the baby and will be replaced by the baby’s own hormones. It is at this time that the baby’s hair will fall out and grow back at its own pace. Because of the transfer of the mother’s hormones, newborns have an excessive production of sebum, which is why they will have greasy hair, it is not necessary to wash them every day.
Excess sebum also causes small yellow scabs, but once the baby produces its own hormones, they will fall off. Don’t try to remove them with your fingernails, massaging her scalp with sweet almond oil will help soften them and rinse with clean water.

1-3 years old: The hair thickens, the hair will still change but we can already see the hair changing, it will be important to start taking care of it from their youngest age.

At 2 years old, the hair of the child will need a little more care, we will start to use a conditioner.
The child will be more and more autonomous and will get dirty a lot more than before, the sandboxes, the paint, the food, a little everything will end up in the hair of your toddler and will also tangle them. Don’t hesitate to shampoo once or twice a week and use a conditioner to leave on for 5 minutes and then detangle.
Add a little oil after the washing routine as needed and a little hair milk to soften the hair if necessary.

3- 6 years old: The hair will no longer evolve in a biological way when the child reaches 6/7 years old.