Make hair washing a breeze with the right kids shampoo
Active play makes hair smooth and dirty, so of course your child needs to have their hair washed a few times a week. Children’s delicate skin makes certain demands on the products used, and a good shampoo for kids will meet them.
A good shampoo developed especially for children is gentle on both scalp and eyes and often the packaging is also designed to be attractive to children. There’s no doubt your child will prefer the brightly coloured packaging to a white bottle with a boring label.
Of course, the packaging of the shampoo has no bearing on the quality of the shampoo itself, but it is often easier to persuade the child to wash his hair if the ethos or shape of the bottle catches the eye. This is worth bearing in mind when choosing shampoo for children.
You can read more about what else you should consider when choosing a children’s shampoo here.
Why you should use children’s shampoo for washing your children’s hair
There’s no doubt that hair care manufacturers want to sell products, but it’s not without reason that there’s a wide range of products, including shampoos and conditioners, designed specifically for children.
Children’s skin, and therefore their scalp and hair, is much more delicate than adult skin. The products you use for your child’s skin and hair should reflect this.
When you buy a good shampoo for children, you’re getting a shampoo where the ingredients have been carefully considered. For example, many of the better children’s shampoos don’t contain perfumes, parabens, sulphates and dyes, all of which are known to cause allergies.
This means you can wash your child’s hair clean without exposing them to unnecessary chemicals and additives.
If it’s a child under 1, instead of a children’s shampoo you should buy a special baby shampoo, which is even gentler than a children’s shampoo and perfect for the child’s first locks.
The 3 most common reasons why children don’t like having their hair washed
If your child doesn’t like having their hair washed and hair washing therefore easily turns into horror scenarios for both child and parent, then you are far from alone.
There are lots of children who love showering but loathe hair washing. Most often, the reason for the lack of enthusiasm for hair washing is that:
- The child is afraid of getting water in the eyes
- The child is afraid of getting soap in his eyes
- The child finds it painful when the wet hair has to be combed through
1. My child is afraid of getting water in his eyes while washing his hair
Many children find it uncomfortable to get water in their eyes when their hair is being wet or soap is being rinsed out.
What you can do:
If your child doesn’t like getting water on the face, you can try several things.
- You can teach the child to bend his neck backwards and place a washcloth over his eyes.
- You can buy a plastic shield that looks like a sun hat without the top and is designed for washing children’s hair. It allows you to wash the hair and at the same time the plastic shield makes sure that the child does not get water in the eyes.
2. My child is afraid of getting soap in his eyes
Once your child has tried getting a regular shampoo or body wash in their eyes, it often puts a fear in them of getting soap in their eyes in the future. Soap in the eyes can sting badly – we know that too.
What you can do:
- Buy a children’s shampoo that doesn’t sting the eyes and use it exclusively to prevent your child from having a boring hair-washing experience.
3. My child doesn’t like having his hair combed after washing
If your child has long hair, you’re probably familiar with the struggles that can arise when hair needs to be combed after washing.
What you can do:
- Buy a good conditioner for kids and use conditioner after every hair wash.
- Use leave-in conditioner before detangling. It loosens up the filter.
- Use a wet brush or a detangler brush which is especially suitable for wet and filtered hair.
Use children’s shampoo to clean your makeup brushes – Children’s shampoo is a super gentle shampoo and therefore really suitable for cleaning your makeup brushes without wearing them out.
Children’s shampoo without chemicals and too many additives
Many parents are aware of the chemicals we are all exposed to in everyday life through what we eat, the skin and hair care products we use, the clothes we wear, etc.
That’s why there is a big focus on skin and hair care products for children that are made from natural ingredients and don’t contain a lot of chemicals and allergens.
If you want to buy a shampoo for children that is as “pure” as possible, you should avoid unnecessary substances like;
- Perfumes
- Parabens
- Silicones
- Phthalates
- Dyes
- Sulphates
The danger of exposing children to unnecessary chemicals such as perfumes is that children are much more likely to develop allergies than adults.
Perfume allergy is not dangerous, but it can cause severe discomfort well into adulthood, when skin will react with itchy rashes on contact with perfume – and not just pure perfume, but also the perfume you often find in hair shampoo, body lotion, washing powder, detergents, etc.
Use baby shampoo for children under 1
When we talk about shampoo for children, there are generally two types of shampoo, namely:
- Baby shampoo
- Baby shampoo
Baby shampoo is a shampoo specially developed for babies under one year of age. It is a particularly mild shampoo that gently cleanses baby’s delicate skin while helping to loosen light scarring on the scalp.
Children’s shampoo is for children aged 1+ years. A shampoo for children is also a mild shampoo, but it is designed to clean the scalp and hair of a child who is much more active than an infant. A children’s shampoo is suitable for children up to the age of teenagers, when they will probably want to be involved in deciding which shampoo to use.
How to choose the best children’s shampoo for YOUR child
As parents, we have different requirements for the skin and hair care products we use for ourselves and our children.
Some are very keen that the products are as clean and hypoallergenic as possible, preferably 100% organic, others are more concerned about whether the product smells nice and whether the packaging appeals to them.
So you can’t just pick one children’s shampoo as the absolute best. That’s why I’ve presented you with a selection of the absolute best, with my focus on the content of the shampoo. This way you can make your choice between quality products.
What I personally pay attention to when choosing shampoo and other care products for my children is:
- The shampoo must be chemical-free
- Shampoo must be gentle on eyes
- Shampoo should leave hair clean and easily manageable
My preferences when it comes to children’s shampoo are not necessarily ones you need to follow, the important thing is that you consider the shampoo and other skin and hair care products you use for your children.
4 tips for choosing the best shampoo for children
- Choose a children’s shampoo that won’t sting your eyes – most kids are terrified of getting soap in their eyes.
- Choose a shampoo for children that has a pH value between 4.5 and 5.5 – In order not to disturb the natural balance of the scalp, it is important that the shampoo and conditioner you use is between 4.5 and 5.5, which corresponds to the pH value of the scalp.
- Choose a children’s shampoo that is hypoallergenic – Children are more likely to develop allergies and it is therefore a good idea to choose products that are as hypoallergenic as possible. You can do this by avoiding fragrances and other chemicals in the product.
- Choose a shampoo for children that is for sensitive skin – Children’s skin is much more sensitive than your own and you should therefore choose mild care products.
You can use children’s shampoo to clean leather – Because children’s shampoo is so mild, you can use it to gently clean your leather sofa or leather jacket.
Lice shampoo for children
If you have children in daycare, it’s almost inevitable that your child will get lice once or more during lice season. It only takes one untreated child to pass on the infection.
You should therefore check your child with a lice comb every time you wash their hair. This is often easiest to do while there is plenty of conditioner in the hair.
If you find lice, use a lice shampoo immediately to get rid of the little creatures. You can also remove them using a lice comb alone, but this takes much longer because you have to comb your hair several times, whereas a lice shampoo kills the lice instantly.
If you have found lice in your child’s hair, you should check the rest of the family as well, as it is not impossible that you have also caught lice. Last but not least, it is important to inform the nursery, sports club and school so that other parents can be aware of the problem.
Use conditioner for children and make it easier to comb your hair
Most children don’t enjoy having their hair combed, because it can easily hurt if it’s tangled.
If your child has hair longer than 5 cm, it can be a good idea to finish off by using a conditioner. A conditioner softens the hair and loosens the filter, making it much easier to gently comb out after a bath.
There are several conditioners for children on the market, but you can also choose to use another conditioner as long as it is suitable for sensitive skin and doesn’t contain a lot of unnecessary chemicals and perfumes.
A long hair that is well unglued after play can be hard to comb out even after you’ve used a good conditioner. If this is a problem you’re familiar with, try using a leave-in conditioner.
A leave-in conditioner is used on towel-dried hair after you’ve washed your hair in shampoo and used a conditioner. Leave-in conditioner does not need to be washed out and is therefore a really good tool for really tangled hair.
Straighten hair from the bottom up – When you need to comb a tangled hair, it doesn’t help to start from the top of the head. That just makes the hair even more tangled. So start by combing out the bottom of the hair and work your way up.
Do you know which shampoo for children to choose?
Then we’ve been all over the place about shampoo for kids and what you should focus on when choosing between the many different shampoos on the market.
There’s every reason to choose skin and hair care products carefully as they come into direct contact with your child’s skin and if you want to be sure you’re using a good, safe children’s shampoo, then you should take a closer look at the shampoos I’ve introduced you to here.
They are all shampoos for children that meet the strictest requirements when it comes to ingredients. They are also shampoos that are gentle on the eyes and easy to use.
If you have questions about any of the children’s shampoos that I haven’t answered here, simply click through to the retailer where you can find full product information. It’s also on the retailer’s site that you can make your purchase once you’ve made your selection. You won’t have to look far for the best price, I’ve already found it for you.
On behalf of Nbeautyguide I would like to wish you and your child a lot of fun with the new children’s shampoo.