4 Year Old Girl's Long Hair Care

As a haircare specialist.. you should really be washing her hair about every 4 days. If you don't want to do that.. then wash it .. wait 4 days and just condition it again. Finesse Conditioner works great on long hair. We use it at the salon. Also with long hair, hot oil treatments work great .. use about every 3 or 4 weeks at first.. then every 6 weeks after that. Use one little tube of hot oil treatments... I put 1/2 on the bottom or ends of the hair.. and the rest near the scalp. She should lose some hair.. but not a lot. If you are loosing as much as you say.. then her hair probably isn't moist enough. So try what I said above.. and good luck. Her hair should be stronger as you go along.

Hi - you might want to consult a doctor, but chances are it's perfectly fine. Does she seem to be balding from losing this hair? If not, then I think it's just how her hair is. I've always had very long hair, and my mom told me it would shed pretty rapidly from a young age. My hair is also very strong and has broken a couple of vacuum cleaners from getting tangled up in them! My advice there is to keep on top of cutting the hair away from the bar in the vacuum. Good luck & try not to worry!

Most people lose up to a hundred a day. I am not sure about the difference in children. My daughter's hair is midlength and I do notice a little loss when she brushes her hair but nothing that worries me.
Your daughter has long hair that's weighing heavy on her head so she may lose more anyway. Also, it may be a good idea to wash her hair every other day because you shed some hair during washing that is normal but if you are only doing it once a week she is shedding it all at once.
It also seems to me it would be healthier for her scalp to have her hair washed more than just once a week.
This also may be the cause of the amount she loses. I know the more oily my hair is the more I shed.

I'm no expert, but the stylist once told me that if you pull your hair back when its wet, it promotes hair loss and breakage. She said that your hair shrinks when it dries and if you have it pulled back tight, it won't be able to flex like normal. If you aren't letting it dry, try that, and see if it helps.

Good luck!

hi, you gots lots of good stuff, dont want to repeat, i just want to mention that whatever ponytail holders or clips or whatnot that you use can be contributing to the breakage. i noticed a difference when i switched to all soft no-break, no metal parts, etc... and, just be sure it is breakage and not hair loss. if its noticable hair loss, getting thin on top, see the doc to check for a problem with her pituitary.

There is alot of conflicting advice on these responses. I have very curly hair and have always had alot problems with breakage and hair falling out. I agree with the others who said that if you are not noticing patches of hairlessness there is probably nothing to worry about.

Hair can break in the middle because it is dry, this is very different than it falling out at the root. Long hair is older than short hair and tends to be drier. Long hairs are farther away from the scalp and gets less oils from the glands on the scalp. All this contrinutes to breakage.

I only wash my hair once a week and since I switched to a shampoo free of sulfates I have noticed a huge difference. The coconut oil is probably really good for her hair and will help keep it more hydrated. A leave in conditioner would probably be good too--but the more natural it is the more benefit you will probably see.

If I were you I would keep doing what you're doing.

Myself and my daughter have very long hair and it seems like a lot of it is always coming out. My hairdresser said it's normal as long as you don't start seeing any bald patches. She also said, the more you brush it, the better it is for your hair and less will fall out. I have a very hard time brushing my daughter's hair so that was probably the problem. I use a lot of leave in conditioner and try to brush as much as possible.

I had 3 girls. All had long hair and all lost a lot each day. Some people say the longer the hair the more they lose. Not really, but you notice long hairs in the hair brush much more then you notice short hairs. This is normal. Most times if you look closely at the hairs in the brush you will not see a root on them. This means the hair is breaking, not falling out. That's normal too. She probably still has a lot of baby fine hair that breaks easily.

I always had my girls in pig tails or braids. It was so much easier to keep clean and untangled.

BTW Now that my girls are all grown into adults they all have very thick heads of hair and keep it short! I miss their braids!

Your daughter may be losing a normal amount of hair but because of it's length it appears that she is losing more than someone with shorter hair.

Hair loss can be connected to certain disorders and poor nutrition, but more commonly brushing and hair care routines are the cause for hair loss. If you have an appointment with your doctor coming up or the hair loss increases, discuss the hair loss, but also look at long hair care routines for your daughter.

Here are a few tips that many people don't know for keeping long hair healthy:
1. NEVER EVER brush your hair when it's wet.
2. Always start at the ends brushing a little (1-3 inches) at a time until you reach the top.
3. Air dry when possible and if a hair dryer is necessary use on the cool setting.
4. always remove braids and ponytails when sleeping.
5. All ponytails and braids should be done loosely
6. Trim hair every 3 months to avoid damage hair.
7. Use fingers or wide tooth comb to detangle hair. Avoid brushes where possible.
8. Wash the scalp not the hair ;) The hair will be cleaned from the suds running down off the scalp, but really the scalp is what needs the most washing.
9. Don't rub the hair with a towel after washing; blot the hair or squeeze it gently in a towel to remove excess water.
10. Wear hair loose where possible.

My daughters hair is also very long. If you put her hair in a ponytail she can not lose anyhair during the day, so when you wash it it looks like alot of hair. My daughter would lose a hand full of hair when I washed it. I also do not wash it everyday so when I do it seems like a lot. I would not worry unless you see bald spots. Good luck!

Are they falling out or just breaking?

I think one of the ladies got it perfect and gave you great tips on how to care for your daughter's hair. I think you should do those things first.

I would also add what is her nutrition like?
One spoon ful of cod liver oil with some juice - kids don't like the taste- gives thick shinny hair, strong nails and soft skin.
My mother use to give me and my sister cod liver oil every morning. Also kids today drink too much juice and not enough water. How much water is she getting in a day. And if you do give some juice buy organic apples/oranges and use the machine to make apple juice or orange juice. You can even add carrots to apple juice and your baby won't even notice. Water, fruits, vegetables, cod liver oil or fish oil gives thick and shinny hair.

Watch for allegeries. On of the effects of an allergy is loosing hair, dry, brittle skin, nails that break easily.

After you've done all of the above learn how to care for the hair with the least amount of breakage, up healty diet and check for allergens you would be better able to tell if its nothing or something.

Good Luck.

It is very normal for kids to lose hair when growing. My daughter has had long hair since she was born. Her hair has always been "butt-length" for as long as I can remember. She is almost 10 and we find her hair strands all over the house. We use to keep it pony-tailed or braided but now she only wants to let it loose which only adds to more tangling. From experience, I would suggest changing from baby shampoo (which tends to dry the scalp and makes hair pull out easily during brushing) to a moisturizing one (kids or adult shampoo) and then use a light conditioner rather than oil base one. The heaviness from the oil will attract dirt and dust quicker to weigh hair down and make it fall out easier. Good luck.

It is normal to loose up to 100 hairs a day. I would make sure her pony tail is loose and also her braid. Having hair that long makes it very heavy meaning her pony tail is probably very heavy so it could be pulling at her hairline. I would probably consider cutting it to her shoulders to take some of the weight off of and preventing it from thinning and pulling around her hairline. I am sure it is beautiful but at the same time if it is creating this type of hair loss I don't think it is a good idea to keep it that long.

First of all-- don't let people scare you about hair loss -- people lose about 100-200 hairs per day! The only exception to this that I know of is pregnancy.

Johnson's baby shampoo *does* contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which, while not toxic, per se- can cause irritation and overdrying. I really like Mustela's 2-in-1 baby shampoo. It smells great, is 'tearless' and soap free. Plus you can use it for the whole body-- yours included!

I had the same thing happen only my daughter's hair was long and very curly. I asked my pediatrician as well as a hairdresser and dermatologist and was told that if you braid, put your hair in a ponytail or put it up in general often it causes the hair to break and can damage the hair follicle. They all recommended I wash it daily or every other day and leave it down. That seemed to work except that her hair was always in her face, food, and being pulled by her little brothers.

T.

The hair loss sounds normal to me, but I have a suggestion for you. Since her hair is so long and obviously grows quickly, why not donate some? Especially with summer coming, it might be a little cooler for her. Pantene's beautiful lengths only requires 8" of hair instead of the 10 that locks of love does. Also, hair usually grows faster in the summer, so she'll have extra growth coming soon anyway. I started donating my daughters hair when she was 4, and we're getting ready for donation number 3. She just turned 7, so we average about one donation a year. She really enjoys and understands why we donate her hair, plus her hair is very thick, so when we cut it to shoulder length it's much easier for her to manage for awhile. Still long enough for ponytails too. Anyway, just a thought...