Help with Hair

Updated on November 21, 2006
T.C. asks from Alexandria, VA
16 answers

Hi everyone i need some advice, i have a beautiful 3yr old little girl who for the most part loves to take showers and baths. However we have a problem she hates having her hair washed i mean she screams when the water touches her hair and she hates when i put the shampoo in it and try to wash it. What can i do to make this easier on both her and myself?

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So What Happened?

Thank you for the advice so far.We washed her hair yesterday and i gave her a towel that she put on over her eyes and that worked wonders. She also "helped" me by wetting her hair. Thanks for the advice.

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K.J.

answers from Washington DC on

Try letting her rinse it herself in the shower instead of the tub. My daughter loves it & she does it at her own speed. I get to clean the rest of the bathroom while she takes her time backing in and out of the spray.

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S.J.

answers from Philadelphia on

The only thing I can think to do is try and have her do it herself. Sometimes my daughter puts up a fight and it's usually because she wants to be a big girl and do it by herself. I'm sure at some point (hopefully sooner than later) she'll get over it. Both of my children have gone through phases of loving & hating the bath. Good luck, I know bath time can be a huge pain if they hate it!!

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M.D.

answers from Williamsport on

My daughter screams when I wash her hair too. What I do is when I put her in the tub, I let her play for about 5 minutes. Then I wash her body and then I very very quickly wash her hair. I cant get her to lay down so I have to use my hands and a cup. I do it as quickly as possible and sing to her while I am doing it. Afterwards, I let her play for another 5 minutes. My only advice would be to do it quickly and try to keep her calm while you are doing it.

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C.L.

answers from Philadelphia on

My son also hates to have his hair washed but loves a bath. We have a squeeze bottle in the tub he loves to play with. He loves when mommy squirts water at him with it. This game allows me to wet his hair. Then when he is not looking I get the shampoo in my hand and attack him. Then it's time to play with the squirt bottle to get the shampoo out of his hair.

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K.B.

answers from Pittsburgh on

my daughter was the same way, Heres what i did. She is at the age where she is learning to count right? Well at bathtime when we would wash her hair i would use a cup to wet and rinse her hair. I would have her help me count how many cups of water it took to rinse her hair. She loved the idea of counting and forgot all about the water on her face. Try it and you never know it may work for your little girl also. Good luck let me know how it goes.

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F.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

HI MY DAUGHTER DOES THE SAME I THINK ITS JUST THE IDEA OF THE WATER ON HER FACE. WHERE DO YOU LIVE

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M.M.

answers from Erie on

Good Morning, I have three year old triplet boys that do the same thing. I put sticker on the ceiling above the tub and when I need to put water in there hair I tell them to look up and find the moon for me then I ask what color is it ,when they tell me, I tell them to find the sun and so on until I get all the soap out they are so busy looking for what I say they don't care about the water. As for the soap I let them put the soap in and then ask them if they can wash there own hair while I wash there body. Then before I rinse it out I sneak in washing it when they're looking for stickers. I hope this helps.

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T.M.

answers from Washington DC on

Hello,

First let me start by saying that my daughter use to do the same thing, I mean my grandmother use to curse me out because she thought that I was really doing something to hurt her. I tried everything and nothing really worked, as she got older I think she started to realize that it was'int really that bad. Anyway a lil about myself. I am 24 yr. old black female with 3 children, and I've been married for 1 yr. I recently finished Nursing Assistant school and I plan to attend school to become a R.N.

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N.G.

answers from Washington DC on

When my children were younger,I used to do everything at the same time: bath & hair washing
*ask her if she would like to wash it herself.
*and a little laughter would help,game playing too!
*an occational uh oh, you missed a spot....let mommy get it for you.
*along with a couple of tickles & your such a big girl,wouldn't hurt at all.
*bath time,a fun time!

Good Luck!

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D.C.

answers from Washington DC on

have you ever tried taking her to the hairdresser and seeing if she has the same reaction. Maybe if she experiences it from a completely different point of view and sees that it can be fun she might eventually get a completely different take of it. I do know that washing her hair needs to be done more then once a week but it may help ease some of the anxity for both of you and maybe trying to wash her hair so that the water doesn't run near her eyes or ears may help to. remember it is probably more of an age thing then anything else I have 3 boys and they were the same way at that age it was like pulling teeth.

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C.W.

answers from Harrisburg on

Try to make it fun for your daughter. I had the same problem with my son. I allowed him to pick out fun shampoo from the store. I bought a removeable shower head and placed a rag at the top of his head as we began to rinse out the incredible hulk shampoo. He loved it.

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T.V.

answers from Johnstown on

Hi, My son who is 4 also really hates to have his hair washed, but I find it easier if I let him do his hair by himself I help him put the shampoo on his hands then tell him to rub his hair and I pretend to be silly when I am helping him rub it all over his hair. We then get a big cup fill it with water and both of us together pour it over him. This way he is helping and really helps reduce the screaming and fighting it, because he is doing it to himself.

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L.B.

answers from Washington DC on

My daughter has a "water baby" doll that we put int he tub with her. we use the self foaming pump of shampoo and she washes her doll's head while i wash hers. and she can deispense the shampoo like i do since it is already foamy. maybe that helps, kind alike being a little mommy herself, teaching her baby its ok. or even try and show her how you wash the doll's hair and how its ok.

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C.G.

answers from Allentown on

Hi!
We have a mirror stuck to the wall of the tub (got it through One Step Ahead catalog) and she likes to watch what happens when we wash it. Plus, I let her 'help' and we sing and I rinse with a handheld shower head- makes it go much faster and there's less screaming- from both of us! ;-) Good luck! This little girl hair stuff is CRAZY!!!!!!
C.
PS- Thank your husband for me! Military people are the truest heroes we have as Americans!

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J.L.

answers from Philadelphia on

I found it easier to put her in the tub with me and wash her hair first. She felt safer, and I wasn't bending over in awkward postions. She would bend her head "wayyyyeee wayeee" back when she I was doing the top and front (bangs) part. I explained that if she puts her head back the water runs back, if she keeps it straight or forward, the water goes forward (I showed her on me). I always kept a washcloth on the tub. We also read a book every morning in the tub, and she didn't get her book read on hair wash days until we completed that task! Since having swimming lessons and starting school, she has started taking baths the night before. The swimming lessons helped with her laying back in the water. She does great, but we take "washcloth" breaks, still!

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A.V.

answers from Reading on

My daugther had the same problem... We used one of disco ball with the colored lights an turn out the bathroom light and turned on the disco ball. We told her that it was cool to have her hair washed with the disco lights going around & around. She laughed and giggled when she saw the lights... It was a nightly thing to use the disco light. She eventualy out grew the issue of washing her hair.

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