Using Natural Botanical Oils to Condition Your Baby’s Scalp & Hair

Bath time with babies and toddlers can be fun and playful, and you’ll want to keep the wonderful feeling even as it becomes time for shampooing and conditioning. Babies don’t come with instruction manuals so when it comes time to grooming, you may feel uncertain. If you’re not sure about the basics, a good guide for babies is to wash their hair once or twice a week which should do the trick. For toddlers who are more mobile and curious and who seem to find dirt, you may have to shampoo and condition their hair three times a week, says Parenting.com.

Step One: Shampoo

Baby shampoo does not contain sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) which is used to create the luxurious lather that many people enjoy; however, it tends to dry out the scalp, according to WomensHealthMag. Since baby shampoo does not contain this ingredient, instead it uses amphoteric surfactants which is considered safer than SLS. The pHbalance of baby shampoo is such that it won’t irritate your child’s eyes if some finds its way there, which is good. The cleaning ingredients are designed for a baby’s oily scalp and can be harsh and leave hair tangled.

Believe it or not, while shampoo cleans your hair, it can also tend to dry it out and leave your scalp without its natural oil. So, while you’re cleaning out the spaghetti sauce on your baby’s head, you’ll also want to follow up with a conditioner to restore the hair to its silky softness that you love. You might think that because a baby shampoo is “tear-free” and “gentle” that it’s super mild and therefore you don’t need to follow up with a conditioner. The truth is that baby shampoos are designed for the baby scalp which produces more oil than an adults, and it can tend to make the scalp drier.

Special Grooming Ideas For Toddlers With Curly Hair

If your baby has curly hair, shampooing can cause the hair to really dry out, says NaturallyCurly.com. To combat that, they recommend substituting a LowPoo (a very small amount of shampoo) every so often for a standard shampooing, or even using conditioner as shampoo. Simply apply the conditioner and finger it through the hair, gently massaging the scalp and ensuring that every hair strand is coated. Try this and you’ll see amazing results in your toddler’s locks. Of course, before you begin the bathing routine, and the shampooing and conditioning, make sure that you have all of your supplies handy as you don’t want to ever leave your child unattended in the water. Also, leave the towel, diaper and change of clothes nearby.

Condition To Relieve Cradle Cap

To shampoo your child, place a small amount of product on your baby’s hair. Next, very gently massage the product in a relaxing circular motion. To rinse, use a plastic cup to fill up, or your cupped hand, to gently rinse off the shampoo. If your baby has cradle cap, which is flaky red patches of skin, it’s very common and easy to treat. According to WebMD, before a bath you can massage a bit of petroleum jelly, olive oil, or baby oil into your baby’s scalp to loosen the dry skin. You could also massage a conditioner such as The Honest Company’s conditioner into your baby’s scalp, pre-shampoo, as this plant-based product contains argan oil, Shea butter and murumur seed butter, all botanicals that will pamper your baby’s scalp. Never use oils or lotions derived from nut products before your child is 5 years old. This condition has the perfect trifecta of natural ingredients to treat cradle cap.

The Ingredient Trifecta To Treating Cradle Cap Naturally

Shea butter is a wonderful natural solution to help nourish and protect your baby’s delicate skin. You can use it from head to toe on your baby, protecting your baby’s bottom from diaper rash, or if your baby develops cradle cap. Daily Shea butter massages will help keep your baby’s skin healthy and is a wonderful bonding experience for the two of you.

On top of this, argan oil can soothe inflamed skin of a cradle cap, repairing, moisturizing and revitalizing it. It absorbs quickly into the skin and has a nongreasy texture. Argan oil is fantastic for babies’ sensitive skin, keeping it soft and fresh. Because Argan Oil is extremely high in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, it’s beneficial for many skin issues, including cradle cap.

Murumur seed butter has the texture of butter and works to keep moisture in skin and soften its texture. Derived from a Brazilian Palm Tree, and its benefits are similar to palm oil. Given the triple whammy of these ingredients, using conditioner on your baby has never been a better idea.