One of the most common questions I get from mums about their child’s hair is “What types of styles can I do on my child’s hair?” or “My baby has very full hair when can I start styling her hair?” I know you can’t wait to start putting all kinds of colourful hair accessories on your child’s hair but it important to know when is the best time and what styles will help nurture your child’s hair in the long run. I would like to mention here that prior to styling your child’s hair, it is important to consider three main factors namely;
A) Safety,
B) Comfort and
C) Presentation/Beauty, in this order.
Why?
The fact is, the scalp of an infant (or any growing child) is very tender and is constantly going through a series of developmental changes, especially for the first few months of their lives. Because of this, the hair follicles present on your child’s scalp are very sensitive. These delicate follicles will react negatively
by not being able to perform the proper function of producing healthy hair strands, when put under tension and excessive manipulation.
So here are my recommendations for styling your little princess’s hair.
1. Simple Afro: It is important to leave your child’s hair for the first 5 months of his/her life in a simple afro no matter how long or full it looks. Keep styling to a minimum by simply decorating your child’s hair with cute hair bows, hair bands or hair pins with smooth clips.
Don’t be tempted to start styling your baby’s hair too early. Complicated styles or seemingly simple styles (like little puffs) could damage their hair follicles, which leads to poor hair growth or even worse, excessive hair loss. In addition to that, little puffs still leave the ends of your child’s hair exposed to harsh conditions that could result in dryness and excessive breakage.
2. Single Two Strand Twists: Single two strand twist is the most common hair style for African textured hair and it is recommended for babies and children for a number of reasons. The first is that single twists are easy to achieve and can be done on hair that is up to 2 inches long. The second reason is that it is easier on your child’s delicate scalp, it has a very mild hold and therefore will not cause tension on your child’s scalp. Another reason is that it helps to achieve a defined curl pattern in form of cute twist-outs when it is unravelled properly.
3. Single Braids: Single braids is another great style to put your child’s hair in, although it may have a tighter hold on your child’s scalp than the twist. The steps to achieve single braids is quite similar to that for the twists only that you have three strands instead of two as in the
twists.
So that’s it! Did you find this helpful? Please let me know in the comments section below.
If you are looking to be equipped with more information on how tackle your child’s specific hair care
challenges, you could enrol in my FREE email course, BECOMING A PRO HAIR CARE MUM. This course is super packed with what you need to know, to take full charge of your child’s hair care. Send me an email of any kind of questions or concerns about your child’s hair care to munaandluchi@gmail.com
I can’t wait to hear from you!
