5 Steps to Help Create A Seamless Wash Day for Your Child
Working with the tiniest humans in our lives can be full of challenges, especially when it involves the cleansing, conditioning and styling of their natural hair. This blog post will outline five steps that you can take for your next wash day to make cleansing a breeze—both for you and your child.
Step #1: Pre-Poo
Pre-poo or detangler is used to help address any matting or tangling with hair. For example, if your child hasn’t had their hair cleansed in 2 weeks or more, worn braids or other alternative style for an extended period, it would be ideal to pre-poo their hair prior to shampooing.
“Pre-pooing your child’s hair prior to shampooing is ideal, as doing so will help minimize matting and tangles that could occur if you started with shampoo.”
To pre-poo with conditioner, we suggest first wetting your hands with water, dispersing 1-2 pumps of conditioner into your hand, emulsify (rub the product between your hands), and grab a small section of hair and begin at the ends by working your wet hands and conditioner into the hair, gently pulling the hair apart with your fingers. This is the beginning step in the Wash Hour Process, and expect to continue to detangle throughout the remaining steps.
Step #2: Shampoo
An all purpose or a moisture poo (depending on the frequency in which the hair is cleansed), will determine your product of choice depending on how long you have gone between cleansing sessions and how dirty your hair is.
“An all purpose shampoo has the ability to remove dirt, oil, build up and environmental debris on a regular basis.”
Based on our experience as mothers of small humans ourselves and the caregivers we’ve engaged with digitally, 2-4 weeks seems the frequency that most individuals are currently cleansing their children’s hair. We want you all to know that the best frequency is what works for your lifestyle and the amount of energy you have to execute a Wash Hour. Please don’t hold yourselves to 1 hour though, but expect to shave time off the entire process with our professional guidance.
Lastly, because of the frequency that most caregivers are cleansing their children’s hair, you will likely be using an all purpose shampoo during each wash session. The reason for this being is that for a child’s activity level, it will remove any dirt, oil, build-up, and environmental debris from the hair, while also helping to streamline Wash Hour for you and your little.
Step #3: Conditioner
In this step we use our rinse out conditioner to seal the moisture (water) and add much needed emollients and humectants into the hair.
Once all of the shampoo or cleansing conditioner has been rinsed from the hair, leave all the water in the hair (do not dap or pat dry!) and immediately apply your conditioner. Depending on the formula of the conditioner and the density of your child’s hair, one to three golf ball size applications of product will likely be enough.
Note: All of the conditioners included on our curated product list are incredibly concentrated. Adjust your amount used based on the length and density of your child’s hair. Be sure to add plenty of water to your child’s hair after application to create a rich foamy texture for the conditioner for you to detangle.
Step #4: Detangling
There are individuals who prefer to detangle at this stage with their fingers, and there are others that prefer to use tools. We are very realistic that there are many tight curl naturals who cannot and will not effectively finger detangle their own hair. There’s no wrong or right way to do it. We encourage you to choose a detangling method that aligns with how you want to work with your child’s hair. Also, it’s important to keep in mind what you have time for.
Can we be honest for a moment? Thorough finger detangling is hard. Especially if you have responsibilities, hobbies or even a halfway life you want to be living. Giving 1-2 hours to painstakingly detangle your child’s hair just isn’t realistic and we have a tendency to gloss over prime problem areas with our children’s patience getting very low.
Proper and patient tool usage assists in the complete removal of shed hair without damage to the hair. Start at the ends and work slowly up the hair shaft in small sections. If you encounter resistance or a knot, put the tool down and concentrate on separating the knot and dislodging the shed hair that’s been caught up. Once the knot is resolved, resume the tool detangling.
In the salon we are loving the authentic Tangle Teezer, Brush With The Best (Felicia Leatherwood) Brush, and exclusively for our fine lower density clients The Wet Brush. Once the shed hair has been completely removed, then we can finger detangle/smooth the hair and prepare it for styling.
Step #5: Styling
Setting the hair is taking the hair from wet to dry in a form. Styling is what is done with the hair once it is dry.
What is a set and how does it apply to natural hair?
A set is just the physical transformation of the hair from wet to dry. It refers to the application of a tool to the hair to create artificial texture or a technique to enhance the natural texture of the hair.
Setting is the foundation of all we do with our hair, but it isn’t always the style. When we set the hair, we’re looking to create our desired hair shape (curl, coil, wave, crimp, swoop, slickback, etc) and we are also thinking about how we want to place that hair in the direction we want it to lay, and how we are going to manipulate the finished set to style it in the way we want to present ourselves.
The Six Setting Techniques That Matter to Natural Hair
Hydrate & Define (Aka Wash & Go)
Coil
Twist
Braid
Knot
Tool
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