It’s your child’s first protective style, and you are excited but nervous about the process. You want your youngin’ to look good but not at the expense of putting them through discomfort. We’ve got you! In today’s article, we’ll take you through the necessary things to do to make sure your child enjoys their first protective styling. So, sit tight, and let’s do this.
1. INVOLVE THEM
Depending on the child’s age or how quickly they understand things, make them a part of the process. Show them cute hairstyles and help them select the one they like. When kids are involved in picking out their hairstyle, it can make them more excited to get their hair done.
2. GET THEM TO STAY STILL
Let’s face it, many younger kids are (hyper) active and do not like staying in one spot for long, and this can be frustrating whether you’re the one styling their hair or it’s at the hairdresser’s. Give them their favorite book or play cartoons on an iPad to get them to sit still. You can also sneak some snacks into their hands to get them to cooperate. It works like magic!
IMAGE SOURCE: LIBBY HAIR CARE
3. PREP THEIR HAIR
Ensure your child’s hair is clean and thoroughly detangled before you begin. This is because styling tangled hair is painful to the child, stressful to your arm, time-consuming, and all-around frustrating. So, that’s a total no. Dirty hair can cause itching, which is uncomfortable for your child and takes away from the fresh look of a new hairstyle.
4. BE GENTLE
When it comes to parting the lines, combing, and styling, you will have to be gentle, which may require more patience than usual. While we understand that you want the hairstyle to last for a long time so you don’t want to have to worry about doing their hair soon, you also don’t want your child in pain, which can be caused by pulling, twisting, braiding, or holding the hair too tight.
Styling the hair too tightly can also create little bumps on the tender scalp of your child. Don’t sacrifice comfort on the altar of long-lasting hair. Besides, except they’re older, kids will always be kids, including messing up their hair. Sorry, Mom, Dad, but that’s how kids are.
5. USE CHILD-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS
Do not use just any products on your child’s hair, as many products are formulated with harsh ingredients that can be detrimental to your child’s hair and scalp. Instead, go for child-friendly products that are gentle to your child’s hair.
6. AVOID USING HEAT TOOLS
Heat tools can damage the hair, but they can also burn your child’s hair and scalp. If the protective style your child is doing requires using hot water to straighten the ends of the hair, make sure you’re careful with it. The saying, “Beauty is pain,” does not apply to kids, so avoid it together if you can by using heatless methods.
7. DECORATE THE HAIR
After styling, decorate your child’s hair with ouchless bands, hair clips, barrettes, beads, and other colorful accessories that would animate the protective style. Children’s hairstyles should always look as lively and fun as can be.
IMAGE SOURCE: @IS RUTINA
8. LAY THEIR EDGES
This can be optional, but it is a great finishing touch to the hairstyle. It keeps flyaways in front neatly laid. It also adds beauty to the hairstyle.
9. HAVE AN AFTERCARE ROUTINE
As we said earlier, many younger kids tend to mess up their hairstyles because that’s just how kids can be. However, you can make your child’s protective style last longer by following up with an aftercare routine. You can moisturize the hair daily to keep the style looking fresh and use a soft brush and hair gel to tame flyaways.
For bedtime, wrap the hair up in a satin scarf or wear a satin bonnet on your child’s hair, as this helps to prevent matting, tangles, and frizz as they sleep. When it’s bathtime or shower time, have your child wear a shower cap to keep water splashes from getting into the hair and ruining the hairstyle. Finally, when it’s time to remove the protective style, do so gently, using a detangler to moisturize and help soften knots, making it easier to undo them.
CHILD-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR LITTLE ONE
TALIAH WAAJID KINKY, WAVY & NATURAL FOR CHILDREN TANGLES OUT TODAY ALL NATURAL LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER & DETANGLER
LUSTER’S PINK KIDS FRIZZ FREE CURLING CREME
JUST FOR ME NATURAL HAIR MILK SOOTHING SCALP BALM
SHEAMOISTURE COCONUT & HIBISCUS KIDS 2in1 CURL AND SHINE SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER
