“Tough one for you guys tonight?” was the message I received from our neighbour one evening a few months back just after we’d taken the plug out. You see, our kids can eat breakfast at midday, travel 18 hours by car to Spain, camp out in cold temperatures – all without batting an eyelid. But have their hair washed? Forget it.
For some reason, hair washing in our household prompts proper belly wrenching screams from our two older children (aged 5 and 7). It just makes them flail and flinch, and honestly the whole process is traumatic for everyone involved! They can’t tell us exactly what they don’t like about it; they just dread it, and so do we. Every time hair wash swings around – yup, we drag it out as long as we can and embarrassingly wait weeks between washes – I wonder what has caused so much trauma to be associated with what we tell them is actually a really lovely moment. (Man, I love getting my hair washed – by anyone going!)
The good news though is that things are starting to improve and I’m beginning to realise a few key learnings. Firstly, instead of trying to wash their hair for them, I now let them do it by themselves using a mug and gradually pouring the water over their hair – goodbye shower head! I also now always have a towel and various flannels on hand to cover their eyes and I think I have finally drummed it into them that they need to tip their head BACKWARDS, not forwards to avoid water going in their eyes (insert mildly sweaty mum emoticon). Finally, I think I was going wrong when it came to the product; I used to use a tiny blob of adult shampoo and conditioner which not only was likely causing stinging to their eyes, but was also probably unnecessarily overcomplicating the process by using two separate products. I now use a gentle, all in one shampoo and body wash by Weleda containing extract of hand picked organic calendula and sweet almond oil. The entire Weleda Calendula baby range, including nappy cream, baby oil, face cream and more, is 100% certified natural, free from synthetic preservatives, fragrances, colourants or artificial additives of any kind. Harnessing the healing power of plants, such as calendula, it’s perfect for children with sensitive skin. Furthermore, the entire range has been developed with the assistance of physicians and midwives, and has been dermatologically tested.
So where are we at? Hair washing has become a lot more manageable and even, dare I say it, O-K-A-Y. Giving the kids the independence to do it themselves, with the right gentle product, has made a huge difference and hopefully those messages from my neighbours will be no more. I’ll report back!
Finally, I wanted to briefly share a little bit about Weleda, a company I’ve always loved and who I look to as the original green beauty brand, mainly owing to their epic Skin Food product.
Founded in 1921 by Rudolf Steiner (the same man who started Steiner Schools, which some of you reading this may be familiar with), the company is based on the ideology of anthroposophy which is a spiritual world view named and formulated by Steiner himself which translates as ‘the wisdom of man’ (in Greek, “anthropos” means man and “sophia'” wisdom). In practice, this means the exploration of the spiritual realm through science, and encompasses anyone looking to live holistically and in harmony with nature. When you add to this philosophy the pioneering organic biodynamic farming methods and cultivation, the ingredients, and the supply chains, Weleda is a company that 100 years ago really set the standards for organic and ethical business practices that exist today. They’re even ahead of the game when it comes to microbeads contained in peels, scrubs and exfoliators.
What are your kids like with hair washing?
Emma xxx
P.S Check out some of Weleda’s Nature courses, they look fab. For example, The Art of Compost Making, yes please!
This post is sponsored by Weleda. It’s a brand I have always loved and I am psyched and grateful to be partnering with them! Thank you so much reader for being here.
My little boy hates having his hair washed too. I’ve resorted to doing it really quickly, but leave big gaps in between washes, normally just wipe it with a cloth. But might try welda now!