Some of the tips for infant’s faster hair growth include detangling curls, applying oil on dry scalp, using baby shampoos, applying homemade conditioners, applying aloe vera, gelatin and hair cuts from time to time, etc.
Babies may be born with a head full of thick hair or just a few scraggly strands, but within the first six months, this hair falls out. Newborn hair loss is perfectly normal. In its place, new hair grows which may have a completely different texture and color.
Parents often panic when the baby hair falls out, suspecting unnatural hair fall or hair thinning. But rest assured, it is as natural as baby teeth falling out. It is not known exactly why this falling out and replacement of hair takes place, it is likely to do with the changing hormone levels in the first few months.
Sometimes bald spots occur on the back of the infants’ heads because of laying on the back for extended periods of time. While asleep, it is always recommended to lay the infant on his back, let him rest on his stomach when awake. This will reduce bald spots and prevent flattening of the back of the head, although neither of these is harmful. If you want your little infant to start growing a lush mane of silken hair, here are some things you could do.
Here are some tips and remedies for your infant’s hair growth.
1.Detangle the curls
Infants spend a lot of the time lying on their back, fidgeting. On top of that, their hair is rather wispy, fine and gossamer-like. As a result, their hair gets very easily tangled. And these tangles, if left unheeded, would soon form uncompromising knots that you may eventually have to cut away to detangle the hair. So it is wiser to do the following things:
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- Detangle your infant’s curls before such severe knots are formed.
- Do not wash your infant’s hair too much or use too much soap, as it tends to make the hair rough in texture and thereby, the curls more difficult to untangle.
- Use a soft baby brush to comb the hair and do it in smooth, gentle motions. Sometimes little babies become restless when you comb their hair. It is wise to tell a story while doing this, a fairy tale that revolves around the rewards of brushing hair regularly. Combing hair increases blood circulation in the scalp. This helps in strengthening the hair follicles, which are like roots of hair strands.
2. Baby shampoo
Your baby probably doesn’t play much around in the dirt too often, yet. But it is important to maintain a clean scalp, nonetheless, to encourage good hair growth. So shampoo your infant’s hair once a week.
Read More:How Frequently Should I Shampoo My Infant’s Hair?
Precautions to be taken while shampooing your infant’s hair
- Make sure to use tear-free baby shampoos. Try to buy shampoos that have organic ingredients like botanical surfactants and oils.Shampoos with mild smelling essential oils like lavender and chamomile have a calming effect on the infants.
- Babies generally don’t like too much suds filling their ears on trickling down to their eyes, so even if the shampoo is tear-free, keep a wet towel handy to wipe away the suds from their foreheads.
- Try to distract the baby with rubber ducks or bath toys while you shampoo. Gently wash the shampoo and massage the scalp while rinsing.
3. Homemade conditioning
Conditioning is not completely necessary, but if your baby’s hair is dry or very curly, or if the weather is affecting the texture of his hair, you can try some homemade conditioners to give it an extra shine. Conditioning also makes your work easier on the detangling front.
You can try one of these homemade deep conditioning treatments for your infant:
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- Mix half a cup of pure honey and half a cup of extra virgin olive oil. Combine these very well with a whisk. Apply it on your infant’s hair and gently massage his scalp with your fingertips. Let it stay for fifteen minutes before rinsing off.
- Mash a ripe banana with two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a tablespoon of honey. Add a small dollop of Greek yogurt to it. Mix these well into a smooth paste and apply this on the hair. Keep for ten minutes and then wash off.
- Take the pulp of an avocado, mix it with coconut milk and a tablespoon of honey into a viscous but liquid paste. Apply this on the hair and keep it for fifteen minutes. After that, use shampoo to wash hair.
4. Aloe vera
Aloe vera is very good for skin and hair and if you can pot an aloe vera plant in your garden or terrace, you will be able to use this pure aloe vera juice for your infant’s hair care.
How to use Aloe Vera for infant hair growth:To use aloe vera juice, scoop out the fleshy insides of the aloe vera leaves and blend it with distilled water. You will get a thick juice. Wash your infant’s hair with this at the end of his bath. Soon you will be able to see the benefits of aloe vera. You can also make a conditioner out of aloe vera pulp.
Read More:Health Benefits of Aloe Vera Juice for Women and Kids
5. Gelatin for faster infant hair growth
It is a little known fact that gelatin is actually very good for hair. It has two essential amino acids called proline and glycine, which people, especially infants whose diet relies mostly on liquid carbohydrates, do not consume adequately. These amino acids are responsible for healthy hair growth in infants among other things like strengthening the immune system.
Read More:Top 11 Oils for Baby Hair Growth
How to use Gelatinfor infant hair growth: Toincorporate gelatin into your infant’s hair care regime, mix gelatin powder with equal parts of cold water and hot water and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and honey each. This liquid must then be massaged on to the scalp and allowed to dry out for a few minutes. Following that, shampoo as usual.
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6. Experiment with baby hair care products
Even though you may have been recommended a particular shampoo or oil, it may be the best one for your infant. Do not be shy of trying out new products and compare results. Actually, we have different textures of hair and the different ingredients in different shampoos react differently to our hair. So while a curly haired person may find one shampoo suitable, a straight haired person may find best results on using another shampoo. The same principle applies to infants’ hair. When you start shampooing, buy a bunch of small sachets or bottles of different shampoos and try them once a week. You’ll know which product suits your baby most.
Read More:11 Natural Hair Care Regime for Toddlers
7. Do not use heat
If you feel tempted to blow dry your baby’s hair, don’t. Blow drying or applying any kind of heat is not healthy for adults either, but being pressed for time, we may need to resort to it. But for kids, there is never such an urgent need so do not foist it on them. Air drying is the best way to dry hair and it minimizes tangles too.
8. Haircuts
There is no scientific evidence that supports a direct correlation between cutting of hair and thickening of hair, but it has been claimed by many. Perhaps, the logic here is that shaping and styling hair leads to an appearance of thicker, more lush hair. Whatever be the idea, it cannot be denied that getting a trim once in a while does wonders to your hair. If you are weary of wielding scissors and your infant is restless, take him to salons specialized in giving baby haircuts.
Read More:21 Cool Kids Haircuts
9. Eating healthy
Healthy eating leads to healthy hair, no matter what your age. So make sure your baby eats plenty of healthy proteins like salmon, eggs and spinach. Vitamin D is also required for healthy hair, so baby walnuts, sweet potatoes, almonds, carrots, apricots and pumpkin should all find a way into your baby’s regular diet. If your infant still eats semi solid food, you can make cook these ingredients- mix and match to enhance flavor- season with a little bit of salt and make a paste.
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10.Oil for dry scalp
Sometimes the problem lies in the scalp, instead of the hair. Dry, itchy scalp can lead to vigorous scratching on the kid’s part which leads to hair loss. Check your infant’s scalp regularly for dryness or any other abnormal texture. If your little one has dry scalp, try oil massages every alternate day. Buy baby oils because they are lighter. You can add castor oil, which increases hair growth. If you can find baby oils with Indian Gooseberry or almond, use them.
Read and choose the best hair oil for your baby- Top 11 Oils for Baby Hair Growth
11. Some other tips
Apart from these, you can try out these tips to give your infant a head full of thick hair in no time.
- Tie up hair, but loosely. Often parents braid their infants’ hair in tight plaits. It can cause damage to the roots and hair uprooting from the point of maximum tension.
- Do not make drastic diet changes to ensure good hair growth. Hair grows in different rates in different kids, so there is no need to panic.
- Dairy products like yogurt help in healthy hair growth as they are good sources of calcium
- Keep your little one hydrated by drinking five glasses of water every day. Fruit juices should also be given once a day.
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