Dealing with our hair and hair cutting while lockdown continues

I'm a proud mama.  All my kids have gorgeous locks of beautiful multi-tonal auburn, blonde and brown hair.  They are gorgeous.  Lockdown means it's been too long between hair cuts for most people.  But given two of our kids have autism and with that a large range of sensory needs we've been cutting hair at home for years.  So here's my tips for dealing with their hair; brushing, washing and cutting and the things we use so you can do it too.

Getting hair ready to cut

Looking after a kids hair when they don't like getting touched, pulled or possibly even getting wet can be really challenging.

We are fortunate that neither of the boys' hair tangles or knots.  But Jane's definitely does.  Indeed she has the most knotted hair in the family without a doubt. And that's how we found detangle hairbrushes.

If you like using a regular shaped hair brush which can be helpful for familiarity reason's then the Tangle Tamer is great.   For less strokes go with a Tangle Teezer - it's got a bigger surface area and so the hair needs less brushing to get rid of the tangles.  Both these makes removing tangles and knots relatively tug free and that's a big bonus.  The bristles are soft and generally make brushing any of kids hair easier.

Our last help is that Vosene do a 'conditioning defence spray' which is meant to condition the hair and protect against headlice.  While I'm wondering if headlice will have become extinct during lockdown (please please please) we use it because it makes Jane's hair really smooth and helps the detangle brush glide through her hair with ease.  Child's Farm also do a detangle spray, but I've not tried it yet.

Cutting

While Anthony managed to go to the hairdressers, it's always been impossible for David.  There's just too much going on, he doesn't trust what's happening or anything going on near his head like this. We couldn't even make the Skylarks hairdressing sessions which were really helpful for some kids.

However, we did find calming clippers - and they work great.  And during the lockdown, all the guys in our home have had their hair cut with them.  They are scissors that have been adapted so they have them same guides on them that electric razors do.  These scissors mean almost anyone can give a relatively even haircut.

You use the guides to cut the hair in grades.  The trickier part is then blending between grades (eg from a grade 3 on the side to a 5 on top for example) but it's much easier than free handing.  You can still also have the hair pretty long too as it goes up to a grade 6.

The scissors are great by themselves and I use them afterwards for trimming around the neck and ears (be very careful around the ears!).

Washing the hair 

After the hair cut, we need to shower or wash the kids hair.  This can also be challenging.   We still use no-tears shampoos aimed at babies because we find they are the softest and easiest to get out with only a little rinsing.  Some of the ones that smell nice or foam make is easier too as it can calm the kids and be a bit more fun. Our favourite at the moment if actually the Child's Farm range as they smell so lovely and are very good for the kids sensitive skin.

If washing hair has always been a disaster and too much after the stress of the hair cut, you could try using the special an option then you can try Dignity waterless shampoo. This removes the need for any shampooing or rinsing. Unlike dry shampoo which is for sprucing up between washes, waterless shampoo can be used indefinitely. It goes on dry hair like a mousse, brushed through and then instead of rinsing the cut hair out you can blast it out hair dryer.  Sounds odd, but our sensory is not so good with water on his head but loves being blasted with a hair dryer.

Have you got any tips?

All the products mentioned in this post have been purchased by us and are included solely on merit and our opinion of them. We hope you find our thoughts helpful.