Thursday 21 July 2011

Let's talk hair...

Gimme head with hair
Long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming,
Streaming, flaxen, waxen

Give me down to there hair
Shoulder length or longer
(From the musical Hair)

So let's talk hair - more specific, toddler hair. A subject that I think have plenty of mommies literally with their hands in their hair on a regular basis. It's not just the cutting - a drama in itself, it's also just the washing, the keeping clean etc. The daily combing of little girl hair, the ponytails and all.

The boys are relatively easy for me - I cut their hair at home with a clipper (as I do Hunter's). We save heaps of money and I do believe the trauma is nothing more, but maybe less than at a hairdresser. I keep their hair very short but washing is also not without drama. The accusations of deliberately spilling shampoo in eyes never stops. Tears are guaranteed somewhere, even if it is only mommy's out of frustration. Just this sometimes, I have to admit, makes me stretch that hair wash to once a week. Yes I know, bad mommy. But I can only take so much hair related misery.

The real drama of course lies in the locks of the Princess. She has a huge a mount of very fine hair - that used to curl but now only does so if coaxed with setting lotion and a lot of spongy curlers. But it tangles - always. For no reason at all. Leave it longer than 3 days without washing and you have huge tangles. Wash it, and automatically you have huge tangles. The wonderful de-tangling comb that my kind hairdresser gave me combined with de- tangling spray helps a lot. But the crying, fighting and complaining come hair wash time is always there. Now, having learned the lesson of being the "owner" of her own body, taught by well meaning parents and teachers as we protect our children from the predators out there, is bouncing back at me. Because now I have to hear: LEAVE MY HAIR ALONE! IT'S MY BODY! Whilst simply trying to comb out and dry her hair. Eish! And then there is the everyday mini drama of brushing and fixing before school.

But long hair we shall have - I like a little girl with long hair. I also was a girl with long hair for most of my life. And she wants it long. So the fights shall continue. One thing I do know for sure - we will not be back at the length it used to be until we cut it shorter in December and once again in April. Shoulder length is fine

So how often do you wash your kids hair?



 Oh gosh, and now I have that other great song from the musical turning in my head

When the moon is in the seventh house
And jupiter aligns with mars
The peace will guide the planets and love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the age of aquarius
The age of aquarius

Aquarius
Aquarius
Enjoy! And please do not swwear at me when at 2 tomorrow morning you still find yourself singing Aquariuuuuus! Aquariuuuuus!

13 comments:

  1. Personally I would rather not talk hair ;-/

    Kiaras hair is a nightmare. We wash it once a week and she brushes it every night in the shower. But one day being tied up and its a mass of knots. It is my biggest challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thankfully I don't have girl kids :)) LOL!! 'cos I remember screaming at my mom trying to comb my tangles out

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jenty That's why I am not too harsh with her - I also remember crying huge tears as a girl.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sjoe - drama drama drama!

    Luckily we don't have it in our house.  dean washes Olivia's hair every 2nd night in the bath and it's a relatively quick and painless procedure.  We use detangling shampoo and spray and a big hairbrush and altho brushing does have her grumbling (too sore mommy, too sore!) we manage OK.  I do keep her hair relatively short tho to avoid all this drama.  Daniella know completely sorts out her own hair apart from the occasional blowdry from me.

     Am very grateful that i don't have to deal with this because i don't I would handle it very well!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thankfully I only have a boy:) But I do have memories of having those fights with my mother. I had waist length hair when I was 8 and I also swam everyday. So I really feel sorry for my poor mother having to put up with that. Thanks for the song it made my day. I have always loved Hair. Makes me cry and laugh. As Aquariun I have always adored that song.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awww _ I have to say that my princess is very good on the hair subject. She has very long hair now (half way down her back) and because she is such an active little sprite, it gets knotted up daily. But its easy to brush out and she very seldom complains! Amazes me - as I remember squealing like a wee piggy when my mother brushed mine..... x Thank heavens for small mercy's hey?

    ReplyDelete
  7. in winter we wash once a week, in summer more often. I dread the doing hair thing - dread it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Caitlyn's hair is very long and very thick and also always tangles - sigh!  She was born with a head of hair and I'm reluctant to cut it short, but in saying that when she was younger I actually cut of bits at the bottom and her fringe (which we are now trying to grow out) and I think that that helped to take away that real fine toddler hair.  Cailtyn is actually really good at sitting still when I brush / braid it and even wash it. 

    Bianca's hair tangles far less, but I guess that is because she lost her toddler hair completely when she was on chemo and then when it grew back it grew back as a bigger kid type of hair.

     

    ReplyDelete
  9. Do you live in my house? We wash once a week for exactly that reason. Andrew has learnt to keep the sjampoo out of his eyes by keeping the wash cloth over his eyes while I wash. Carmen... o wee. I dread ballet recital day- that requires at least a 45 minute stretch to do the bun. She also has lots of fine hair that knots when you blink an eye.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We wash hair every second day. Although my daughter have short hair, it still stands up in all directions when she gets up in the morning and then to comb out the hair itself, is tears all over. I totally understand where you come from regarding long hair on a girl but I hated it when I was a little girl, so now I am leaving the choice up to my daughter when she can make the choice. So for now she have short hair :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ugh, the hair thing!  My girl has long fine hair, and lots of it, just like yours!  We wash twice a week in the winter, more often in the summer (if she's been in the pool a lot or really sweaty).  She doesn't complain too much, but I also lather her head up in olive oil and creams about twice a month.  It keeps the hair a bit more soft and not so snarly.  We also braid as much as possible!  Sadly, we still sometimes have tears and I get frustrated.  Ah girl drama! 

    ReplyDelete
  12. I had short hair until I was about 10.  My mom used to cut my brother and my hair (she actually still cuts my brothers and he is not 37). She said until I could look after it myself I was not having long hair.  I am not  sure what I will do with Baby OL's.  with regards to washing it, I probably do that 2 - 3 times a week at the moment.  Thankfully there is not much of it yet. 

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sarah's hair is very fine but curly so it snarls easily. She hates having it combed or pulled back at all so she chooses to 'wear it down' most days. Thankfully because her hair is so thin and still pretty short, the detangling spray helps a great deal. Her hair has grown very, very slowly (just as mine did as a kid). Many of her friends have hair down their backs and hers doesn't even fully pass her shoulders. Love it though...but NOT the fuss and cries when combing it. For that I'm thankful its not any longer or thicker.

    ReplyDelete

So what's on your mind?