Let's be honest, sometimes, wash day can definitely feel like a chore. So, when it comes around and it’s for the hair of your beautiful daughter, it is great to know you can keep it straightforward.

For a simple and successful wash day routine that continues to nourish and look after your daughter’s hair and scalp, we recommend our Cleanse, Condition, Moisturise and Style formula.

So read on or simply watch our video to discover how to best look after your daughter's hair: 

1. Cleanse and Condition

It is important for your daughter’s hair to be washed every 7-10 days with a gentle Sulphate free shampoo, some parents do note that their children’s hair still thrives when washed every two weeks, its about keeping the scalp clean and creating a healthy environment for hair to grow.

Step 1: Massage the shampoo into your daughter’s scalp in a circular motion. Doing this dislodges dirt and encourages blood flow to the scalp.

Step 2: Follow up with a conditioner like Swirl, our Silicone-free Conditioner, which has a lot of slip this helps to make tangling simpler. If you ever do choose to use a deep conditioning treatment on your daughter never leave it in for longer than the specified instructions because leaving hair wet for too long can weaken it.

Step 3: Gently detangle their hair with your fingers or with a wide tooth comb, this minimises manipulation. Once you’ve rinsed off the conditioner gently squeeze out excess water.

Step 4: Dry their hair quickly by wrapping their hair with a microfibre or turban towel. Microfibre towels cause less fiction and are much softer and your child's hair strands in comparison to normal towels. This also means less or no heat damage because you do not have to use a blow dryer as microfibre towels absorb more water and reduce rates.

We really encourage you to avoid heat as it can damage Afro hair but you choose to use heat on your daughter’s hair remember they should wrap their hair with a microfibre towel for 20 to 30 minutes to soak up all the excess water from your daughter’s hair.

2. Moisturise Regularly

And the once her hair is clean and almost dry this time of the most important part of your daughter’s Afro hair routine, moisturising. Hair like skin needs to be moisturised adequately so it is essential to make sure that her hair is well moisturised.

We recommend layering on products in what we like to call the LOC method:

L – Liquid

Apply a water-based moisturising product (usually a spray is best as it makes applying easier). Why water based you ask? This is because all hair is made up of protein bundles together with hydrogen and disulphide bonds, which means it is important to keep the hair full of moisture that regenerate and protect the hydrogen bonds, for this water is the most effective moisturiser.

We recommend Sheen water-based blend of aloe vera juice, grape seed oil, and essential oils.

O – Oil

The seal in the moisture with an oil. Water evaporates very easily from the hair, so it is important to use a relatively thick oil blend to seal in the moisture. The best blends contain olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil and jojoba oil.

Seal contains all of these and more so it’s our top recommendation, it has been voted the top of the indie best oil for Afro hair because it: “penetrates the hair shaft leaves your strengths feeling hydrated and super soft, and it remains that way for hours afterwards.”

C – Cream

Layer on the cream. The cream should be a water-based moisturiser that isn’t as fluid as the product used in the liquid stuff. A moisturising cream or leave in conditioner can definitely do the trick. We recommend Smooth, it is a blend of coconut oil olive extract and organic fair-trade shea butter. This means it leaves hair soft and fully moisturised.

Don't forget to check out our Moisture Surge Set which has everything that you need to perfect the LOC/LCO method. 

3. Cute Style and Good Protection

When deciding how to style your daughter’s hair it’s important to consider what she’ll be doing throughout the week. Will there be a friend’s party, or a small family gathering, or ballet performance that she’ll be going to where you want her hair to look cute? Or is it simply another school week?

A protective style or low manipulation hairstyle is always a good idea when doing your child's hair. Protective styles vary they can be twists braids or cornrows. The goal of a protective style is that your daughter’s hair ends (the most fragile part of her) will be protected and tucked away.

Just make sure that when you do style your child's hair the accessories you use are friendly for curly/afro hair like our Essential Accessories Pack. Make sure to use bands that do not have metal in them as Afro hair tends to get stuck and break when those are used.  

There you have it a routine that doesn’t need to take all day, enjoy and good luck!!

More Articles: 

 7 Easy Back-to-school Hairstyles for Natural Hair

A quick and simple Afro hair style for kids

How to care for your child's afro hair to prevent nits and head lice