The Shampoo Alternative for When Your Toddler Refuses Hair Washing

I'm not the only mom in the world who has a strong-willed toddler when it comes to bathtime and washing hair. I know there are some frustrated mommas out there who can relate and who are looking for a solution that keeps their child's hair clean but still respects their child's no-hair-washing boundary. There are some hygiene things we just have to get done for the well-being of our kiddos, but I prefer to do these things as peacefully and respectfully as possible. Afterall, a big goal is to raise children with body autonomy, right? We don't want to undermine our message of body autonomy by ignoring our children's boundaries.

So what can you do when you've tried all the hair-washing tricks and nothing works?

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The solution:

Ditch conventional hair washing. Instead, before bathtime, rub some arrowroot powder in your child's hair. It doesn't take much! Arrowroot powder will soak up excess oil. Then while your child plays in the bath, just run your wet hands over their hair until their hair is wet but water isn't running down their face. If your kiddo doesn't like their hair wet at all, you can skip this part, but I suggest using a boar bristle brush to brush the arrowroot powder out of their hair so they don't look powdery.

(Note: my child is white. I'm not sure if this will work the same on black hair, so if anyone tries this with black hair, please let me know!)

Plus, this is a win on a whole other level too because it's all-natural and only one ingredient so you can feel good knowing your child isn't soaking up any shady ingredients found in conventional shampoo. 

There you have it! [EDITED TO ADD: This is all I've been using on my own hair too, and my hair feels and looks better than ever.)

My two-year-old hated having his hair washed because he'd always get water and shampoo in his eyes. Bathtime was a struggle and something I avoided for as long as possible (We Americans bath too much anyway, right?), and his hair would get so oily. But since using arrowroot powder, he doesn't fight bathtime, and he comes out of it with beautiful clean hair. 

Do you have any peaceful hair-washing tips? Share with me in the comments or let me know how this trick worked for you. If you found this post helpful, please pin and share it!

Related post: How to Peacefully Get Boogies Out of Your Toddler's Nose