Wash Day With Children

Split it across two days

The single most effective change. Detangle and wash one evening, deep condition and style the next. Each session is short enough to stay pleasant, and neither one runs into bedtime. Many parents find the whole thing stops being a dreaded event once it is two twenty-minute jobs rather than one two-hour one.

Positioning

Where the child sits determines how long they last. A kitchen sink with a towel folded under the neck is more comfortable than a bathtub for most ages and keeps water off their face, which is what younger children object to most. A handheld shower attachment gives control. For an older child, the shower with a visor or a washcloth held over the eyes works. Whatever you choose, get the height right so you are not bending over them for an hour, since your comfort determines your patience.

Section before water

Detangle and part into four to eight sections, twisted or clipped, before anything gets wet. Wash and condition section by section, keeping each one twisted while you work on the next. Loose hair washed as one mass tangles, and untangling it wet with a tired child is the worst part of a bad wash day. This one habit removes most of the difficulty.

Keep the product list short

A gentle shampoo, a conditioner with good slip, a deep conditioner, a leave-in and a moisturizer or styling cream. That is the whole list. Children's hair does not need a shelf of products, and every additional product is another pass through the head. Buy larger sizes of a few things rather than small sizes of many.

Under an hour

Detangle before wash day, not during. Section first. Use a spray bottle rather than running water for refreshing. Have everything laid out before you start so you are not hunting for a comb mid-session. Style into something that lasts a week or more, so wash day comes around less often. And decide in advance what you are doing, since improvising with a child in a chair is what makes it run long.