Use a shampoo shower nozzle:
"I use the detachable shampoo shower nozzle that hair stylists use. It's a shower head on a long vinyl tube; the other end attaches to any faucet. You can find them in most beauty supply stores (Sally's etc.) but I bought mine on Amazon.com for $8. I bought it for washing my then-toddlers hair bc she screamed so much otherwise. We have a faucet at the base of the tub and attach it there and leave it. But you could store it under the sink as well. I've also attached it to the sink faucet to rinse out my own conditioning treatment etc, without having to get in the tub. The best part is she's 4 now and loves to bathe with it bc it gives her sense of control over the water flow/direction (and its fun to spray things). Two tips:
#1 if your tub faucet is large, run the rubber attachment (the end that goes on the faucet) under hot water for a minute or 2 to soften it. Then it stretches and pops right onto the tub faucet. once it cools it has a nice tight fit. i thought i had to return it until somebody shared that tip with me.
#2 - water flow can't be too high or else it'll make it come off."
Buy special products intended for washing infants' hair:
"I bought what looked like a large rubber mug made just for this reason. I used the tub water or just ran the tub spigot more and filled up this mug and she leaned her head back just a little and I poured it over her head. She actually liked it and tried to do it herself sometimes (not a good idea). By 4 she was taking showers so only temporary."
"Munchkin makes a pitcher that looks like it has an open top (it kind of looks like a milk jug with the top cut off) that we started using with better results. It's flexible and you can kind of press into their little heads so it molds to that shape and the water then can't go backwards into their eyes. I'm not describing it well but it's been a big help. We found it at target. Good luck!"
"We use a rinse bucket [pictured], and it works really well."
"We've used this with both of our kids and it has been a lifesaver. Our son was SUPER crazy about getting water in his eyes and this has just eliminated any complaints."
Use a rinse cup, guide, and distract:
"I bought one of those rinse caps on amazon and she won't wear it. What has worked is getting her to tilt her head back /look up, through a combination of guidance and daddy distraction, and using a rinse cup.
Be gentle, go slowly, take breaks and pat eyes with a wash cloth:
"I use a rinse cup with a narrow pour spout and try to be gentle and efficient, doing all the back and sides first, sometimes taking a break. After rinsing the top and front I pat her eyes down with a dry wash cloth and tell her she's brave and that some kids just cry and cry, but not her! I really hate this part of the bath, so we try to get it over with so we can play in the bath for a while. She cries much less these days, and recovers right away."
“My daughter had this same concern at age two. It took us awhile to work on but eventually holding a dry, folded washcloth over her eyes while I tipped her head back and poured water over her hair worked and still works now that she’s 3. At first I held the washcloth and now she likes to hold it. I also introduced it to her as a ‘trick’ which she liked and then became proud of having a hair washing ‘trick’.”
“Here are things we've tried that have helped:
-keeping a washcloth nearby and letting her wipe her eyes as soon as we rinse her hair
-having her lie down and put her head back with eyes closed while I gently rinse the part of her head that doesn't go in the water
-letting her try doing it herself with a cup (she seems happier when she's in control of it)
-demonstrating to her how if I put my head back in the shower with my eyes closed then water won't go in them. I even let her pour water on my head while she was in the bath!”
“My daughter has the same issue. She is now three and lets me wash her hair though she still doesn’t like it. Have you tried letting her lean back into the water (help her float on her back) to rinse her hair? You can put a wash cloth over her eyes and tell her to keep them closed while you put water over the hair that isn’t submerged. I let out enough water in the tub so that she can lie back on her own and she finds it very relaxing.”
Use a plastic cup or beach pail:
"I have always just used a child's cup (plastic) of their choice or decorative beach pail. The kids tilt their head back and I just rinse it wither with the bathwater or the faucet water. I also happen to have a hand shower but it scares my little one so I don't use it on her in the bath."
"There's a 5$ colorful pouring rinse bucket I got from B r U the other day. Has a soft, rubber edge to create a seal so water doesn't get in eyes. My 1.5 y.o. just doesn't like anything poured on his head (but loves the water otherwise, go figure) so I *think* it works better than just a plain ole cup."
Use a bath visor:
How about a "bath visor" and a cup? The bath visor (I never used one myself) keeps the shampoo from going down the kid's face.
Use a shower handset, if you have one:
"Well, if you're willing to do an actual plumbing change, perhaps you should consider a tub faucet that includes a shower handset (very european) -- that's what we have and we just use the sprayer from that for rinsing hair and bodies -- also great for cleaning out the tub in general and rinsing out bubble baths. We have one like this. I know -- expensive solution -- and we did this while we were renovating the whole bathroom - but it is a very nice way around this problem!"
Get silly:
"You can also try putting a shatter-proof mirror in the bath and let her put the shampoo in her hair and make funny hair styles and things like that. Sometimes I pretend I am our cat and want to wash her hair, meow. Getting silly like that might help?"
Consider a new hair length or hair drying routine:
"Not sure if this is an issue for your child too, but eventually my daughter came to the understanding that she really didn’t like when her hair felt wet on her back. So she started asking me to blow it dry so it wouldn’t be wet for as long. Soon after we got her a haircut (just above her shoulders with the front a little longer so it can still go in a pony tail).
Another thing that helped was putting her hair up in a bun so that it wouldn’t get wet. Then at the very end of the bath, taking it down when it’s time to wash it. This seemed to alleviate some anxiety around hair washing, knowing that we aren’t going to try to do it before she is ready."
Show them that you wash your hair, too:
"My daughter was always in the bathroom when I showered so I started to use the same bucket I used to wash her hair to wash mine. I think it showed her that it was normal and even though she didn’t like getting her hair washed after that she seemed to find it less of a violation of her personhood.
I also took a bath with her and let her wash my hair. We practiced washing various bath toys’ hair. All of these things helped for a while until they didn’t then we tried something new. Sometimes it was just unpleasant for us both. Oh also I would let her shower with me in the weekends (so exciting) and wash her hair then.
But it was rough. She is almost four and it wasn’t until the last couple of months that it stopped being such a minefield. We also only wash hair about every five days or so too."
Explain and show them what you are doing:
"Even though [my daughter] is over her fear of the bath and can play in there a long time, she still really doesn't like hair washing. We tried all the same tricks as you, washcloth, skipping it altogether etc... I dug deep in my brain and remembered that some of the children I work with (as an OT) are sensitive to hair washing/water in the eyes and my suggestions include warning the child about what you're going to do, let them be involved and/or put a little mirror in front of them so it's not a surprise to them. That being said our babies are a couple of years younger than the kids I work with BUT just tonight I used a variation of this where I explained to [my daughter] step by step what I was going to do and even pretend demonstrated on myself what I was going to do (it took seconds, it sounds longer) and for the first time she just whined a bit and recovered quickly instead of crying. I have no idea if this will work again but I'd give it a shot, and I will continue this method for [my daughter] because it doesn't hurt."
A few notes of solidarity:
"nothing but serious solidarity. Mine WILL NOT go for it. And he has some extra grody cradle cap I can't get at as well. Fun times."
"My otherwise bath-loving son HATED having his hair washed at that age. He would scream so loud the neighbors could hear. Our solution was to just not wash his hair. For a long time. He still bathed, got his hair wet, washed his body but we just didn’t fight that battle. He’s always had long hair and it still looked great! When he was a little older, he was fine washing his hair again. Hope this helps and good luck!
