Hi mom's! I have a 6 1/2 y/o boy who is half Mexican and half white. He has crazy thick, black hair, which we have kept VERY short. I shaved his head every three or four weeks. He has asked that we let his hair get a little bit longer (and by longer I mean 1 to 2 inches) on the top while keeping the sides shorter. But here's the problem,
He gets showers or baths and we wash him with L'oreal kids shampoo and his head smells even after I wash his hair! It doesn't smell like sweat or nasty, it just smells kind of "musty" (I don't know if that's the right word, but it does not smell like SOAP!). Is it because his hair is so thick? I don't think so, because my husband has really thick, black long (past his shoulder) hair and it never smells like that and my hair never does either.
Is it time to switch to an adult shampoo? ANybody ever dealt with this? Ideas?
I don't want to cut his hair, but I am getting ready since I love to cuddle after showers and his head is not all that "fresh" smelling.
Thanks!
Having been a hair dresser for 12 years..he needs to have his hair brushed. That lifts the funk off the scalp and washes it down the drain. Brush the hair all over before bathing.Boys often don't really brush their hair or teeth like they should.
Are your towels older...maybe when he is drying his hair with the towel...the musty smell is rubbing off onto his head. If towels are new & that isn't the case...with my older two kids, they use adult shampoo & conditioner & then every 4-5 days, I mix vinegar w/ water & rub on their hair...just make sure they lean back so it doesn't go in their eyes!! After it stays on for a few minutes, rinse & shampoo as usual :-).This makes that icky smell go away & then it is REALLY shiny :-).
Kids sweat through their heads a lot before they get to puberty. Sometimes food smells can be excreted through sweat, so things like mustard, curry, garlic, onions, chili, fish, asparagus, and B vitamins, etc. can give people an "off" odor unless you avoid eating such things for several days.
I would have him use an adult shampoo since he's old enough to keep it out of eyes & mouth and give him a soft brush to really scrub the layer of dirt and dead skin off the top of his head.
I started using adult shampoo on my daughter hair.. She is 6 and swims alot.. It seems like it gets her hair cleaner.. Sometimes I will even wash twice. Maybe blow dry for a couple minutes to get the some moisture out..
Best of luck.. Sounds like he has beautiful hair :)
Lenc
Hi L.!
I had the same problem with my 8 year old about 6 months ago. Unlike your son, she has super fine blond hair but if I smelled her head even 10 minutes after her bath/shower it was stinky/musty- almost like wet dog. I switched her to an inexpensive adult shampoo and now her hair always smells wonderful. As they get older they sweat more and produce more natural oils. I think the kids shampoos are just too gentle to remove all of that. My suggestion would be to definitely make the switch.
Good Luck!
N.
Maybe it needs to be washed and then blow dried. I have long hair (to my bottom) and if I put it up and it is not dry I will get musty. Almost on the verge of moldy smelling. I have to make sure it is dry before I put it up.
I also think you maybe right about the adult shampoo.
I don't have any experience with this particular issue, but my kids are almost 3 and 5 and I have been using adult shampoo on them for quite a while now. They are both mixed black/white, I keep my sons hair very short, so no problems there. My daughter has extremely curly thick hair that knots easily and is tempermental. Because of the texture of her hair I only wash it once or twice a week, any more than that and the moisture gets sucked out of her hair and it gets brittle. Anyway, my point is that even though I only wash her hair once or twice a week, the smell of the adult product stays in her hair pretty much the whole time. The main reason I started using that was because she needed a much stronger conditioner than what childrens products can offer. I would suggest at least trying your product on him a couple times in a row and see if that corrects the problem.
Hey. I have had the same problem with my son! He's half Native and half white, with the same thick, gorgeous hair. Well, we had to switch up to adult shampoo pretty early on because he sweats from his head so much. Well, we have to keep on him to comb and brush his hair a few times a day and he uses Head & Shoulders classic clean shampoo. And it has helped immensely! (this will help prevent dandruff and it treats the scalp as well as the hair) And I do agree that the diluted vinegar mix or a tea tree oil treatment (conditioner or something) would also help to keep any bad smells at bay.
We have to use the expensive head & shoulders intensive treatment shampoo for my daughter. I call it "stinky old man hair smell." She has thick hair,like your sons. The Lo'real is not getting the job done. She has to shower every night and scrub her head good or we can tell by the next morning that it didn't get clean enough. You may have to do the scrubbing for a while, but it works!
I agree with the towels also possibly being a culprit--nothing a little vinegar in the wash won't fix! I've never been a big fan of anything with chemically fragranced products (due to concerns over certain ingredients), and I personally started using a Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner.
California Baby makes products that are great cleaners and not full of artifical scents. I know the name is baby, but I've used our daughter's shampoo when I want to really "strip" my hair. If you live near a Super Supplements (not sure if there is one near Bothell) they have a great selection of natural shampoos that might be perfect for deep scrubbing of his scalp. Mass produced products (like L'oreal) can also leave residue that just builds up and doesn't really wash out...
I have a sensitive nose, and I know exactly the smell you're talking about--my brother went through a "musty" phase when he used to wear his baseball cap everywhere!
perhaps this is one for the dermatologist....
Good luck!
First of all,.Calling it a stinky head seems like lack of compassion for a situation that is embarrasing for the kid, and more when he/she grows up. Coconut oil shampoo and conditioner will stop the problem. Coconut oil has caprilic acid that kills the yeast that causes the problem. (as I read in a health forum) Try it! it will help your little one. It helped my friends kid!!!
Sounds like he might have some sort of dandruff. Try a dandruff shampoo. If that doesn't work, take him to the pediatrician. Plan it when your son's hair is at it's worse.
Check your towels! I used to have this problem and it was my towels that were "musty" smelling, not my kids!! :)
a musty odor can mean a rare but serious condition called Phenylketonuria
Hi L.,
Just curious if you've talked to your pediatrician about it. Perhaps there's a medical reason for it? Just a thought.
Best of luck to you!
I want to respond to this and to Nicole, I have an 11 year old girl whom has had the wet dog smell on her head when she sweats, and we use Adult shampo. She showers frequently, and I feel bad because she comes up to me and hugs me and I say, "PU you stink"! It is awful but it is a reflex. She is in the begining of puberty, but she smelled like this before that. I have two cousins who have to get prescription deoderant because they have overactive sweatglands. Does this have something to do with it?
