We have 4 boys, ages 10, 9, 6 and 2. We have always used the all-in-one type body wash/shampoo for kids. Since I keep their hair very short, nothing else has really been needed and it's just easy to buy a big pump dispenser they can all use for everything. But lately I've noticed that their hair doesn't smell as "fresh" as it used to.....and it got me thinking that it's time to upgrade both their bodywash and shampoo to something a little better. Looking in the store, I'm at a loss....I don't want them to be using something with "manly" smell. Just something fresh that gets them nice and clean. Like I said, their hair is very short, so I don't think they need a conditioner. Just a good shampoo and a bodywash. And price is also a factor....I'm not willing to pay for pricey salon stuff at this point. Any suggestions would be wonderful! Thanks!
(Oh and I plan to keep using the "kid stuff" for our 2 year old)
Tresemme has been the go-to shampoo for my DH and SS for many years.
I don't remember what SS used for body wash as a little kid. By the time I lived with him FT he was into Axe. Ivory? Irish Spring? Dove for Men?
I suspect is is not the 3-in-1. If your boys are anything like mine at those ages, they slap some shampoo in the general vicinity of their head and rinse it off. They think that's good enough, but it is why we still smell them. Send them back in to redo their shower. It only takes a couple of times before they start doing it right the first time.
When mine outgrew the kid stuff, they started using whatever shampoo the adults were using and the bar soap their dad uses. Just regular unisex scents.
If you have kids with sensitive skin? Axe is not the way to go. We do love Axe here - but my oldest does have sensitive skin....and it will give him dry skin and rashes..
I would NOT use the same thing on a 2 year old as I would on a 10 year old.
Conditioner once a week is a good thing...they don't need it every day.
Dove Men's Body wash is great!!
Aveeno would work for all as well....
Sauve has a good line for 2-in-1's too....
My girlfriend uses this one for her 5 year old twins.
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/california-baby-calming-sh...
I hate that combo body wash/shampoo too! (For my son).
Right now (he's 11) and he uses the tea tree tingle shampoo from Trader Joes. Paul Mitchell ( pretty sure--I get it at my salon--dark green bottle) makes a tea tree shampoo also.
I also sometimes buy him the Tresemme low sulfate naturals brand, in a pinch.
Eta: forgot about body wash...lol
Axe or Dove Men
Geesh...
It has been a while since my kiddos were that young. I do remember 'irish spring' was a favorite for a while. Then there was a 'mennen' manly body wash. Then AXE.
Now that all the boys are out on their own, I am back to basic dial soaps here!
best!
I agree with Jill K. that they just might not be shampooing very well. It might be time to show them how to do it. I occasionally had to wash my boys' hair myself, because I would notice a build-up of dandruff which indicated they weren't scrubbing vigorously enough.
Due to my daughter's eczema, we use Dove bar soap. And shampoo, especially for the boys (we have 3) was whatever was the least expensive, so, VO5 or Suave usually. My daughter uses the Dove shampoo with the white cap that I use since we both have long hair (it has no sulfates, this was a recommendation from a mom here!)
The boys started using body wash after they got into middle school, it was a right of passage to get their first bottle in their Yule stocking lol :)
ps
I love your name, it makes me feel far less anxious reading your question ;)
my boys LOVED axe, in all its many manly permutations!
but they used a separate shampoo, usually just dove or suave. and no conditioner until they got to their long-haired hippy phases.
:) khairete
S.
Old Spice now makes some really nice, fresh, not-overpowering all-in-one washes. The "fresh" scent isn't MANLY! so much as clean and nice. So check those out. Axe has way too much fragrance.
OK, we have a girl, but friends with boys say they (the parents) have banned Axe because it stinks and the smell lingers. They said some coaches in gym at school had even asked boys to avoid Axe because the fragrance stays so strong. (We're talking middle schoolers here, by the way, so not quite as young as your boys.)
Dove for Men. Available everywhere. The older kids will be OK with it if they are into things being "guy stuff" but at the same time, it's Dove and therefore much better for the skin.
I use normal soap and normal shampoo on the kids. Those body washes are nice but hair is hair and it needs shampoo and conditioner and the body doesn't really need conditioner.
I recommend any regular soap like Dove, Ivory, Safeguard, Irish Spring, etc...
A good shampoo is okay and you can even do one that's a combo of shampoo and conditioner but not all hair needs that strong of a conditioner. So any good shampoo works fine.
I recently switched to a kid shampoo only. Since it's just shampoo and not all-in-one, it does a better job on their hair than the other kind. They just use a regular bar of dove soap like the rest of us use for the body.
I wasn't confident enough that my kids could keep the shampoo out of their eyes when washing their hair, that's why I stuck with the kid shampoo.
I have a boy and a girl, but we have similar issues with both. We switched from Suave to Pantene (2 in 1 for my boy with normal hair and Sheer volume for my girl with oily hair). It made a big difference in how clean they can get their hair. Other shampoos don't quite work for my kids who don't really know how to thoroughly clean their hair yet.
Hormones are making their heads oily and extra sweaty. Try a t-gel twice a week. It will help to get rid of the oils and smells. Tell them to give it a good scrub and let it sit for a minute.
