Tips To Help Kids Who Hate Haircuts
During the haircut: 1. Bring your own haircutting cape if needed. You can use a familiar towel from home and then secure it with a safety pin, clothespin, or chip clip. 2. Have your childwear a button-up or zip-up top if possible (with a shirt underneath), so it can be removed as soon as the haircut is over. We all know how those tiny hair remnants can fly off the shoulders of your shirt and make your neck itch like crazy…TORTURE for a sensory-sensitive kid! 3. Bring your child’s weighted blanket, lap pad, or shoulder pad for additional calming sensory input. It can be worn in the minutes leading up to as well as during the haircut. 4. Allow your child to sit in your lap if needed. It’s up to the hairdresser, but if the child is sitting in your lap and is facing you, it will give the hairdresser better access to the back of their head. 5. You or the hairdresser can provide deep pressure to the scalp and neck prior to the haircut, which can help “calm down” the sensitivity response on the skin. Examples could include a scalp/neck massage or even use of a vibrating hairbrush. 6. Help your child engage in their “calming sequence” if they have one, prior to the clippers actually touching their head. This may involve deep breathing, hand squeezes, playing with a fidget item, or reciting a calming phrase. 7. Use visuals during the haircut visit. If you know the basic sequence that will be performed, you can have that available so your child knows where they are at in the sequence and what steps still need to be completed before it’s finished. 8. If the noise of the scissors or clippers bothers your child, find a way to block out or muffle the noise. You can try usingwax earplugs (like the ones used for swimming) or earbuds with calming music. Or, if your child is comfortable with it, you can cover their ears for them with some nice deep pressure as part of it. 9. Have your child bring one or a few preferred items into the haircutting chair, such as a handheld toy, book, or video. 10. Bring a snack that will help keep your child still such as a fruit pouch, cup with a no-spill straw, Goldfish crackers, etc. You could even try to provide enough snack in order to last the whole haircut. Coordinate with the hairdresser so they know that when the snack or drink is gone, the haircut is over. Just be sure you give them enough time to actually get the job done! 11. If your child finds oral input to be comforting, provide themwith their preferred oral calming tool (e.g., pacifier, gum, chewable necklace, handheld chewy, sucker, Ring Pop, etc.). 12. Sometimes being able to see oneself in the mirror can help because you can see what’s going on around you. It can help it not feel like there is an unknown event occurring on or around your head. If themirror is a bad idea for your kiddo, you can try having themwatch a video or look at a favorite book throughout the haircut instead. 13. If you know or can plan how long the haircut will take, use a visual timer to help your child understand how long the haircut will last. You can also use amusic playlist or video of a certain duration (say 10 minutes), so once the video or playlist is done, the haircut is done. After the haircut: 1. Build consistency into the haircutting routine by visiting the same salon each time (and have the same stylist if possible). This will help build a greater level of predictability and familiarity. 2. Provide a tangible reward or fun/preferred activity directly after the haircut. This could be something edible, a new toy, or maybe a short trip to a special place (e.g., frozen yogurt, favorite park or playground, Grandma’s house, etc.).
HOW TO HELP KIDS WHO HATE HAIRCUTS Occupational therapy practitioners can assist families in implementing both preventative strategies as well as interventions for activities such as haircutting. Here is a list of strategies to help kids who are very sensitive to and/or avoidant of getting haircuts! It includes a combination of sensory-based and cognitive-based suggestions. Not every single suggestion will apply to your child. But, based on the knowledge you (and your child’s OT, if applicable) have of your child, hopefully this list will help open your eyes to some new options tomake haircuts a little lessmiserable! Before the haircut: 1. Role play haircuts with your child. Much like pretending to give amedical checkup with a toy stethoscope, you can give pretend haircuts to each other or even with stuffed animals. Try using your hands as pretend scissors. 2. Be intentional about the words you use. The word “cut” may invoke additional undue fear leading up to the big day. Consider using other phrases such as they are going to “get a trim”, “get handsome hair”, “get pretty hair”, or “get a handsome/ pretty hairdo”! 3. Use social stories to help your child become more familiar with what will occur during a haircut. And you can learn more about a social story app that covers the topic of haircuts called “Model Me Going Places” at YourKidsOT.com. 4. Read books about getting haircuts. Here is one example, written by a pediatric OT! It’s Haircut Time! How One Little Boy Overcame His Fear of Haircut Day. 5. Have your child watch videos of kids getting their haircut (such as a friend, sibling, or even videos on YouTube). This can help take out some of the mystery and fear, plus they can re-watch as many times as they need. 6. Look into specially designed hair clipping products, such as The Calming Clipper. I’ve heard mixed reviews from parents of kids with autism or sensory sensitivities, but it’s at least something to know about! 7. Bring your childwith you to observe you or a familymember getting their haircut. 8. Stop by the haircut site a day or more prior to the haircut so your child knows what the facility looks like. If you know of a child-friendly salon in your area, check it out for yourself to see what you and your kiddo think about it. 9. See if your child can meet the hairdresser prior to the haircut if possible. It’s so helpful for the hairdresser to have a basic understanding of your child’s sensory sensitivities! 10. Try to schedule the haircut appointment at a time of day your child is most happy and calm, and/or when the hair salon is least busy. This may differ for each child (morning vs. after naptime) and each salon (weekday or weekend morning vs. evening). 11. Consider having a friend do the haircut at your house (if they’re any good!). This can help eliminate the anxiety or fear that comes with visiting a new place or transitioning out of the house. It helps if your friend is a familiar person your child is comfortable with. 12. If your child has a specific sensory diet their OT has recommended to help with calming (such as a deep pressure brushing programor certain types of heavy work), be sure to complete that prior to the haircut. We want to do everything we can to help place him or her in an optimal state of arousal prior to this experience. 13. Use visuals or a visual schedule if needed so your child can see what will be occurring before, during, and after the haircut. 14. Consider whether a buzz cut will be easier than one that involves sharp and snippy scissors. 15. For girls, simpler is better. Consider whether there is a certain basic hairstyle or haircut that is least (or most) noxious for your child. Short hair and short bangs can be good for some, but long hair can also be good because it can be pulled back.
Written by: Julia Garstecki
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