Five rules to follow during your child's first hairdresser appointment

1. Choose your hairdresser well

It is not enough to know how to handle scissors to cut the hair of the little ones.

"A lot of hairdressers have no empathy with children," laments Bruno Liénard, a Paris-based hairdresser for children at home.

Everything is done by feeling, according to Nathalie Pero Alves of the Los Niños salon in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine): "There is no specialized training in children's hairdressing. It all depends on their experience and their feelings. staff."

A sine qua non for Bruno Liénard, who adds that, in addition to this human dimension, "children are sensitive to their environment".

Nathalie Pero Alves' living room, for example, is decorated with an aquarium and a children's library to distract them – when they don't have their parents' laptops.

What to do in a region without specialized salons?

The wisest thing is to discuss it with a professional, to make sure of his benevolence.

Absolutely avoid: the noise of clippers and hair dryers, which will only add stress.

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2. Go at the right time

At what age can you take your baby to the hairdresser?

It all depends on the mass of hair.

Nathalie Pero Alves sometimes sees four-month-old babies who need hair refreshment.

Bruno Liénard quips: "Some children have forests on their heads!"

In this case, the cut is made in the arms of a relative.

You can also wait until they are 2 years old before going to the hairdresser, if the amount of hair allows it.

At this age, the hair, which was still only fluff, takes on its adult form.

It is at this moment that Bruno Liénard combs them seated.

The schedule: a factor not to be overlooked.

The day of a baby being dictated by his hunger and his sleep, certain moments are to be avoided: "From experience, lunchtime is the worst, testifies Nathalie Pero Alves, because they tend to get angry".

To be preferred: "Rather after a nap or early in the morning, just after waking up", agree the two professionals.

If a busy schedule does not allow you to choose, it is not without risk.

Indeed, Bruno Liénard is categorical: "You don't cut the hair of a crying baby".

3. Preparing for it with baby

It all depends on age.

If the baby has no autonomy, it is rather the parents who must be taken care of, according to him: "Often, the mother transmits her fears and projects herself into her past as a little girl."

The child perceives his mother's anxiety, becomes anxious himself, cries, re-anxieties his mother, and so on... A vicious circle.

If he is old enough, from around 18 months, Nathalie Pero Alves offers to show him photos of the hairdressing salon before the appointment, so that he can familiarize himself with the place.

In this particular context, we can also explain to him that the hairdresser will also wear a mask, like his parents.

4. Choose the right haircut

Exit gradients, fringes and other frills.

The professional follows a simple technique: "I do with the material and shortcuts for a cleaner and clearer side".

For the first two years, we can say goodbye to dreams of Rapunzel's hair.

Knowing that, for 18 months, the hair is only fluff, there is no point in letting it grow.

No quarters for Bruno Liénard: "You have to cut the hair at the nape of the neck, because it is the place where a baby sweats the most. Mums are in love with the curls that appear in this area and do not want them to be chopped off".

He also warns against the bangs which, by pushing, make them squint and create a strabismus.

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See the slideshow19 photos

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5. Take the right position

It's when you go under the scissors that it gets tough.

A baby who can't yet stand up straight must have his hair cut in the arms of a parent who remains standing.

This position allows greater freedom of movement for the professional.

Bruno Liénard only sits children from the age of 2.

Then, everything goes well if the parent does not show himself abrupt with the child: "When you hold the child by the neck or the chin, he feels constrained. His head must be free", warns the hairdresser.

Ten to twenty minutes are enough, then you're done.

A positive experience thanks to these tips, to be repeated every two or three months.

Originally published on August 30, 2018, this article has been subject to changes.