My Daughter’s Hair Smells Even After Washing
Teaching my daughter to wash her hair is a tedious and often frustrating experience that took my time and patience. After many discouraging practices, her hair still had a lingering odor that simply would not go away. I didn’t know if several factors could be nurturing the condition, despite the obvious poor hygiene practices.
However, you shouldn’t experience the same, as we have created a guide for the same. This article digs into possible causes of your daughter’s smelly hair and their remedies. Let’s dive in.
Why Your Daughters Hair Smells After Washing
Since she was a toddler, your daughter’s hair has been her pride and joy. You’ve watched her grow from a little girl with pigtails to a young woman with long locks.
You’ve also watched as she tries out new styles and colors, yet you are sure one aspect has remained the same since her childhood; her hair still smells. She isn’t happy with this, and as a caring parent, you are wondering what could be the cause.
Let’s end this puzzle. Here are some common culprits of smelly hair on your daughter’s scalp.
Poor Hygiene
If your daughter’s hair smells like a locker room, it could be because she is not taking good care of it. She may not be washing her hair regularly enough or correctly. She may not be using a good shampoo and conditioner or any other hair care product to keep it clean and healthy.
Sweaty Hair
Sweat can also be a cause of stinky hair. Although the sweat that usually builds up on your daughter’s scalp can be washed away with a shower, sometimes this may not work. You have to wash the hair and rinse it several times until you notice a reduction of the intensity of odor repeatedly. On the cause, you can alternate washing and rinsing with water until you get the best results.
Hair Care Products
A buildup of chemicals and other ingredients from shampoos and conditioners can cause strange odors in your daughter’s hair. If she has been using similar haircare products severally without alternating, try switching to a new brand and watch the results.
Stress and Anxiety
Stress can also cause your daughter’s hair to smell bad. At its core, stress can affect the body in many ways, including increasing sweat production and slowing down metabolism. Those factors can lead to body odor from perspiration that may be noticeable on her scalp or hair shafts.
Food Allergies and Sensitivities
Another common cause of bad-smelling hair is food allergies or sensitivities. So if your daughter is allergic to dairy products like eggs, for example, she could develop an odor from allergic reactions. The effects could be experienced on hair follicles and scalp.
Another possibility is that she is sensitive to certain foods but not generally allergic. She might be able to eat these foods without any symptoms or ill effects but still cause an odor on her scalp when metabolized.
Getting Rid of Smelly Hair
There is no single, uncomplicated answer to why your daughter’s hair smells even after washing. Yet, a few factors play into this, and a combination of more than one factor may be responsible for the odor.
Luckily, there are a variety of ways you can use to tackle this condition. Let’s take a look.
Wash Her Hair Often
To remove excess oil, you should ensure you wash her hair often, especially if she has an oily or greasy scalp. Do this daily to eliminate the buildup of sweat which could also be a suspect. If water doesn’t meet your expectations, use a dry shampoo instead.
Dry shampoo will absorb excess oil on the scalp without rinsing, as regular shampoos do.
Avoid Using Too Much Shampoo
Using too much shampoo can also cause buildup on your scalp, so it’s better to use a small amount of shampoo at a time and rinse it thoroughly afterwards.
Similarly, if your daughter’s hair is curly, try using a moisturizing shampoo to cleanse her scalp and remove dirt without drying out her hair or causing tangles or knots. Furthermore, if her locks are straight, try using a clarifying shampoo that contains sulfates to break up any buildup on the scalp while absorbing excess oils.
Use Antifungal Shampoos and Conditioners
Using medicated shampoo will help kill the fungus and bacteria responsible for the odor. And a good thing, they are widely available in online drugstores.
However, ensure that the shampoo you buy contains ketoconazole or selenium disulfide as active ingredients — these are known substances that effectively eliminate fungi. Then follow the instructions on using the shampoos on your daughter’s hair without messing.
Treating Dandruff With Lemon Juice
What about treating your daughter’s hair with lemon juice? Yes, you heard it right. Lemon juice is inexpensive and natural to treat dandruff while eliminating the bad odor on your daughter’s scalp. It contains vitamin C and citric acid, which are both powerful antioxidants.
However, when using lemon juice, dilute it before applying it directly to your scalp. Similarly, mix one cup of water with one tablespoon of lemon juice and apply this mixture to your entire scalp using a spray bottle or towel.
Let the mixture sit on your scalp for about five minutes before rinsing it completely with warm water.
Using Essential Oils for Smelly Hair
Essential oils have been used for centuries as natural remedies for various skin conditions such as dandruff, acne, eczema and psoriasis. They are also effective in treating smelly scalps since they contain antibacterial properties.
Bottom Line
Several factors, including shampoos and even diet, can be to blame when your hair doesn’t smell fresh. However, the key is determining what the problem is before you can solve it. In a nutshell, when shampoo sits on the scalp and hair without properly rinsing out, it gets sticky, and then bacteria/yeast grows on this sticky layer.
This bacteria/yeast gives off a volatile sulfur compound that smells bad. The issue is not the sulfates in the shampoo but what the shampoo does to your hair when left unattended.
So, when choosing a shampoo for your daughter’s hair, look for one that washes off with water and not one that uses synthetic detergents.
