NAP those NITS!

Just hearing the word “lice” can make your skin crawl, so the idea that they are out there circulating the school systems – jumping around and possibly coming home to YOUR home makes a person paranoid! So why are so many families having to RID themselves of those tiny bugs?? The answer is simple. Gymnastics mats. Football helmets. That cute scarf you tried on at the store. Headphones on an airplane. Just because we don’t see the person in front of us set something down, doesn’t mean they weren’t there. Luckily, we have been working with children for over a decade now and have a pretty good idea of how they are communicated and how they can be prevented from entering your home.

We, as people, get a very specific form of lice that feeds only on the hair and scalp of humans, without which they can barely survive. You see, lice use a glue-like saliva to attach their eggs to the hair shafts of their host, then once the eggs hatch, those babies grow and shed skin over the period of ONE MONTH before reaching their own adulthood and repeating the process.

The key to getting rid of them once you have been exposed, is to wash your hair and scalp with a special shampoo that will kill any live bugs or eggs, as well as un-glue the eggs that have been attached. Sometimes a professional must intervene and completely treat the head of the child. Our favorite company to recommend for this type of treament is The Miracle Lice Sisters in Overland Park, KS. They are truly the LICE EXPERTS in town. Just give them a call if you have a hard to deal with lice condition and they will offer you a 20% discount when you mention Shear Madness!

For those of you who have been through this process, we are talking hours (if not days) of combing through every one of the 250,000+ hairs on a human head for our own peace of mind! Not fun. However, there is a silver lining. Lice CAN be prevented! Have you ever heard about using marigolds to surround your precious flowers to keep rodents at bay? Much like a citronella candle does for a back patio, tea tree oil does for your and your kids’ heads! Since lice cannot survive very long without a host, in theory we can nip this epidemic in the bud (or nit) by simply getting them off our heads long enough to wipe out their parasitic little race!

The great news is Shear Madness actually carries LICE PREVENTION haircare products from the Circle of Friends line that are pH-balanced for children. They are gentle enough for daily use, but have those key bug-repelling ingredients in them to also be strong enough to keep your child’s head safe! We recommend the Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner for anyone who has children in elementary school – and specifically if they have heard of a lice outbreak in their area. The styling products are a great way for that extra protection for children in sports, too. By using the hairspray to hold a little girl’s bun, or the gel for a boy who wears a ball cap, the repellents will keep your children active AND bug-free.

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We’re having a great day at Shear Madness, we hope you have one too!

Mousse or Gel?

Our kids hair products are pH-balanced just for children, so baby hair mousse really is for baby and hair Spiker can fix a toddler’s Faux Hawk–without finding the two of you in tears! Nevertheless, there are products that promote promising effects but can actually leave users wanting more. Mousse, for instance, is an expanding product by definition, which can actually be bad for your little one’s still-growing follicles as it gets inside the hair shaft to expand (and eventually break) it. We carry an all-natural foaming mousse that is ideal for course curls and has a fantastic fruity frangrance–but we have found the bounce creme works with all hair types, so we recommend it above all others! Meanwhile, gels are too difficult to properly proportion when hair is fine or thin (or both), and tend to leave locks laden with layers of lackluster goop.

For this reason, we urge against hair gels or mousses for your little ones. Even our educated child cosmetologists can sometimes get crumby results when creating curl concoctions with chalky gels and goopy mousses. Which is just one more reason to bump up your bounciness with our curl boost cream! Because the Eighties were great, and perms were perfectly punk – but in this century, kids’ hairstyles are darling (and daring) enough without that dusting of white residue or wet-looking ringlets.

Whether you are naturally wavy or bottled to bounce, tousles all across time have asked the same tress question: Which is best for curly hair?

Bouncy Créme!

As a children’s hair salon, we have put the testimonials of tons of tremendous hair products to the test and one result reigned supreme:

Our Bouncy Créme!

This light cream instantly rejuvenates curly, wavy or textured hair by separating and defining–everything you want and need in a curl-whirling product–while leaving hair full of shine without flaking and stiffness! The easy-to-pump bottle dispenses this silky smooth serum to be worked through clean, damp hair.

The different looks of styling cream hairstyles.

When added to wet hair, a cream can work wonderfully just to condition and strengthen hair by adding that extra layer of protection from the elements. However, this kid-friendly, mother-approved hair-tonic defines curls and controls frizz. It is great for blow drying for volume, but has been used most by scrunching for definition.

Why use styling cream?

Like all our favorite products, there are natural ingredients making them just right for your little one, and the Bouncy Créme is no exception. This texture energizer contains emollients to soften hair, retain moisture, prevent frizz and flyaways, while providing a smooth feel and adding shine. There is also a “Bounce-Back” polymer that protects the hair against thermal damage, as well as conditions and defrizzes curls. Possibly the most recognizable are its humectants that moisturize hair without weighing it down while controlling frizz for smooth curls. These special ingredients replenish moisture for body and luster! To complete your look, after scrunching this product through the hair, simply spritz your loved one with Vanilla Freeze Hairspray for a finished look and Voila! Your MADtastic ‘DO is MADsmermizing!

Grape Jam Texturizing Hair Wax

Having a hard time handling your handsome’s head of hair? Freak out his fellow fifth-graders with a fun and funky Faux Hawk!
Want to wow your friends and family at that next formal function? Dazzle your Diva with one of our UPROARIOUS UP-DOOS!
How can you get those MADtastic looks without scheduling daily appointments at one of our salons? EASY! Here’s one of our amazing hair secrets: Grape Jam Texturizing Hair Wax!

What is HAIR STYLE WAX?

This alcohol-free styling aid is one of the most popular (and most versatile) in our line of kid-friendly, mother-approved products. Made from Glycerin (which happens to be naturally sweet-tasting, low in toxicity, and water soluble) to eliminate frizz, Grape Jam hair styling wax keeps hair soft and supple for restyling all day long! And it smells great, too – like you should be spreading it all over your toast each morning, instead of dolloping it on a head of hair to wake up that style!

One of the best short hair styling products:

Although we boast about this medium-hold, grape-scented texturizing hair wax for its uses in all lengths and types of hair, we especially love to use it for spiking SHORT HAIR STYLES with its matte finish! Grape Jam separates, contours, and shapes hard to hold hair into MADtastic styles without leaving hair heavy or covered in product residue. This flexible fixative forms and shapes unruly or hard to hold hair, without drying it out or leaving locks looking lathered in lotion.

How can girls use hair texturizing products?

Another important Helpful Hair Hint for all you MAD Mamas out there: Put product in your princess’ hair the night before she plans to get that Prom updo! It may sound silly, but we are MAD serious that this product provides a soft, flexible hold for boys AND girls, and that it calms down those straggling strands while providing necessary piece-ability for producing UPROARious UP-DOOS!

Texturizing Hair Products How-To

Simply slather some of this great-smelling jelly into the palm of your hand and rub it around until you have given your hands a nice wax-y finish. Next, pull your fingers through the clean, brushed hair you are going to style the next day – making sure to coat as much of the mane as possible! Brush, braid, or bun-up the hair for the night (to prevent unwanted tangles tomorrow) and find yourself facing a wondrous wig of waxed and ready hair when she wakes with the sunrise!

For Girls’ Short Hair Wax Styling

Just like preparing for updos, girls use this texturizing hair wax by applying first to their palms or fingertips, then working the wax through the hair by pinching up pieces they want to pull out and up from the rest. From that Seventies’ Shaggy Style to the Punk Rock Pop Star Pink’s Pixie – girls of all ages and hair types can benefit from this vine-ripened hair variable. So stop in and sample some. Then try to wipe those cheesey grins from your fruit-smelling little ones, because this wax not only attracts – it works!

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Sweet Static Hair Solutions -

Don’t Sweat the Smell-Good Stuff!

From mini-makeovers to daddy-daughter dances, many of our moms have asked us to help hone in on the how-to’s of keeping children’s coifs beatifully styled (without adding billions of hours to the style time).

Our number one secret?

Vanilla Freeze hairspray.

This medium hold mist not only perfumes those precious pigtails with a scent as sweet as cupcakes, but it also controls fly-aways and staticy strands, keeping them smoothed and in-place — as if they were frozen in time! Our products always provide pliability and piece-ability, so never fear, that horrible helmet head will not be made here!

Day-to-day Fly Away Solutions

Getting all dolled up isn’t the only time for teasing their tresses and testing this hair-tonic of sweet-smelling tundra! As an ultra-fine styling mist, this houdini hairspray is great to use right after blow drying! Since this candy concoction naturally gives hair the lift and direction we used to get from the aerosols of old, spritzing in some style and scent with this sweet best-selling solution will add control to your child’s strands while making the start of each school day shorter and sassier!

Related Kids Hair Products

Depending on the texture and style of your little one’s mane, hairspray might just be the icing on the cake, as it were. Make the most of your shorter styles by pairing with our Grape Jam, meanwhile the waviest styles will curl up nicely with our Mango Mousse. Read our blogs for more info on how to appropriately distribute each. Because at Shear Madness, haircuts for kids are just the beginning! We pride ourselves on a great experience, kid-friendly atmospheres, and MADTASTIC style!

Click here to see our Youniquey Boutiquey products!