Caring for your daily personal image and style doesn’t end even when you get older. While the purpose might have changed from purely-style-and-attention to tidy-and-easy to look after, you will feel better with freshly-washed hair.
Keeping your hair short and untangled might seem like the easiest solution, particularly for those with mobility problems and other special conditions.
But that is not an excuse to be negligent with haircare. Other than an act of caring and a treat for the elderly, washing and shampooing their hair encourages blood circulation in their scalp.
Of course, for high dependency elderly such as the immobile, hair shampooing can be messy, but the caregiver can stay efficient by simply utilising the following steps.
• First of all, move the elderly person onto a wheelchair or commode to make hair shampooing easier while they are sitting. For a bedridden patient, you can position their head and shoulders at the top edge of the bed.
• Be sure to place a waterproof mat under the elderly person’s head which properly drains to a pail at the bottom of the bed. Be careful not to wet the bed during this process.
• Start by combing through the elderly person’s hair to gently untangle any knots and remove fallen hair.
• Drape a towel over their shoulders and cover their eyes with a washcloth to prevent water or shampoo suds from getting into their eyes. You should also protect their ears with cotton.
• Ensure you are using lukewarm water and slowly pour it over the hair until it is wet. You can also use a shower-head set on low pressure, and gently run the water through their hair.
• Use a mild shampoo. Elderly hair has a different structure which needs careful handling. Their hair is thinner and more delicate, thus it is advisable to use a mild shampoo that will not irritate their scalp, such as a baby shampoo as it is free from harsh chemicals.
• Gently apply shampoo on their hair. Start from the hairline and move slowly towards the back of the neck to wash the back of the head.
• Give them a gentle massage at the scalp to encourage blood circulation. Remember to use your fingertips during this process and not your nails.
• Rinse the hair with clean lukewarm water thoroughly. Make sure that the water flows evenly on the hair and all the shampoo is washed away properly.
• When you are done rinsing, pat the hair dry and wrap their head in a dry bath towel. Be sure to also pat dry the elderly person’s neck, face and shoulders.
• Dry their hair with a towel and try to avoid using a hair dryer as a precaution against burning their delicate scalp. You can opt to use a non-heated blower and blow dry their hair.
While washing their hair, it is also an important step to care for the elderly person’s hygiene. A caregiver does not have to feel obligated to wash the elderly person’s hair every day.
Three times a week is recommended as an older person’s hair is prone to break and split if the hair is washed on a daily basis.
Alternatively, a shower assist service operated by professionals can help simplify your elderly person’s hair-washing time, and it will also serve as a pampering treatment.
Do seek professional assistance if it helps you with your caregiving journey to provide better care for your loved ones.
This article was written by Fariza Kasani, a Care Manager with Care Express, and reviewed by Andrew Mastrandonas, Co-founder and CEO of Care Express, a company that provides a range of elderly at-home caregiving services, sending trained and certified professional caregivers and nurses to clients’ homes. For more information go to Care Express.