HAIR SCARES

Kids, have you ever had a bad hair day? Does it sometimes feel like every day is a bad hair day? Well, that’s kind of life – it happens. Here is what you do when you’re trying to tame hair-raising horrors.

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  1. Greasy Hair: Do you have oily-looking hair, especially near the scalp? During puberty, oil glands get more active. This extra oil in the scalp makes hair greasy. The solution is to change how often you shampoo. You will probably need to do it more frequently, but all heads are different. Just don’t ignore it and think it’ll go away.

  2. Dandruff: This is that white flaky stuff in your hair or on the shoulders of your shirt. Dandruff is caused by dry skin in your scalp, which gets itchy and flaky. Or you have used too much product, which turns white and flaky in your hair, irritating actual dandruff. The solution is to try using a dandruff shampoo, and definitely use less styling product. If it doesn’t get better, ask your doctor for suggestions. Don’t keep using products that seem to make the problem worse.

  3. Lice: You can tell whether you have lice if you have a super itchy head, and, when an adult checks, there are tiny bugs or teeny eggs in your hair. Lice are teeny, gray, wingless parasites that live on strands of human hair. They don’t jump or fly, but they do climb up the hair shaft and bite the scalp, leaving tiny sores that itch like crazy. You’ll need to get help combing out your hair using a special comb to remove all the lice and their eggs. You might also need a special shampoo or hair treatment. Don’t share combs, brushes, hats, or headphones. And don’t put your head right next to someone else’s when taking a selfie or looking at the same small screen. These are easy ways to get—or give—lice. If you think you’ve got lice, ask your doctor or school nurse to check. They know a louse when they see one! If you do have lice, it doesn’t mean you are dirty—in fact, lice like clean heads.

  4. Pool Hair: After you went swimming in your local pool does your hair look green and feel brittle? This just means you didn’t was your hair after swimming. The chlorine in the water has dried out your hair! The solution is easy—just wash your hair. You can use a special shampoo made for swimmers, but regular shampoo works just as well.

Don’t ignore this advice!

Excerpted from GUY STUFF published and copyrighted 2017 by American Girl Publishing. Illustration by Micah Player. All rights reserved.