If you're a #GirlMom, then you know that keeping those gorgeous locks in tip-top shape is easier said than done. As a mom to four girls and four boys, I feel your pain, and I'm here with a hack that might save you. Meet my favorite sidekick: the hair bag!
I believe in getting myself and my kids “ready” for the day every day. My mom was a great example of this to me. Even if it was 4 pm and she had been out weeding all day, she would shower, do her hair, and get ready – even if she had no plans to leave the house. I feel it's important to teach kids to do their hair every day, even if they aren't going anywhere public. It's basic hygiene, and it teaches kids to take pride in keeping a proper appearance!
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BUT…Boy, oh boy, can it be a pain (literally, for the kid!) and time-eater. I have learned that getting ready doesn't have to take long or be complicated, even with kids! My life changed when my Handy Hair Bag creation was formed, which I will teach you all about today. But first: the background story. Hair we go!
WHY THE HECK DID I NEED A HAIR BAG?
I had all my kidss' hair stuff upstairs in the kids' bathroom for a while, where it “should” go. Right? Well…maybe not. My older kids can get dressed and ready independently, but they still usually need a little help with their hair. When Priya was younger, I was hauling the two of us up and down those stairs, every morning (with her kicking and screaming, mind you), running late to wherever we were supposed to be headed so that I could do her hair (…which wouldn't happen many days because I didn't have time or energy to fight her about the matter).
I finally wised up and created this little beauty I would like to introduce you to…(drumroll, please!)….. my hand, dandy hair bag. *The skies open and angels sing as rays of light beam down upon it*
Sure, it might not look like much. But trust me. It's a LIFE. SAVER.
I keep it where we get ready in the morning – on the main floor of our house, in the thick of all the action, in the hall closet next to the backpacks/coats/shoes where we scramble to grab everything we need as we prepare to leave the house.
I will grab it and do my kids' hair while they are eating breakfast, while they are putting their shoes on, or more often than not, I toss it in the car and do it once we arrive at wherever we need to be. So, what is in this magical bag of tricks? Well, that's a great question! I'll tell you.
WHAT I KEEP INSIDE A HAIR BAG
Here are the basic contents:
- An Array of Bows
- Rubber Bands
- Hair Clips
- Hair Products for Taming the Mane (More on that in a second!)
If I use it for my kids' hair, I keep it in the bag. Why keep the products in a bathroom when I'm doing their hair in the kitchen or the car most of the time?! In addition to the accessories, I keep a variety of hair products to tame my kids' wild hair, both boys and girls. Want to know what I use and how? Keep on reading.
HERE'S HOW I USE ALL THESE PRODUCTS
In our house, these hair products are must-haves! Here's how we use them:
- Detangling Brush – Seriously, this is the best $5 you'll ever spend! They work amazingly well on wet or dry hair. If our girls' hair is crazy tangled, I'll even use it on them in the bathtub when they have conditioner in their hair. It works like a charm every time we use it!
- Bathpack Hair Oil – We've used de-tanglers and leave-in conditioners in the past and they've worked great. But the Bathpack hair oil? It legit smells like a unicorn and works so. dang. well. We put it on their wet hair after they wash their hair before brushing it and the brush slides through their hair, easy peasy. I'll also use it on their dry hair to help tame any craziness. I even use it on my own dry ends when I'm fixing my hair!
- Wide-Toothed Comb – This is a MUST HAVE for brushing through curly, tangly hair. I can't imagine trying to take a fine-toothed comb through a toddler's hair. It would break that poor hair and would be miserable for the child. Wide toothed is the way to go. Wide-toothed for president!
- Spray Bottle – The water is great for combing through a girl's hair (it combs so much easier when wet), and taming cowlicks, and making hair behave for boys. Bathpack's eternity spray bottle is seriously the best and was a total game-changer for us once we discovered it!
- Gorilla Snot –
Sounds gross, looks grosser, but it really is THE BEST hair gel. Ever. This is what I use on my boys. It's only a few bucks (got mine at Walmart), it doesn't flake, you only need a tiny squirt, and it's heavy-duty. It holds AAAAAALL day without being crunchy and too “gel” looking. I put a tiny bit in my fingers and pinch my boys' dry hair in place as if my fingers were crab claws. The Gorilla Snot is all you need; I don't spray their hair first or anything!
And, yes, I know it seems like a simple thing, but this bag has really has saved me SO much time and headache. It also helps for when we go places post-nap because Heaven knows their hair looks all sorts of crazy again after they've slept on it for any length of time. It also makes for quick and easy packing when going on vacation. #Score
ONE LAST TRICK?
I keep my girls' “pretty bows” (aka the large bows that don't fit in the hair bag very well) in the hall closet. On the days when I do their hair at home, I'll let them go to the closet and pick out their own bow for the day. They love having the choice and have fun putting together hair accessories to match their outfits!
So there you go! Simple tricks that save my life and sanity day after day. I hope this helps you, too!
Do tell…what are some of YOUR simple life-saving tricks?
Want to check out a few more of my favorite hacks?
- Join me on a Costco haul and find out how I stock up for a family of 10!
- Learn all about my famous block schedule system. Spoiler alert: it's a game-changer!
- This chore checklist + my summer systems just might save your sanity. I've even got some free printables for you. You're welcome!
Cheers to good hair days!
What a great reminder that while appearances aren’t everything, it’s important to stress to our kids (and their Mommy) that it is important to take care of ourselves, no matter where the day takes us. Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Jordan:) this is a great idea! I have to share a literal life changer we just discovered in July. My 5 year old daughter had naturally curly hair- as curly as your daughter’s beautiful curls- and it is long, and she has a fierce temperament, and let’s just say that for the past three years, using all the gear you have shown, she has screamed and cried and threatened and kicked and hit every day because of her hair. It just gets so snarly, as I’m sure you know, and she does not deal with they pain very well at all!!! . . . Long story short- went “The Wet Brush.” I had heard about this brush but figured, like other things we had tried, it probably wouldn’t work very well. But kindergarten was starting and I was feeling a little desperate to find a better way to make her hair work. So I bought one at my hair dressers. It has completely changed our lives!!!! The only way I can describe it is that it seems to melt through the snarls. We have literally not had one tear or scream since staying to use this brush. It doesn’t does the process up- it still take a few minutes to brush through the snarls, but it is like this happy, pleasant, who-knew-hair-could-be-this-fun type of experience now. Seriously amazing, and it has probably saved a previous relationship too. Anyway, I’m not payed by them or anything, I just seriously love this brush! It’s around $9.00 on amazon. Good luck with all the future hair-doing:)
You better believe I’m giving it a try ASAP – thanks for the recommendation!!!!!
What a great reminder that while appearances aren’t everything, it’s important to teach our kids (and remind their Mommy) that it is important to take care of ourselves, no matter where the day may take you. Thanks for sharing!!
We ended up with a downstairs bucket to do hair. It was the same situation, everything would get crazy and since our two girls have a ton of hair I had to do it and the easiest place was in the kitchen while handling everything else. Now my oldest is 14 and handles it upstairs, but my 12 year old still prefers to do her hair downstairs. Good thing is we have a cabinet in the kitchen in our new house dedicated to “kid stuff” (hair stuff, sunscreen, bug spray, batteries and flashlights). Hair stuff now goes in a large cup, brush, comb a few rubber bands with a spray bottle and the Gorilla Snot next to the cup. The Gorilla Snot works fantastically in our son’s hair! No white flakes, holds his super thick, straight her in the spikes he loves. Oh yeah, and now that they’re older (the two younger ones are 12 and 11) deodorant is right next to the hair stuff. 🙂
Deodorant! Haha love it! I’m glad I still have a few years before I have to worry about that. Gulp.
Gorilla Snot? LOL. If you say it’s good I guess I’ll have to try it out! Thanks Jordan 🙂
Those curls are to die for! Lucky girl:)
I love that idea. I previously had all of my daughter’s hair stuff in the top drawer of her dresser. But she finally can get that drawer open and keeps hiding them all over the house. I think I am going to have to switch to your bag idea. And Rena has those gorgeous curls too. I am always amazed by how big her hair gets after she has slept. It is so funny.
Aren’t the curls the best?? I really hope Priya keeps them when she’s older. And yes, amazing rat nests happen with even a little nap! It’s crazy!
I love this idea so much! Just put our bag together today. I’m always paranoid about my kids getting head lice, so I like to spritz their hair with water with a couple drops of tea tree oil. I hear it’s a good way of preventing lice. I included our tea tree oil in the bag and I’ll use it for preschool, church nursery, etc. Just a tip!
My kids somehow manage to dress, brush teeth and hair and get everything ready for school… Except for their socks. Every. Day. I have a shoe pocket on the back of the door and now have dedicated a couple pockets to hold clean socks, straight from the laundry. We also have a sock bucket for dirty socks next to the shoes, because as soon as the shoes come off, so do the socks and I grew tired of picking them up/ yelling at the kids to pick them up!
I LOVE this idea! Socks are the worst, aren’t they?
It makes me so happy to see a mom that knows how to handle curly hair. My mom didn’t. She brushed it. Many tears were involved… Hers and mine. hehe
I like the hair bag idea! I have a “school bin” it’s where we toss backpacks, folders, brushes and chrome-books. I’m going to add a hair bag to the school bin now! I currently scramble to find our water mister every morning so that’s going in the hair bag in the school bin now along with a comb and I may get some hair gel for my son. My daughter isn’t into bows but her hair is growing back out so I may toss in some rubber bands too.
Nice work! Sounds like you have something that works great and yes, we are definitely team hair bag. It just makes things so much easier. We hope you never lose your water mister again.