May 1, 2024
Getting a Sensory-Friendly Haircut
By: Maisy Seale, MSW Intern & Janelle Schenk, LMSW
Introduction
While getting a haircut can be relaxing to some, it can be a stressful experience for others. It involves a lot of sensory input, which can be challenging to handle. Some autistic individuals are sensitive to sensory input. There can be loud sounds while getting a haircut such as a hair trimmer buzzing or a hair dryer blowing air. For someone with autism, unpleasant psychological sensations may occur because of autonomic or behavioral responses to nonpreferred sound (Stiegler & Davis, 2010). Tactile sensitivity is also reported among individuals with autism. Some complaints include wanting to avoid light touch to the head and body, particularly when it comes to grooming and clothing (Marco et al., 2011). There is a lot of touch involved with getting a haircut, mainly including touching of the head with water and tools that have different textures. People with autism tend to report heightened olfaction, which means a higher sensitivity to smells (Ashwin et al., 2014). The smells of shampoo, conditioner, and hairspray may cause an unpleasant haircut experience.
Studies on Tolerating Haircuts
Research has been done to figure out how to help individuals with autism tolerate getting a haircut. One study was done with two adolescent males with autism spectrum disorder at a residential school. Before the study, neither of them tolerated getting a haircut. They were gradually exposed to the steps of getting a haircut. This included accepting the presence of hair clippers and tolerating an increased duration of having the hair clippers against their scalp and hair. The students were given edible rewards for tolerating the steps. Both students learned to tolerate all of the steps and maintained this tolerance six months later (Buckley et al., 2020). A similar study was done with an autistic five year-old boy. This boy had a lot of escape responses when asked to sit in a chair for a long period of time, so getting a haircut was a challenge for him. During the baseline phase, the boy’s mom had him sit in a chair. She held scissors within 5 cm of his head. An escape response was recorded each time he tried to escape. He was allowed to escape for 30 seconds and then was escorted back to the chair. Each session of this lasted 5 minutes. During the intervention phase, the boy sat in the chair and his mom trimmed his hair. He was given a preferred edible item after he complied with sitting in the chair for the haircut for increased periods of time. The maximum time that he had to sit in the chair was 5 to 6 minutes. After the trials were over, the results showed that giving a preferred edible item and a break during a haircut could help the boy have a successful haircut (Schumacher & Rapp, 2010).
Tips for Getting a Haircut
It can be helpful to introduce haircutting tools in the safety of your home. If you have scissors, a comb, a hairbrush, barber’s cape, hair trimmer, and/or a hair dryer, you can set them out so they are visible to your child. First, have your child sit by the tools and observe them. If you have access to one, have the child try wearing a barber’s cape at home to get used to it. If it is safe to do so, have your child try touching the tools. Have them listen to the sounds of a hair trimmer or hair dryer. Touch the handle of the hair trimmer or hair dryer while they are running so they can feel their vibrations. Have them touch the air that comes from the hair dryer with their hands. Use the lowest setting first and increase to high if possible. Try to figure out which temperature of air they prefer (Eileen Lamb, 2023).
After your child gets exposed to tools, there are other tips that can be helpful before getting a haircut. First, mark your calendar with a haircut symbol so your child knows when the haircut will be. Visit the salon before the haircut on a different day so your child can get used to the environment before getting overwhelmed with the haircut itself. Then, when it is time to actually get the haircut, the environment will be familiar. Introduce your child to the hair stylist so they will be familiar to your child as well.
Remember that you can create accommodations for getting a haircut. Bring a timer to the salon so your child knows how long the haircut will last. Make sure you check with the hair stylist before time to get an accurate estimate of how long the haircut will last. Be safe and overestimate the time so you do not have to go over the timer. You can bring your own shampoo and conditioner so your child does not get overwhelmed by new scents (Solving Autism, 2019). If getting the child’s hair wet is overwhelming, call the hair salon before and ask if you can come in with wet hair instead of washing it there. In some cases, a hair wash might not be needed at all. You can bring earplugs for your child if you think they will get overwhelmed by the sounds of the salon. You can ask to use scissors instead of an electric hair trimmer, and you might be able to skip the hair dryer too. If you have one, bring a weighted vest or blanket for your child to put on in order to make the haircut experience more comfortable. It is nice to provide your child with a reward after the haircut for a job well done and to incentivize the next haircut! Some examples of rewards are toys or a favorite snack (Solving Autism, 2019).
Local Sensory-Friendly Salons
Bluestone Children’s Center (sensory-friendly stylist comes in)
Livonia
https://www.bluestonechildrenscenter.com/
Clips ‘N Snips Jr.
Farmington Hills
Cookie Cutters
Northville
https://www.haircutsarefun.com/location/northville-mi
The H&M Clubhouse Kids Salon and Mini Spa
Lansing
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-h-and-m-clubhouse-lansing
If none of these salons work for your needs, call local salons and ask if they are willing to support the accommodations that you need.
References
10 tips for getting your autistic child through a Haircut. Solving Autism. (2019). https://www.solvingautism.com/getting-autistic-through/#:~:text=Use%20a%20timer%20in%20at,to%20the%20voice%20of%20 clippers.
Ashwin, C., Chapman, E., Howells, J., Rhydderch, D., Walker, I., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2014). Enhanced olfactory sensitivity in autism spectrum conditions. Molecular Autism, 5(1), 53. https://doi.org/10.1186/2040-2392-5-53
Buckley, J., Luiselli, J. K., Harper, J. M., & Shlesinger, A. (2020). Teaching students with autism spectrum disorder to tolerate haircutting. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53(4), 2081–2089. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.713
Lamb, E. (2023, July 16). Autism and haircuts: Strategies for autistic children ~ the autism cafe. The Autism Cafe. https://theautismcafe.com/autism-and-haircuts-strategies-for-autistic-children/
Marco, E. J., Hinkley, L. B. N., Hill, S. S., & Nagarajan, S. S. (2011). Sensory processing in autism: A review of neurophysiologic findings. Pediatric Research, 69(5 Part 2). https://doi.org/10.1203/pdr.0b013e3182130c54
Schumacher, B. I., & Rapp, J. T. (2010). Increasing compliance with haircuts in a child with autism. Behavioral Interventions, 26(1), 67–75. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.321