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I have been thinking about all the recent posts on the ‘hair washing’ subject. I imagine something like a large plastic toddler bib with a dished tray to catch water and nice soft towelling to go behind the neck. Then you could wash the hair (carefully) while the ‘victim’ is sitting up in a chair. A new product opportunity?

Two more ideas:
1) There are the dry shampoo powders that you comb through hair to absorb the grease. They were popular in my girlhood when people didn’t wash their hair in the shower daily. They were perfumed, and they might be better than nothing (or a fight). I don’t know if they are still made. I think that they may have been based on talcum powder. Someone else should remember.
2) My elderly Greek neighbour told me that in her childhood on Corfu, women didn’t wash their long hair, they combed it through with kerosene/ paraffin. Helen said that it made the hair lovely and shiny, and she liked the smell. (She also said that it was good for head lice, which I hope isn’t your problem!)

Soap and water isn’t the only way if the problem is about getting into the shower tub. ‘Wet ones’ as a bed bath can help as well.
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MargaretMcKen Sep 2018
I checked on EBay, and dry shampoos are still made, though most of them come as aerosols. A lot of people like having their hair brushed slowly, almost as a massage. If you started with that, you could move on to the dry shampoo.
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What about just going to get her hair done....they will wash it without getting her wet.
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I saw this in my mom before she had to go to a facility. I would tell her she hadn't washed her hair and of course she said she just had. I KNEW she hadn't showered because my dad would tell me she hadn't. She always had her makeup done and would always put on MORE hairspray after fixing just the FRONT of her hair. She never looked in the back. It finally got so bad and long (of which she always wore short cute hair) that I had to trick her to go to her hairdresser that she had always gone to. I told mom SHE had made the appt and it would really throw Ellen's other clients off if she didn't go. While mom was getting her hair washed Ellen told me that there was no way she could get all the hairspray out with just washing. She said she had to cut it off/out. I said Go For It that's why I brought her in. Well, needless to say her hair looked so nice and I don't even think mom realized how much Ellen had cut off/out. Ok, now on to when I had to place her in a facility due to not being able to handle her and my dad was recuperating from heart attack (which I don't know why it took him so long to have one taking care of her). I learned also as another post had said that the elderly and dem/Alzheimer's patients HATE to go into showers/ or in closed places. It would take 3 aides to get her into the shower at first. She finally calmed down and it was not a problem but for about a year or a little longer it was rough. Thankfully they don't remember this but are clean afterwards. I watched a movie once and the main character who had dementia/alz. went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. It scared her death and she ran out and told her husband that there was an old ugly lady in there. I started investigating this and sure enough, there was info on this happening to others. So that is something to be aware of also (warning to others about mirrors). Anyway, I am now taking care of my 96 year old father although he just went to assisted living. He has taken only 1 shower a week for years. Thankfully he does that. Good luck to you and God Bless you. Can't imagine you driving a truck for 12 hours and then having to deal with caretaking. To all of you out there that work, God Bless. I've taken care my inlaws until their passing, my sister until her passing, and my father all without working. It ain't easy.....
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