While a few babies come out with perfectly styled locks, many start off with a spiky mohawk, tufted patches or the scraggly comb-over of a little Homer Simpson. And fifty-fifty more take near zippo at all.

Any your baby'due south hairstyle du jour, don't worry besides much — or become as well attached. Newborn 'dos are hair today, gone tomorrow. Here'southward a await at how your baby's hair can grow and modify — plus how to intendance for any coif your cutie's got.

When do babies grow hair?

Fifty-fifty if your baby is totally bald when she's born, the seeds of her time to come locks have long been planted. Hair follicles kickoff to develop past week xiv or 15 of pregnancy, setting the phase for hereafter strands to sprout.

That'due south not to say your newborn will necessarily come up into the world with a full head of hair — far from it. Most babies have most none when they're start built-in, and the tiny tresses that sally in those early weeks and months could very well shed between 2 and 3 months.

As for when she'll start sporting a permanent load of locks? Know that it'll happen eventually. Exactly when that happens tin can be anyone'due south guess — information technology'due south different for every child. Some get a great new head of hair by 6 months, some not for two or three years. And even if those strands are sparse early on on, it doesn't hateful your kid'south hair volition exist thin when she'due south older.

Why do babies lose their hair?

Whether your baby was born with a massive mane or started growing a few sprouts that and so began to shed, babe hair loss is common and cipher to worry about.

In fact, it'due south a normal, physiological response to birth. Some experts link it to plummeting pregnancy hormones — the ones that may take given you great pilus likewise! — which kick off what'south called the exogen phase in some parts of the scalp, causing lots of pilus to fall out altogether.

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Luckily, the exogen stage is usually followed rather chop-chop (or fifty-fifty simultaneously) by new pilus growth. But the baby hair that grows in may exist cypher like your piffling one's newborn locks.

Color and texture often change — and so your baby'due south thick, dark hair could make its reappearance a lot sparser and lighter. Cherry-red can give mode to blond. Curly can get directly. Surprise, surprise!

How to make baby hair grow

Take dreams of styling a gorgeous, sugariness-smelling caput of baby hair? While there'south not much you can direct practise to go your sweetie'south strands growing, you tin can give existing tresses the best possible handling and give her body what it needs to grow healthy and strong from head to toe.

  • Keep your baby off of her dorsum when she's awake. It's common for younger babies to develop bald patches on the back of their heads, thank you to so much time spent laying on their backs during sleep. While you should always identify your infant on her back to sleep (it'south the safest position and can forestall SIDS), try to offer opportunities for her to have that head upward while she's awake. Do plenty of tummy time and hold her upright while you lot're playing or reading books if she can't yet sit up on her ain.
  • Avert over-brushing. Contrary to the old wives' tale, brushing 100 times a solar day doesn't encourage hair growth — and information technology can actually promote harm and breakage. Brush whatever fuzz your baby has as needed to style it, and so stop.
  • Comb — don't castor — moisture hair. Even a little bit of brushing tin can damage wet hair. If your petty 1'south locks are long enough that they need some help post-bath, use a rummage instead.
  • Steer clear of tight hairstyles. Tempted to exercise up the little mane your baby does have? Just avoid pulling information technology dorsum tightly and stick with soft pilus bands or clips that won't pull strands out or suspension them.
  • Focus on salubrious nutrient. It's a must for your baby's growth and development overall, and then in that sense, wholesome meals and snacks will strengthen and back up those lengthening locks. Breast milk or formula is all that your infant needs earlier 6 months. Once she starts solids, introduce a wide variety of healthy foods and focus on the nutrients that are specially important for babies. Think protein, calcium, whole grains and complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, atomic number 26, omega-3s, and vitamins A, B, C and E.
  • Consider coconut oil. Effort massaging a dab onto your baby'south noggin later bathroom time. Very limited inquiry suggests that sure compounds in coconut oil could help combat hair harm and promote a healthy scalp. As with all natural remedies, but run it by your infant'due south pediatrician first.
  • Soothe cradle cap. If flaky, cerise patches have appeared on baby's scalp, alleviate this common skin status — as well called seborrheic dermatitis — with mineral oil and regular shampooing. This can help clear upwardly the scales and may speed pilus growth.

How to care for your newborn's hair

Got a baby with a full head of hair? Caring for those fine locks calls for some finesse, just it's nothing y'all tin't handle. Here's how to keep those newborn strands silky and polish.

  • Don't wash your infant's hair every day. Particularly with newborns, there's just no need. Aim for a quick shampoo when you lot bathe your baby, which doesn't need to happen more ofttimes than a couple times a calendar week.
  • Gently shampoo your baby's scalp at bathtime. A too-brisk scalp massage can stress hair follicles and speed up hair loss or breakage.
  • Use a soft-bristle brush or a wide-toothed comb that won't snag on tangles or pull your baby'southward hair.
  • Avoid headbands or ponytails that pull also tightly, which can impairment her locks.
  • If your baby needs a quick trim to look presentable, go for it. Just practice it when she'south well-rested and fed so she'll be less cranky, and set up her up with some toys to distract her.

Whether your baby is built-in baldheaded and stays that manner for a while or comes out with a long, luxurious mane, her hair situation volition probable modify. In the meantime, give that sweet little head plenty of kisses and have lots of pictures. A few years from now, you lot'll both have fun marveling at the hair she was — or wasn't! — born with.