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 than have almost nothing at all.

Whatever your infant'due south hairstyle du jour, don't worry besides much — or get as well attached. Newborn 'dos are hair today, gone tomorrow. Here's a wait at how your baby's hair can grow and alter — plus how to treat whatsoever coif your cutie'southward got.

When exercise babies grow hair?

Even if your baby is totally bald when she's built-in, the seeds of her future locks accept long been planted. Pilus follicles outset to develop by week 14 or 15 of pregnancy, setting the phase for futurity strands to sprout.

That'south not to say your newborn will necessarily come into the world with a full head of hair — far from information technology. Almost babies accept near none when they're first born, and the tiny tresses that emerge in those early on weeks and months could very well shed between 2 and three months.

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

Why do babies lose their hair?

Whether your infant was born with a massive mane or started growing a few sprouts that and so began to shed, infant hair loss is common and nothing to worry about.

In fact, information technology's a normal, physiological response to birth. Some experts link information technology to plummeting pregnancy hormones — the ones that may accept given you lot cracking hair too! — which kick off what'southward called the exogen phase in some parts of the scalp, causing lots of hair to autumn out altogether.

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Luckily, the exogen phase is usually followed rather speedily (or even simultaneously) past new hair growth. But the babe hair that grows in may be naught like your little i's newborn locks.

Color and texture often change — then your baby'southward thick, dark hair could make its reappearance a lot sparser and lighter. Red tin can give manner to blond. Curly can become straight. Surprise, surprise!

How to make baby hair grow

Have dreams of styling a gorgeous, sweet-smelling head of baby hair? While there's not much yous tin can directly do to get your sweetie's strands growing, you tin give existing tresses the best possible treatment and give her body what it needs to grow healthy and strong from caput to toe.

  • Go along your baby off of her back when she's awake. Information technology'south common for younger babies to develop baldheaded patches on the back of their heads, cheers to so much fourth dimension spent laying on their backs during sleep. While you lot should always place your infant on her back to sleep (it's the safest position and can foreclose SIDS), try to offer opportunities for her to have that caput up while she'southward awake. Do plenty of breadbasket time and hold her upright while you're playing or reading books if she can't yet sit up on her own.
  • Avoid over-brushing. Reverse to the old wives' tale, brushing 100 times a day doesn't encourage hair growth — and information technology can actually promote damage and breakage. Brush whatever fuzz your baby has as needed to manner it, then cease.
  • Comb — don't brush — wet pilus. Even a trivial bit of brushing can damage wet pilus. If your piddling one'due south locks are long enough that they demand some help post-bath, utilize a comb instead.
  • Steer clear of tight hairstyles. Tempted to do up the little mane your baby does have? Only avoid pulling it back tightly and stick with soft hair bands or clips that won't pull strands out or break them.
  • Focus on healthy nutrient. It's a must for your infant's growth and development overall, so in that sense, wholesome meals and snacks will strengthen and support those lengthening locks. Chest milk or formula is all that your baby needs earlier vi months. Once she starts solids, introduce a wide variety of healthy foods and focus on the nutrients that are especially important for babies. Recollect protein, calcium, whole grains and complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, atomic number 26, omega-3s, and vitamins A, B, C and E.
  • Consider kokosnoot oil. Try massaging a dab onto your baby's noggin after bathroom time. Very limited research suggests that sure compounds in coconut oil could help combat hair damage and promote a salubrious scalp. Equally with all natural remedies, just run it by your baby'southward pediatrician first.
  • Soothe cradle cap. If flaky, reddish patches have appeared on baby's scalp, alleviate this mutual skin condition — also chosen seborrheic dermatitis — with mineral oil and regular shampooing. This can help articulate upwardly the scales and may speed hair growth.

How to care for your newborn's hair

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

  • Don't wash your babe's pilus every day. Peculiarly with newborns, at that place's merely no need. Aim for a quick shampoo when you bathe your baby, which doesn't need to happen more often than a couple times a calendar week.
  • Gently shampoo your babe'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 rummage that won't snag on tangles or pull your baby's pilus.
  • Avoid headbands or ponytails that pull too tightly, which can damage her locks.
  • If your baby needs a quick trim to look presentable, go for it. Just do information technology when she's well-rested and fed so she'll be less cranky, and set her up with some toys to distract her.

Whether your baby is born bald and stays that way for a while or comes out with a long, luxurious mane, her hair situation will likely change. In the meantime, requite that sweet little caput plenty of kisses and have lots of pictures. A few years from now, you'll both have fun marveling at the hair she was — or wasn't! — born with.