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 even more have almost nothing at all.

Whatsoever your baby's hairstyle du jour, don't worry too much — or get too attached. Newborn 'dos are hair today, gone tomorrow. Here's a wait at how your infant's hair tin can grow and alter — plus how to care for whatever coif your cutie'southward got.

When practice babies grow hair?

Even if your baby is totally bald when she's born, the seeds of her future locks have long been planted. Hair follicles start to develop by calendar week xiv or 15 of pregnancy, setting the stage for future strands to sprout.

That's not to say your newborn volition necessarily come up into the world with a full caput of pilus — far from it. Most babies accept near none when they're beginning built-in, and the tiny tresses that emerge in those early weeks and months could very well shed between two and three months.

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

Why do babies lose their pilus?

Whether your baby was born with a massive mane or started growing a few sprouts that then began to shed, infant hair loss is mutual and nothing to worry well-nigh.

In fact, it'south a normal, physiological response to birth. Some experts link it to plummeting pregnancy hormones — the ones that may have given you lot great hair too! — which kick off what'southward called the exogen stage 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 quickly (or even simultaneously) past new hair growth. But the baby pilus that grows in may be nothing like your little one's newborn locks.

Colour and texture frequently change — so your infant's thick, dark hair could make its reappearance a lot sparser and lighter. Scarlet can give way to blond. Curly can go straight. Surprise, surprise!

How to make baby pilus grow

Have dreams of styling a gorgeous, sweet-smelling head of baby hair? While there's not much you tin directly do to go your sweetie's strands growing, you can give existing tresses the best possible treatment 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'due south common for younger babies to develop baldheaded patches on the dorsum of their heads, thanks to so much time spent laying on their backs during sleep. While y'all should always place your baby on her back to slumber (it's the safest position and can prevent SIDS), try to offer opportunities for her to have that head up while she'southward awake. Practise enough of tummy fourth dimension and concord her upright while y'all're playing or reading books if she can't nevertheless sit up on her own.
  • Avoid over-brushing. Opposite 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 whatsoever fuzz your baby has as needed to manner it, so stop.
  • Comb — don't castor — wet hair. Even a little bit of brushing can damage moisture hair. If your little one's locks are long plenty that they need some help mail-bathroom, apply a comb instead.
  • Steer clear of tight hairstyles. Tempted to do upwardly the petty mane your infant does accept? Just avoid pulling it back tightly and stick with soft hair bands or clips that won't pull strands out or break them.
  • Focus on salubrious food. Information technology'south a must for your babe'south growth and development overall, so in that sense, wholesome meals and snacks volition strengthen and support those lengthening locks. Breast milk or formula is all that your babe needs before 6 months. In one case she starts solids, innovate a wide variety of healthy foods and focus on the nutrients that are specially important for babies. Recall protein, calcium, whole grains and complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, atomic number 26, omega-3s, and vitamins A, B, C and E.
  • Consider coconut oil. Try massaging a dab onto your infant's noggin after bath time. Very express inquiry suggests that certain compounds in coconut oil could help combat hair damage and promote a good for you scalp. As with all natural remedies, just run information technology past your babe's pediatrician offset.
  • Soothe cradle cap. If flaky, red patches take appeared on infant'due south scalp, alleviate this mutual peel condition — besides chosen seborrheic dermatitis — with mineral oil and regular shampooing. This can assistance clear up the scales and may speed hair growth.

How to care for your newborn's hair

Got a baby with a full head of pilus? Caring for those fine locks calls for some finesse, but it's zilch you lot can't handle. Here's how to proceed those newborn strands silky and shine.

  • Don't wash your baby's hair every 24-hour interval. Particularly with newborns, there's only no demand. Aim for a quick shampoo when you bathe your babe, which doesn't need to happen more often than a couple times a 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's hair.
  • Avoid headbands or ponytails that pull too tightly, which can damage her locks.
  • If your infant needs a quick trim to look presentable, become for it. Only practise it 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, give that sweet piffling head plenty of kisses and take lots of pictures. A few years from now, y'all'll both have fun marveling at the pilus she was — or wasn't! — born with.