When it comes to milestones and the health of our little munchkins, we parents are always concerned. With growing age, babies are experiencing body and brain developmental changes.
Baby hairs are one thing that stresses out every parent. We all have been on this path, worried about baby hair texture changes. Most babies do not have a proper hair texture till the age of one. Parents have a question about will their baby’s hair texture changes or not. Yes, the baby’s hair texture changes with time.
In this article, we will be discussing how with age the hair texture of a baby changes. At birth, some babies have curly hair but with time the hair becomes soft and silky. While other babies may have silky straight hair in childhood which later turns into a wavy texture.
Although the baby’s hair follicles completely depend on genetics. Still, till the age of 9 to 10 years old these follicles are weak. According to experts, most babies Lock their hair texture till the age of two. Without wasting any time let’s read in detail about the baby hair textures.
Baby Hair Texture
At the time of birth, most babies have hair on their scalps. Among babies, the hair texture can vary from silky, straight, soft, wavy, or curly hair. Babies’ hairs are made up of weak hair strands but as they grow older the hair follicles become mature resulting in coarse hairs.
Baby Hair Types
Following are the main types of hair found in babies
- Curly
- Straight
- Wavy
- Kinky
Some babies even have a combination of two or more types of hair textures. All babies have a different hair texture but with time it changes. Once they reach 2 to 3 years of age, hair textures are locked permanently.
How To Find Baby Hair Texture
What will be the hair texture of your baby completely depends on genetics. The texture of the hair keeps changing till the age of 8 to 9 years, before that the hairs are not completely matured. The genetics of a person is a combination of mother-side and father-side genes.
So there is a probability if one of the parents has curly hair the baby will likely have curly hair or vice versa. One of the parents will have the dominant gene and the baby will inherit the hair texture from that parent.
Baby Hair Texture Predictor
Although it is difficult to predict the exact hair texture of the baby, however, if you consider a general fact, babies mostly inherit the hair texture from the father, especially daughters. If a father has straight silky hair there is a probability that the daughter will also likely have the same texture. If the father has curly hair the daughter may also have wavy hair.
Reasons For Changes In Baby Hair Texture
Due to many causes, your baby may experience hair texture changes. The three phases of hair change include lanugo hair, vellus hair, and terminal hair.
It is not necessary that every child will have a similar hair texture. Some children will have straight hair while others will have curly. Likely, some babies will have less hair but others will have dense hair. These are only transition phases and it doesn’t matter what hair texture and quantity your child has during the newbie period.
As your baby will grow there will be many changes in the body. The baby will lose the initial soft hair and be replaced with more dense hair. Not just texture but the hair color of your baby can also change with time. The hair color and texture completely depend on inheritance.
If you want to improve your baby’s hair texture then you should take care of their hair routine, especially during the first year of their life. The initial six months consist of two phases, while till 12 months of your child they go through the third phase.
Till What Age Does Baby Hair Texture Change
In the initial two years of life, babies go through three phases of hair texture changes. They have very soft hair at birth but at the end of two years, hair becomes slightly coarse in texture. Following are the three phases of baby hair texture
Also Read: How To Make Farts Smell Better
- First Phase Lanugo Hair
The Lanugo hair phase starts from the fifth month of pregnancy till 3 months after birth. These are very soft hair that is present on the whole body of the child including the scalp. For some babies, these hairs may be light and for some, the growth may be thick. These hairs are removed on their own from the body within three months.
- Second Phase Vellus Hair
This phase starts after 3 months and ends in 6 months. Vellus is the Latin word that means thin. During this phase, the hair texture of the baby becomes less dense and thin, especially around the body. While the hairs on the scalp and genitals grow much fastly.
- Third-Phase Terminal Hair
The terminal hair texture phase lasts for 12 months. In this phase, depending on the gender and hair texture of a baby the hair follicles are much more mature. After that, the babies get permanent inherited hair texture. During this phase, the baby has more hairs on the scalp and areas with sebaceous glands.
Final thoughts
Baby hair texture predictor is not always correct. Baby hair texture can change at any part of childhood. According to genetics and facts most probably babies inherit hair texture from one of the parents. So there is no need to get worried if you notice changes in the hair texture of your baby. It is absolutely normal and every child goes through this phase.
Newborn babies have soft and smooth hairs but after a few months, the hairs start becoming dense. Straight hairs can also become curly and curly hairs can become silky soft. Still, if you feel that something is wrong with your baby’s hair texture then there is no harm in consulting a pediatrician. Nothing is more important than the health of your child.