When does hair grow on a fetus

Fetal development: Your baby's hair

Your baby will start to sprout fine body hair called lanugo at around 22 weeks of pregnancy, although this typically falls out within the first few weeks after your baby is born. Meanwhile, the hair on your baby’s head will also become visible around this time. Some babies grow a lot of hair, others have barely any when they’re born. Your baby’s hair color and texture may change during the first months of life.

Will your baby have a head like a fuzzy peach? A fluffy mane that sticks straight up? Swirls of curls? Whatever your baby's hair looks like at birth, it's likely to change in the first year of life.

Hair on your baby's body

Hair follicles start to form deep in your baby's skin by 14 weeks of pregnancy. Around 20 weeks, fine downy hair starts to sprout from these follicles on the eyebrows, upper lip, and chin. By 22 weeks, hair is also visible on the back, shoulders, ears, and forehead. Called lanugo, this fine hair helps to hold the vernix (a greasy substance that protects your baby's skin against constant exposure to amniotic fluid) – in place.

Lanugo covers the entire body, and most of it is usually lost before birth. (Some premature babies are covered with lots of lanugo because they're born before this fine hair is normally shed.) The lanugo a baby is born with typically falls out within the first few weeks of life, though it can persist for longer in some babies. Lanugo may be a completely different color from the hair on your baby's head. It can also be quite dark, and therefore more noticeable, on babies with darker complexions.

Hair on your baby's head

The hair follicles on your baby's scalp form a pattern that will remain for life. And new follicles don't form after birth, so babies are born with all the hair follicles they'll ever have.

By 22 weeks, hair is visible on your baby's head – and may grow like a weed or only slightly by the end of pregnancy. In the weeks after hair starts growing, cells that produce melanin get to work and begin to add color to the strands.

Predicting your baby's hair color isn't easy. Experts think that many different genes control the precise amount of melanin that's made inside each strand of hair, but they don't know for certain how these genes interact to produce the huge range of possible hair colors. So be prepared for surprises, as your child's hair color – and texture – can come from any corner of the family tree.

Also, how your baby's hair looks at birth isn't necessarily how it'll look later. Babies often gradually lose their hair within the first 6 months of life and grow new hair in its place (this is more common among Caucasian infants than babies of color). What grows back in may look similar or be a different color or texture entirely.

What you can do during pregnancy

To best support the growth and development of your baby's hair, eat well for pregnancy and take prenatal vitamins.

Key milestones in the development of your baby's hair

Weeks pregnant	Milestone
14 weeks	Hair follicles have begun to form
20 weeks	First hairs sprout on eyebrows, upper lip, and chin
22 weeks	Hair is visible on the head, and fine, downy lanugo covers the body – especially the shoulders, back, ears, and forehead
23 weeks to birth	Melanin starts being produced, adding color to hair
Birth	Some lanugo is still present – it will fall out in weeks or months

Want to know more about how your baby grows during pregnancy? Take a look at this week-by-week breakdown of fetal development.

Advertisement | page continues below

Was this article helpful?

Yes

Why Are Some Babies Born With a Lot of Hair?

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

What You Can Expect

There are a few general milestones for your baby’s hair:

14 weeks of pregnancy. They start to develop hair follicles.

20 weeks of pregnancy. Hair starts to grow on the eyebrows, upper lip, and chin.

22 weeks of pregnancy. Hair called lanugo begins to grow on the head and body, especially the shoulders, back, ears, and forehead.

23 weeks of pregnancy. A pigment called melanin starts adding color to their hair.

Your baby’s body hair is usually shed around the 24th to 28th week of pregnancy. This means it’s gone before birth, although some premature babies are still covered with lanugo hair.

The hair on your baby’s head is another story. The follicles that grow while they’re in the womb form a hair pattern they’ll have for the rest of their lives. New follicles don’t form after birth, so the follicles you have are the only ones you’ll ever get.

The hair is visible on your baby’s head and may grow quickly or slowly during the weeks leading up to birth.

Babies’ Hair Changes After Birth

Most of the hair a baby is born with is lost in their first 6 months of life. Even little ones born with an entire head of hair can go bald in a matter of weeks. But don’t worry, it grows back.

Your baby’s hair falls out because of hormone changes in their body. When they’re growing in your womb, they get large amounts of hormones from you. After birth, these hormone levels plummet, causing their hair growth to stop.

When your baby starts a new hair growth cycle, the old hair falls out, causing temporary patchy or bald spots. The new hair will probably have a different texture or color than they were born with.

It’s hard to predict what your baby’s hair will look like. Genes can interact in unexpected ways. Your child’s hair color or texture can come from anyone in your family tree. Couples who have blonde hair could make babies with dark or red hair, or a baby born with straight hair could later have curls. It's always a surprise!

How to Care For Your Baby’s Hair

Some babies' hair grows back right away, while other babies take years to grow their hair back. Try not to compare your child to others; each baby is unique.

Here are a few tips to help you care for your baby's hair:

Hold off on cutting it. Shaving or cutting your baby’s hair won’t make it grow thicker or faster. Let nature and genetics take their course, and hold off on cutting your baby’s hair until after their first birthday.

Wash gently. Washing your baby’s hair 2 to 3 times per week is a good rule of thumb. Wash gently. Scrubbing too hard or too long will strip the hair of its natural oils and make it dry and frizzy. Stick with a shampoo that is safe for kids that won’t hurt them if it gets in their eyes.

Avoid oils and lotions. It’s normal for newborns to have dry scalps as the old skin cells shed away. Avoid using oils, petroleum jelly, or lotions to treat their scalp. Products like this only stick to the dry skin flakes and make things worse. In some cases, babies get crusty or oily scaly patches on their scalp. This is known as cradle cap. It’s not painful or itchy, but it can cause thick white or yellow scales that aren’t easy to remove. These scales come off on their own with gentle washing and a baby hairbrush. If they don’t go away or get worse, see your baby's doctor.

Growing in the womb and visible on ultrasound: 10 facts about baby hair

Pregnancy and childbirth

Perhaps there are few things surrounded by such diverse myths as pregnancy, childbirth and caring for a newborn. Is it true that heartburn in a future mother indicates that the child will be hairy? And if there is a lot of spicy, then the child will be bald? We dot the E - the most interesting facts about children's hair and caring for them on Wday.ru.

Photo: Getty Images/Caiaimage

1. Baby grows its first hair in the womb.

They are called "lanugo", which in Latin means "fluff" or "fluff". This hair covers not only the head, but also the body of the child, and legs, and arms. Moms know that some babies are born fluffy. Lanugo - very thin hairs, they are formed on the 7-8th month of pregnancy and almost completely fall out over the last month, so that by the time of birth there is little left of the fluff. These hairs help the fetus regulate temperature, because it can be both cool and hot. Premature babies are often born quite hairy, but very soon there is no trace of these hairs.

2. Baby's hair visible on ultrasound.

Not always, but such cases do happen. A well-known fact, when at the screening the doctor saw a kind of cloud on the head of the unborn baby. It was the hair! The child was born, as expected, with impressive hair, and by four months the girl (yes, a girl was born) had grown her hair to her shoulders.

By the way, what kind of hair a child will have depends largely on genetics. But, obviously, there are other factors that affect the density of the baby's hair. Scientists have not yet figured out what it could be.

3. Do you suffer from heartburn? A hairy baby is born.

Quite a common opinion - many believe that if a pregnant woman suffers from heartburn, she will give birth to a child with luxurious hair. Of course, this is far from a fact. Heartburn can come from an inappropriate diet, and for hormonal reasons: estrogen relaxes the muscles between the stomach and esophagus, that's a whole bunch of discomfort for you. But there is still some truth in this myth - see point 4.

Photo: Mint Images/Mint Images RF/Getty Images

4. Mom's hormones affect baby's hairiness.

Estrogen, the most female hormone, has the ability to influence the baby's body, penetrating the placenta. And this hormone, in addition to relaxing the muscles and increasing their elasticity, can also affect the amount of hair. And if enough estrogen penetrates, then the child's hair will be the envy. True, it is impossible to predict this, as well as to influence the process.

5. An infant may be bald until the age of two.

Not quite bald, of course, he will have some hair. But if suddenly your baby does not have enviable curls in six months, or even a year, do not worry. By the age of two, baby hair will finally change to “real”, and then it will be possible to give free rein to your passion to weave pigtails for a girl, and to make a fashionable haircut for a boy.

6. Babies don't smell sweet because of their hair.

Hair really has the ability to absorb odors, and if you were sitting in a cafe with not very good ventilation, then the exit from the hair will predictably smell like food. But baby hair is not about that. They do not smell at all so that young parents roll their eyes with happiness. Scientists tend to believe that either sweat glands are responsible for the smell of newborn babies, or it is the aroma of amniotic fluid and original lubricant.

7. Children's hair needs special care.

This is obvious, because a baby cannot take care of his own hair. First of all, there is no need to rush to rid the baby's head of crusts. They can be lubricated with oil and carefully combed out with a special soft brush, but without effort and fanaticism. Small children should not weave pigtails and make tight ponytails. For fragile baby hair follicles, this can be an overwhelming test.

“Some mothers ask to make Afro braids for a child of two or three years old, they say, beautiful. I immediately warn that after such beauty the child may remain bald, and I refuse to do my hair. But, unfortunately, some still find specialists who don’t care if your baby has hair or not, ”explains braidist Daria Shaposhnikova.

Photo: stock_colors/E+/Getty Images

8. You don't need to wash your baby's hair every day.

Rinsing with water is not forbidden. But it is not necessary to accustom hair from infancy to daily washing with shampoo. And you need to approach the process with the greatest care, because the baby’s fontanel will drag on only by a year and a half.

Also, remember that baby's hair can fray and fall out. This happens when he sleeps in one position without changing the position of his head. However, this is completely normal - baby fluff will still fall out.

9. It is not necessary to shave a child a year.

Some trichologists claim that it is even harmful. Like any aggressive exposure, shaving can damage the hair follicles on an infant's head. However, in some cultures, shaving the head is a mandatory ritual. But if there are no such traditions in your family, then there is no reason to deprive a child's head of hair.

10. The child's hair will change.

Soft, light, flaxen curls have every chance to turn into a wild dark blond hair. What to do - as the color of the eyes changes, so does the color of the hair, their stiffness and density. And always in the direction of a darker shade. After all, the gene that is responsible for the dark color of the eyes and hair always suppresses the "light" genes. This is why real blondes and blondes are so rare.

Natalya Evgenieva

1. Hair begins to grow even in the womb

This hair is called "lanugo" - thin, weightless, it covers the babies almost entirely. Their purpose is to help the baby regulate body temperature, because babies do not know how to do this before birth. Lanugo begins to fall out around the 36th week of pregnancy, so most babies are born hairless. An exception is if the baby was born prematurely. In this case, the hairs will fall out after it is born.

2. Hair can be seen on ultrasound

Surprisingly, the fact is that the hairstyle of the future baby can be seen at the screening. You can see them even at the 20th week of pregnancy on an ultrasound scan. If this is your case, then you can be sure that the child will be born with curls, and by the month he will grow curls to the shoulders, surprisingly to everyone he knows. Well, the degree of "hairiness" depends on genetic factors - nothing can be done about it.

3. It is believed that mother's heartburn is a sign that a hairy baby will be born

Many people suffer from heartburn, but not everyone is born with full hair. But if suddenly such a coincidence happens, then from satisfied exclamations in the style of “well, I told you!” nowhere to go. In fact, hormones are to blame for everything - both in heartburn and in the splendor of hair. Estrogen is responsible for hair growth, and it also has the ability to relax muscles. When the muscles between the esophagus and stomach are not toned, heartburn occurs. And the hair has nothing to do with it.

4. The amount of hair at birth depends on the mother

The same estrogen is able to penetrate the body of the unborn baby through the placenta, thus affecting the rate of hair growth in the fetus. Estrogen speeds up hair growth, so if a mother produces enough of this hormone, then the likelihood of having a baby with curls increases.

Photo: Getty Images/Wavebreak Media

5. "Adult" hair grows by the age of two

A baby can be bald at birth, at six months, and at one year. There is nothing to worry about, the situation is completely normal. Most likely, everything will change when the baby is two years old - at this age, "adult" hair begins to grow. And in the first year, even those hairs that were on the head at birth may fall out. And this is also absolutely normal.

6. Sweet baby smell does not come from hair

Parents know that nothing smells better than a baby. Such a sweet smell emanates from the baby's head that there is nothing more pleasant in the world. But it's not about hair and cosmetics. This feature is laid down by evolution: nature “made” the baby smell good, so that parents would be imbued with special love for him.

7. Grooming Matters

Baby's hair will fall out, wear out, grow back, but that doesn't mean they don't need to be taken care of. In no case should a child make tight pigtails or bows, no matter how cute it may look. The hair follicles are still too weak, they may suffer because of your efforts - and then the child will never see the magnificent hair. Rough aggressive combing is also inappropriate. And even milk crusts do not need to be peeled off on purpose. 98. Shaving is not necessary In fact, trichologists say that this procedure is not necessary at all.

“There is no scientific evidence anywhere that this will improve hair texture or volume in any way. It's all about genetics. In addition, such a haircut is stressful for the baby. In a year, children understand a lot, they already know how to show emotions, they begin to imagine in front of a mirror. Imagine what a disappointment awaits a girl when she sees her reflection in the mirror after a haircut. Perhaps the boys will endure it easier, ”says neonatologist Olga Ptitsyna.

By the way!

The belief that if a child is shaved bald for the first time, his hair will be thick and beautiful, existed in Ancient Rus'. However, modern scientists argue that this myth has no basis - such a parameter as density is laid down at the genetic level.

9. Hair changes - like eye color

A baby can be born with flaxen curls, and then turn into the owner of dark blond hair. And even curls can go somewhere. Before two years, everything changes: the quality, density, color of the baby's hair.

10. The head can only be washed with shampoo

Even if the baby was born bald, it is better not to wash the head with soap. Proper care stimulates the scalp, prepares it for a future hairstyle. So care must be correct and of high quality - even if there is nothing special to wash.