Babies

Hair follicles begin to develop on an unborn baby at 9 weeks gestation, with scalp hairs first appearing at 20 weeks. The foetus gradually becomes covered in fine, silky, unpigmented hair called lanugo hair, which is then shed at around 7-8 months gestation. It is replaced by vellus hair, the short, colourless hairs we see on the majority of our bodies, but on the scalp, longer, coloured hairs, known as terminal hairs, may be present. Some babies are born bald. Rest assured this is nothing to worry about, some children’s hair just takes longer to grow through. We are born with the number of hair follicles, or ‘roots’, that we are going to have, an average of 100 000 on the scalp alone, and fine or thick, curly or straight hair tends to run in families.

Within the first 3-4 months of life, the first coat of scalp hair is shed in a wave pattern, from forehead to nape. Many parents believe that the bald patch on the back of their baby’s head is caused by rubbing on the sleep surface, but the truth is that the rubbing simply causes the release of hairs that were ready to fall out anyway. Once this first wave of hair loss has been replaced, a second wave occurs, prior to the child’s first birthday. The hairs then begin their normal daily growing and falling cycle, which continues all through adulthood, meaning that under normal circumstances we shed hairs evenly throughout the scalp.

Find out more about our BRAND NEW PK Baby Shampoo & Body Wash, suitable for babies, infants, toddlers and children here.