Introduction
Hair growth in newborns and infants can naturally show very different appearances. Some babies are already born with a pronounced head hair, others show the first signs of beginning hair growth only a few months after birth. Hair growth is genetically determined and is additionally influenced by various factors, such as gender. From the age of 3 years at the latest, the head of most children is covered by hair.
Strong hair growth after birth
The first hair growth of the baby already takes place during pregnancy and is called lanugo hair. Among other things, it protects the baby’s skin from the amniotic fluid, but is only transitional hair. At the time of birth, it has mostly already fallen out again and can therefore also be used to assess the maturity of the baby.
If there is still a part left, the hair falls out promptly and then there is usually a strong hair growth. This can be explained by the almost simultaneous start of growth of the individual hair roots. In adults, the hair falls out with a time delay and therefore there are no great changes in the overall appearance of the head hair. In children, however, this is not the case. The growth begins synchronously and therefore appears as strikingly dense, or fast.
How many centimeters does the hair grow on the baby?
From now on, the baby’s hair will grow in the same way as the adult’s. However, the terminal hair does not develop until puberty. The growth cycle of hair is divided into three time windows.
Starting with the Anagen phase, the main part of the length growth takes place here and lasts 3-8 years. In the catagen phase, the regression takes place within about 3 weeks and in the final telogen phase, the corresponding hair falls out within 3-8 months. Since this does not affect the whole head hair but only individual hairs, this is hardly noticeable and when combing, there are only individual hairs in the brush. Over the course of a year, hair growth of about 15 cm is expected. You can read more information about the development of your baby under Baby’s eye color – when is it final?
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