Why is a baby born with black hair | The truth about hair color and hair loss in newborns

A child was born with hair on his head: signs

In ancient times, hair was surrounded by many different signs. Our ancestors saw in the improper handling of hair the causes of numerous troubles and troubles. People have always treated babies' hair with special care.

Even now, a baby’s first haircut is given only at one year of age, so as not to provoke the development of dangerous diseases in the baby.
In the old days, it was believed that cutting a child's hair too early would lead to poverty in the future.
Another sign warns against the undesirability of early introduction of scissors to a baby’s hairstyle. It is believed that, together with the hair, this sharp instrument can “cut the tongue”, and the child will begin to speak very late.
The first hair cut becomes a real amulet, capable of curing diseases and averting misfortunes.

But how should we evaluate the birth of a newborn already adorned with magnificent hair?

In many cultures, baby hair symbolizes success in life and material security. That is why children who are already born with a chic hairstyle are considered darlings of fate, doomed to a comfortable and happy life.
In many countries, such lucky kids are usually used in rituals to attract wealth. You just need to run a coin through their thick hair several times, and financial success is guaranteed to you.
Some new parents find a gray strand on their newborn's head. Despite the age inappropriateness, such an unusual phenomenon should not cause concern for the health and well-being of the baby. Quite the contrary, this special sign of fate predicts the manifestation in the child of some outstanding gift or talent in the future, promising him a completely extraordinary life.

Even now, a baby’s first haircut is given only at one year of age, so as not to provoke the development of dangerous diseases in the baby.
In the old days, it was believed that cutting a child's hair too early would lead to poverty in the future.
Another sign warns against the undesirability of early introduction of scissors to a baby’s hairstyle. It is believed that, together with the hair, this sharp instrument can “cut the tongue”, and the child will begin to speak very late.
The first hair cut becomes a real amulet, capable of curing diseases and averting misfortunes.

Newborns With Hair on Their Heads What Does This Mean?

When a baby is born, many mothers examine literally every cell of his body, counting their fingers. And then, in the first months, they watch the process of development and maturation just as anxiously: how the umbilical wound heals, how reflexes work... Therefore, panic begins when something goes wrong (in the parents’ understanding). The situation is sometimes aggravated by grandmothers who stubbornly do not accept the objective arguments of pediatricians.

Let's look at the situation when babies experience hair loss. It sounds scary, but it's actually okay. This phenomenon occurs very often. Many parents associate it with rickets or rubbing the back of the head on the mattress while sleeping.

Rickets is scary and actually incredibly frightening for moms. Rubbing your hair... It's unpleasant, but you can live with it. But in fact, the baby (and not only the newborn) loses hair for another reason, which pediatrician Valery Ivanov .

First, you need to understand the phases of hair growth,” explains the doctor.

1st phase. Aanagen is the active growth phase. Lasts 2-6 years (average 3 years);

Phase 2. Catagen - phase of partial degeneration - 10-14 days;

Phase 3. Telogen - resting phase - 3-4 months. Hair growth stops completely. The hair follicle enters the growth phase again, the emerging new hair pushes out the old one. Old hair falls out.

Pediatrician Valery Ivanov explains why you shouldn’t be alarmed when babies develop bald patches on the back of their heads:

Do you always follow doctors' orders?

Yes, they know us better.

43.82%

Not always, because more information can be obtained from other women in labor.

20.88%

I comply, but I check reviews and advice from various mothers.

35.29%

Voted: 340

In newborns, the first hairs are in the anagen stage just a few days after birth. They quickly enter telogen and fall out in the first 4 months of life. Hair loss is especially noticeable from 2 to 4 months in the occipital region. Rarely hair falls out in the first 2-4 weeks in the frontotemporal regions. Hair loss is not associated with the position of the child during sleep and “rubbing” hair on the mattress. And is not associated with vitamin D deficiency.

Do you remember your reaction to the appearance of a receding hairline in a child?

1st phase. Aanagen is the active growth phase. Lasts 2-6 years (average 3 years);

Normal or pathological?

Sometimes babies are born completely without hair, while others have quite impressive hair - this depends, first of all, on hereditary factors.

If a baby is born with hair, then it is most likely soft, thin and weightless - these are the so-called vellus hairs.

Over time, they will completely change to new ones , harder, more elastic and, perhaps, even change color.

This process of gradual hair replacement is completely normal . The cover that appears after the fuzz will not be exactly the same as that of an adult: the hair shaft will be thinner, so it breaks easily, for example, with rough combing.

In this regard, in the first year of life, caring for a child’s head should be very delicate .

Typically, the loss of the first hairline ends by three to four months of a newborn’s life. The appearance of new hair lasts for each child in its own way, in an individual rhythm, usually reaching its peak at 6 months and ending at 12 months or one and a half years. Read more about hair loss in children under 3 years of age here.

However, complete hair growth will only be established by the end of childhood and the beginning of puberty, that is, by about the age of 11-12 .

WITH CORRECT CARE, AND YOUR HAIR IS LUXURIOUS!

Children's hair is very thin and fragile. Therefore, they must be protected more from the effects of external factors than adults. Only proper hair care can prevent hair loss. Take proper care, you must:

Wash your hair with a shampoo suitable for children, with a neutral Ph.
Give your baby a head wash no more than once a week. Remember that even the best quality shampoo, if overused, dries out the scalp.
Wash your hair with warm water.
Always rinse your hair with shampoo after washing your hair.
Wet hair cannot be dried; it must be blotted with a soft towel.
Wait until your hair is completely dry and only then start combing it.
Comb your hair every day with an individual comb. For very young children, a brush with soft bristles is suitable, and for older children, a wooden comb with wide teeth and non-sharp ends.
When combing your child, make a parting each time, choosing a new place on his head for him.
Do not use tight elastic bands or hair clips. Plastic hairpins with a smooth surface are suitable.

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Why does a baby lose hair on his head?

Let's consider the sources of hair loss in a child under one year old, which can be encountered in early childhood. Most often, up to a year, these reasons are purely physiological in nature and do not threaten anything serious. However, there are also rare cases of illness.

Hormonal changes

This is a physiological reason related to the work of hormones. In the womb, the child received hormones from the mother, and after birth their amount decreases . During this adaptation period, slight hair loss may occur.

Follicular injury

We are talking about hair loss due to injury to the hair follicles due to improper care .

For example, traction alopecia occurs due to strong stress on the hair roots during tight hairstyles with pins and elastic bands.

Also, shaving , which is usually done a year, and sometimes earlier, following rituals, can cause injury to the follicles. This is justified by the fact that hair will grow better.

Modern research proves that the procedure has no effect on improving growth , but it can very easily damage weak children’s follicles, which at this age are close to the surface of the skin. In addition, shaving is often very stressful for a baby.

Friction

With constant rubbing of the head, for example, on a mattress during sleep, bald patches may appear on the back of the head or temples , depending on which position is the baby’s favorite.

It should not be confused with a serious disease - alopecia areata (or focal) in which hair suddenly falls out in clumps, leaving empty space on the head.

In the case of this disease, the follicles are perceived by the immune system as a foreign object that should be destroyed. However, this disease practically does not develop in children under 3 years of age .

Seborrheic dermatitis (gneiss)

This is the name given to a fairly common phenomenon when crusts form on the baby’s head, which are difficult to separate from the skin ; they are usually yellow or gray in color.

Rickets

This is the first thing doctors call when they complain of hair loss. However, this disease develops in severe form very rarely. Doctors often play it safe and prescribe vitamin D for preventive purposes.

Rickets has a whole range of symptoms, ranging from sleep disturbances, excessive sweating and developmental delays.

Hair loss in newborns: causes - lack of vitamin D? Watch a video about the connection between hair loss and rickets:

Fungus

For example, the well-known ringworm. Very rarely occurs before the age of one year, as there is usually no close contact with animals or other children.

Nerve damage or genetics

For example, trichotillomania, in which the child himself pulls and twists his hair .

These regularly repeated movements lead to hair loss in an infant.

This reason manifests itself mainly at the age of 2-3 years and requires diagnosis by a psychologist .

The rarest cause is a genetic defect . In this case, the child has congenital baldness, due to which hair grows poorly or does not grow at all.

COMPLETE OR PARTIAL LACK OF HAIR

Bald patches may form in place of the first baby hairs; this occurs due to constant friction of the child’s head against the pillow. Mostly, bald patches are visible on the back of the head and near the temples. To prevent the formation of bald spots, it is recommended to turn the baby from one side to the other in the crib.

Another reason for the lack of hair in a small child may be gneiss. Gneiss is a type of seborrheic dermatitis. Externally, it looks like a crust consisting of fatty scales. It is necessary to remove such crusts from the surface of the head, since their presence interferes with normal hair growth. How to do this correctly? That's how:

Before washing your baby’s hair, you need to apply lukewarm, pre-boiled burdock or baby special oil to its surface.
Now wrap the baby’s head well with a scarf to warm it.
Gently comb out all scales using a soft brush.
Rinse your hair thoroughly.

I would like to address the mothers of girls separately . By braiding tight braids for girls at an early age and using elastic bands, you risk the health of children's hair. This attitude towards them can cause small bald patches to form on the temporal part of the head. After all, a child’s thin hairs, when they are tightly pulled, begin to break and gradually fall out. This leads to the fact that hair begins to grow much more slowly or its growth stops completely. Therefore, young ladies up to the age of three are recommended to have haircuts.

But what to do if the hair does not grow, but the bald spots increase and the hair becomes thinner? Interestingly, baldness itself in children as a disease is quite rare. Most often, the causes of childhood alopecia are nervous disorders, skin diseases, and disorders in the functioning of internal organs.

As a rule, baldness in childhood appears as a result of the following diseases:

Trichotillomania, this disease manifests itself as a child’s continuous desire to pull out his own hair. As a result of such manipulations, the hair becomes very fragile and thin, and subsequently falls out.
Braiding your hair too tightly can cause injury to the hair shaft.
As a result of the appearance of fungal diseases. Ringworm is one of them.
Autoimmune disease – alopecia areata.
Improper functioning of the immune system of the child’s body, which causes the hair follicles to die.

Only after making a correct diagnosis can the doctor prescribe a course of treatment for the patient’s disease.

Why are children born without hair? If your baby was born without hair, don't despair. This happens and passes quickly))). As a rule, by 7-9 months or later, depending on genes, hairs will begin to appear and even thicken.
But if the child has no hair on his head and is over 3 years old, then he should be thoroughly examined with the participation of various doctors. The first step is to contact your local pediatrician, and he, in turn, will refer the child to specialized specialists: a trichologist, a dermatologist, a neurologist. And under no circumstances self-medicate using traditional methods. By doing this, you can cause serious harm to your baby.

What should parents do?

If there is no sudden hair loss, then first you need to check if there are any shortcomings in your care, and then take other steps.

Pay attention to the shampoo.

You should wash your hair with the product no more than once a week (or even less often). The rest of the time, just rinse your hair with water while bathing. Carefully monitor the water temperature throughout the procedure. Monitor how much hair is lost when combing . If there is a lot, it means you have chosen the wrong comb. For newborns, soft bristles are suitable; it’s great if they are made from natural material.

Sometimes parents are so happy with their girls' hair growth that from an early age they start doing hairstyles with hairpins and elastic bands .

As a result, delicate, weak hair is injured, breaks and falls out.

It is better to avoid tight hairpins and elastic bands, in favor of soft ones with a smooth surface.

And for those who have particularly sensitive hair, it is worth giving up hairstyles altogether until the age of 2, or better yet, until the age of 3.

For a girl, you can come up with a comfortable short haircut, with which she will not look like a boy at all.

FINDING THE REASON AND RESTORING CHILDREN'S HAIR

So, if your child has no hair, then there may be several reasons why the hair began to grow more slowly:

Unbalanced diet.
Insufficient amount of vitamins and microelements in the baby’s body.
A metabolic failure has occurred.
The child suffered severe stress.
The occurrence of a disease such as rickets.
Hereditary factor.

Now parents should accurately establish the reliable main cause of slow hair growth in their child and eliminate it. What you can do:

Balance the baby’s diet, and if the baby is breastfed, then the mother needs to eat well and properly. Foods rich in protein, phosphorus and calcium will help your baby improve hair growth. Fermented milk products, yolk, fish, cabbage and spinach should be present on the child’s table every day.
Children without hair should consume special vitamin and mineral complexes. Vitamins A, B6, C, B12, PP and E are especially useful.
Consult an endocrinologist if you suspect metabolic disorders in your child.
Eliminate negative emotions from your baby’s life that can lead to stress. If necessary, consult a neurologist.
For preventive purposes, give your baby vitamin D. If you notice that your child is sweating a lot, muscle tone has decreased, and bones are deformed, then all of these are the first signs of rickets.
But you have to come to terms with genetics. Nothing can be changed anymore! The only thing that remains for parents is to strengthen and stimulate hair growth.

It also happens that children's hair does not grow well due to the wrong choice of hair shampoo. In such a situation, you should change the cosmetic product for washing your hair and take a strengthening course for intensive hair growth:

1). Try giving your baby a light head massage, this will improve the blood flow to the hair follicles and the hair will begin to grow faster.

2). Forget about baby shampoo for a while and replace it with neutral soap.

3). Wash your children's hair with kefir or beaten egg yolk; it is enough to do this procedure once every seven days.

4). In order to stimulate hair growth, use a burdock oil mask from time to time.

5). Rinse your hair after washing with a herbal decoction of herbs such as nettle, string, chamomile, burdock.

How to help baby hair grow?

Give your child a pleasant head massage while washing it or at any other convenient time. The blood flow will deliver nutrition to the hair follicles and activate hair growth.

Change your care products to softer and safer ones; they are usually more expensive and are almost never found in the household chemicals section of a regular store.

Avoid traumatic combs, hairpins , and hats while the child is at home and awake.

How to treat baldness?

Treating a small child on your own is a thankless and even dangerous task.

The main thing that a parent should do is to show the baby to the doctor on time : do not miss scheduled examinations and come to the appointment if you suspect an illness.

If the doctor indicates a disease as the cause of baldness, then all further actions should be aimed, first of all, at its treatment.

If rickets is suspected, vitamin D will be prescribed and it will be recommended to spend more time in the fresh air.

If you are bothered by your child’s hair loss, and your pediatrician’s consultation is not satisfactory, visit a trichologist.

In case of severe hair loss without subsequent growth, the cause may be improper child care . Sometimes hair loss is a manifestation of a disease, for example, quite harmless seborrheic dermatitis or dangerous rickets. Only a doctor can make a final diagnosis.

Newborns With Hair on Their Heads What Does This Mean?

Previously, grandmothers insisted on cutting a one-year-old baby’s head bald, as if the hair would grow better, and they also advised lubricating the milky crusts on the newborn’s head with boiled sunflower oil and combing them out with a comb. How should you really care for your newborn's hair? Let's figure it out.

It’s hard to believe, but the baby’s first hair appears already at the end of the third month of intrauterine life, and by seven months his entire body is covered with “intrauterine” hair. But the baby, if it is full-term, is born without them.

The baby may be born with a very full head of hair or with only a delicate fluff on his head, but even if the baby seems bald, this is not at all the case, hair is still present on the head. And they need to be looked after from birth. How?

wash your hair with neutral pH shampoo;

wash the baby’s hair with clean running water every time while bathing;

The baby’s head should be blotted with a soft towel, and under no circumstances should it be wiped, as this can damage the hair and delicate scalp;

The baby’s long hair should be combed when almost dry, using soft combs made from natural materials;

Combing is a great way to massage and stimulate the hair follicles.

Do not use adult shampoos to wash your baby's hair.

– they contain dyes, preservatives, fragrances, which can lead to severe allergic reactions. Shampoo for a newborn should indicate that it can be used from birth.

Children's hair is much finer than an adult's

. In the first year of a baby's life, there is no point in cutting hair, unless it has grown so long that the bangs cover the eyes. Shaving a baby's head bald does not have any effect on the quality of hair growth or quantity of hair. If the baby has thin and brittle hair, it needs to be cut regularly (every 1-2 months) or trimmed by 0.5 cm.

Often, babies in the first months of life experience so-called milk crusts.

. In pediatrics they are called “seborrheic dermatitis.” If there are too many crusts on the baby’s head, they should be carefully removed from the head, according to the recommendation of the pediatrician.

Do not scrape or pick out dry crusts;
To soften the crusts, only special products should be used
A comb for combing out seborrheic crusts should have rounded teeth. It is best to use a special comb
It is best to remove crusts after bathing, when both they and the scalp have softened under the influence of water and shampoo
If the baby has long hair and there are a lot of milky crusts, then it is better to cut the hair to make it more convenient to comb it without damaging the hair.

And another problem associated with baby hair is partial baldness.

. If the hair is “wiped” on the back of the head, as grandmothers say, then this is most often due to the child’s position in the crib not changing. But if partial baldness spreads to different areas of the scalp, then consult a specialist.

In the first years, the baby's hair will change, not only its structure, but also its color. And if at first the main problem is how to wash them without tears, then later the question will arise: what haircut to choose. But more on that another time.

And another problem associated with baby hair is partial baldness.
. If the hair is “wiped” on the back of the head, as grandmothers say, then this is most often due to the child’s position in the crib not changing. But if partial baldness spreads to different areas of the scalp, then consult a specialist.

Why are babies born with body hair?

Hair on the ears of a newborn: normal or pathological

Content:

Our children are all born different in appearance.

Read on topic:

Many babies are born with hair all over their body.

As already mentioned, many children are born with hair not only on the head, but also completely covered with fluff all over the body, including on the ears. This hair is called virgin hair or lanugo. This most often affects premature babies; their body hairs are coarser and take longer to disappear than usual.

After all, nature conceived this for the purpose of preserving heat in the child’s body and so that the delicate skin is not injured. The hair usually disappears even before the baby is born (around the 30th week). But if a child is nevertheless born with body hair, it usually disappears after a few months of life, usually after 3-4. Gradually they turn (erase) into barely noticeable golden, thin hairs.

Why does original hair appear on a child’s body - lanugo?

What exactly is lanugo, when and why do these hairs appear and when do they disappear? Around the twelfth or thirteenth week of intrauterine life, hair forms on the baby’s body, which does not appear just like that, but performs a certain role. The baby's body in the womb secretes a special liquid, similar in consistency to wax, and it is the resulting hairs that hold this liquid (lubricant) on the surface of the skin.

The fetus needs lubrication to make it easier to move through the birth canal at birth. In addition, it also plays a protective role against amniotic fluid, from constant exposure to which the skin of the fetus can crack. By the time of birth, the lanugo disappears, but as we said earlier, not for everyone, the hairs mainly remain on the face, ears and shoulders; this may also depend on the baby’s belonging to the southern and eastern nations, which have thicker and darker hair.

How to care for a baby with lanugo

If the hair on the baby’s face and ears does not disappear during the first months and turns into hard bristles, you need to review the hygiene procedures for caring for the baby, and during bathing, for example, start using a special mitten with which you can remove excess hair.

The more the baby moves, the faster the lanugo will disappear, so the baby needs to be shifted from the right to the left side and to the back as often as possible, then the hairs will be wiped out evenly. With normal care for the baby, the bristles do not cause him any discomfort, you don’t need to do anything, the hair will fall out on its own.

After all, the so-called rolling out of bristles using bread crumbs or pulling out hairs can lead to injuries to the delicate skin of a child. It’s good if it’s just irritation, but you can infect the skin, and this is much more dangerous.

If the hair does not disappear for a long time, then you should consult a geneticist to find out the reasons, since this situation may be a sign of hereditary diseases. The doctor will help parents determine whether some abnormalities in your baby are serious or not.

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Hair in newborns

author: Alena | 28-02-2013, 09:45 |

Mothers sometimes imagine their newborn child not as he is born. Some babies are born bald, while others have very thick hair and are present not only on the head, but also on the body. Many parents are worried about this, because they have never encountered such a phenomenon as child hairiness before.

Hair on a baby's body is normal. When a child is in the mother's womb, it is covered with hairs, which are called embryonic. These hairs then transform into thinner, golden-colored hairs that are hardly noticeable. There are also cases when a child is born with very thick hair growing not only on the body, but also in the ears, forehead and shoulders. This type of hair is called lanugo. Such dense vegetation on the body is often found in those children who are not full-term. These children have coarse hair and take longer to disappear.

The hair that a baby is born with gradually wears off and falls out. This process may take approximately two weeks after birth. If this does not happen, then there is no need to worry; your hair will fall out two months after the baby is born.

Mothers often experience anxiety due to the baby’s lack of both eyelashes and eyebrows. These hairs are coarser and grow slower than other hairs. Several months will pass, and eyelashes and eyebrows will definitely appear; their color may change.

There is no need to worry about the fact that your baby may lose hair in the first months after birth. This phenomenon can be called natural. The first hairs are very thin, and they wear off very quickly when the baby lies on the pillow, turning over from the back to the side. When these hairs fall out, they will be replaced by stronger hairs. If, even after the child reaches the age of six months, the hair still falls out quickly, then a consultation with a pediatrician is needed. Hair loss, in this case, may occur due to some disease.

Sometimes a baby is born with gray hair. This phenomenon is genetically determined. Perhaps your relatives have experienced this phenomenon. Gray hairs will then be replaced by hair of a normal color.

If the hair on the baby's head is not too thick, then some parents decide to shave the child's head. You should not do this, as this will not increase the amount of hair. After five years, the hair on the baby's head will be thicker.

About the hair and body of a newborn baby

Does your newborn baby have excessive body hair? For young parents, such a symptom is always extremely frightening. However, many doctors warn in advance about the possibility of their development. These hairs are quite thin compared to those on the body of an adult, and they are given a special name - lanugo. They can be located both on the back and on the ears and shoulders of the child. At the same time, the hairs can be quite stiff, which is why mothers decide that they are the root of the baby’s sleep problems and poor appetite.

Causes

The development of lanugo hairs on the baby's body begins in the womb, around the twelfth week. Gradually, as the fetus develops, some hairs die off and are replaced by others, thinner and almost invisible. In fact, lanugos do not pose any danger, quite the contrary. They are called upon to protect the child. These hairs retain the substance that the baby’s body secretes while in the womb, thanks to which the small organism develops fully.

The reasons for the appearance of excessive hair include the following:

If a newborn has hair on his body and quite a lot of it, then most likely it’s all a matter of heredity and the predominance of the hormone responsible for hair growth - testosterone.
Anomalies in the development of hair, which are called stigmas. Based on a full examination of the child, only a doctor can identify the cause of their occurrence.
Premature birth. Since the baby is premature, the lanugo has not yet completely fallen out.
Pathology. We can talk about it if the lanugo did not disappear a few months after the baby was born. In this case, mandatory visits to doctors and courses of treatment that will be prescribed are indicated.

Methods of disposal

Doctors recommend taking some measures that will be aimed at removing hair if the newborn has it. They are quite simple, so following them will not be difficult.

Be sure to bathe your baby regularly
When bathing, it is important to use a soft sponge or washcloth, with which you can wash off the hairs with gentle massage movements.
Constantly turn the baby over and change the position of his body.

You shouldn't cut your hair, let alone shave your lanugo. A razor can only injure a child's delicate skin.

If, after using creams and baby powders aimed at avoiding skin irritations, the hairs roll into small tufts, they can cause additional discomfort and sometimes even pain. In this case, it is necessary to bathe the baby daily, perhaps even twice a day, if there is really a need for it.

Lanugo: are they dangerous?

Lanugo is just hair that did not have time to fall out while the baby was in the womb. Within a month or two of life, they will finally fall out or be erased.

Hair on a baby's body can in no way cause any problems. Even if the hormone levels are elevated, lanugo is not at all dangerous.

Various traditional medicine recipes should not be used on a child. supposedly allowing you to get rid of unwanted hair. It's best to wait a little. (The only thing that will be useful for a baby from traditional medicine recipes is baths with the addition of various medicinal herbs.)

For men: 10 interesting facts about body hair

Incredible facts

It seems that the man's entire body is covered with hair. Some men are proud of their thick body hair, others want to get rid of excess hair, especially when summer comes and the body is exposed more.

In fashion magazines, men increasingly appear with smooth chests, although women have conflicting opinions on this matter.

What do you need to know about body hair?

Body hair begins to grow in the womb

The first thing men should know about body hair is that it starts growing before birth. Of course, it's quite difficult to imagine a cute little hairy man in the womb, but by the time a baby is born, he will lose some of his first body hair, called lanugo. These small and very fine hairs cover almost the entire body of the baby. Some babies who are born prematurely may see fuzz covering their entire body, but there is no need to worry as they will eventually fall off.

There are three different types of body hair

Lanugo is the first type of hair to appear, followed by soft, fine, colorless hairs called vellus hair. Vellus hair is not attached to the subcutaneous tissue or sebaceous glands. They are the complete opposite of another type of hair - shaft hair, which appears during adolescence. They are much tougher, attached to the subcutaneous tissue and sebaceous glands, which contributes to the appearance of body odor.

Most women prefer natural, but neat

What do women think about men's body hair? At different times, women had different attitudes towards hairy men, but it was always considered socially acceptable.

In Western culture, women themselves are expected to be flawlessly smooth when it comes to any hair on their body. However, surveys of women revealed that many would not mind men also tidying up, although in most cases their demands are much more modest. It can be said that shaving hair on the legs, arms and armpits is too risky. When it comes to chest hair, women are divided into two opposing camps: some are very turned on by it, while others prefer smooth breasts. As for the hair on the back, although women are ready to put up with it, they do not mind seeing at least an attempt to tame the excess hair.

Each hair is protected by tiny glands

As mentioned, with the onset of adolescence, men lose most of their vellus hair and they are replaced by shaft hair. These thickened hairs are protected by sebaceous glands, or glands that produce sebum. It protects the skin and hair follicles from bacteria. This is the positive side. However, the bacteria decomposes, which is what causes body odor.

We traded body hair for fat

There is an interesting hypothesis regarding the connection between body hair and body fat. People began to shed their fur as they acclimatized to living near the sea. The less hair a person had on his body, the easier it was for him to swim and fish, and the large amount of adipose tissue helped compensate for the loss of protective heat.

Body hair plays two main roles

For the most part, humans have evolved in such a way that they do not need body hair to survive, but they still have a few basic functions. In cold weather, body hair helps retain heat, and in hot weather, as we sweat, body hair helps absorb moisture from the skin, keeping us cool.

The amount of body hair is linked to intelligence

According to one American psychiatrist, the more body hair you have, the smarter you are. In a 1996 study, Dr. Aikarakudy Alias stated that chest hair is more common among doctors and highly educated people. When the academic performance of students was compared, they found that hairy men had higher grades, and some of the smartest men also had thick hair on their backs. However, anyone who was born with smooth breasts should not be upset, since among smart men there are also many “hairless” ones, including Albert Einstein.

Body hair has muscles

Your body hair actually has muscle cells. You may have observed this when the effect of goosebumps or goosebumps appears on the skin. The smooth muscles of the hair follicles contract under certain conditions, such as exposure to cold, fear or pleasure, and the hair rises. This reflex is called piloerection.

Body hair grows faster in summer

According to Brian Thompson, an American hair specialist, body hair actually grows a little faster in the spring and summer. Why is this happening? There are suggestions that this is due to faster metabolism during these months. In any case, faster growth applies to androgenic hair, that is, hair on the head and those hairs that are influenced by hormones.

Sexual attraction comes from body hair

It is the hair on the body, and not on the head, that serves as a method of attracting the opposite sex. This is how pubic hair and armpit hair hold and help dry out the special hormones secreted by our body so that they float in the air and reach the sense of smell of the opposite sex.

Sources: girafejournal.com, lady.novostiua.net, razvitie-krohi.ru, www.infoniac.ru

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Causes of bald spots in young children

Let's figure out together why babies' hair falls out. In fact, this process is completely natural, and there is nothing terrible in itself. Take a close look at your baby's first hairs: they are soft, light, and resemble fluff rather than human hair.

It is precisely because of their lightness and fragility that they can fall out: the baby’s head constantly rubs against something. This is, for example, a hat that you put on for a walk, the surface of a crib or a chaise longue - after all, the baby still lies a lot, even the softest comb can pull out a few hairs.

Therefore, it is not surprising that during the first three months a child may develop bald patches - this baby fluff “gives way” to real, “adult” hair.

An alarming point: sometimes hair loss can be associated with rickets (more about rickets in infants>>>). Observe carefully and check if your baby has any of the following symptoms, in addition to hair loss:

The skin color resembles marble;
The baby sweats often;
Refusal of mother's milk, tearfulness;
Heat.

If at least one point matches, it is better to contact your pediatrician, he will either dispel your doubts or provide the necessary assistance.

This is interesting! The replacement of vellus hair with normal coarse hair occurs in the first months of a child’s life. But sometimes this process can drag on until the age of one.

How to avoid hair loss in your baby

Proper care is the best prevention of any problems for the baby.

Pay special attention to the choice of children's cosmetics, because the baby's skin is delicate and can react poorly to any component. Did you buy shampoo? Check the composition to see if the smell is too strong or the color is too rich. The more natural it looks, the better;
Be sure to choose one that is labeled “hypoallergenic,” labeled “from birth,” and “tear-free.” It will be enough to use shampoo once or maximum twice a week, and at other times it is better to simply rinse the baby’s head with running or boiled water. Read: Is it possible to wash a newborn with soap?>>>
Never use your own shampoos and conditioners, they are absolutely not suitable for newborns! If there is no children's remedy, it is better to brew a string or chamomile - nature will be your best helper. Current article: Herbs for bathing a newborn >>>.
The water temperature can be measured with a special thermometer; it is considered optimal for bathing newborns at around 37°;
If the baby lies in different positions - on the tummy, on the side, and not just on the back, then fewer bald patches will form on the back of the head. And it will be more interesting for you to spend time with your child;
Pay attention to the size of your baby's headdress: it should not be too tight for him. Seasonality is also important - in hats that are too warm, the child will sweat a lot. Both the first and second can lead to hair loss.

Now that you know why newborns lose hair on their heads and how to deal with it, you can be considered a trained specialist in solving this problem.

When do babies go bald?

Since hair on the head begins to grow during fetal development, it can grow quite long by the time of birth, while hair on the body periodically falls out and is replaced by new ones.

The amount, color and structure of hair depend not only on genetic factors, but also on hormonal levels. It is the change in hormonal levels after birth (when the child becomes, in a physiological sense, an independent person, independent of the mother) that causes this hair to fall out (and all of them can fall out at the same time).

This happens at the age of two to three months. After which new hair begins to grow, already of the color that is more characteristic of the child. However, most often, new hair gradually replaces those with which the child was born, and the baby passes the stage of complete baldness.