"Don't cut your baby's hair because it will grow in nappy"

[JewelleNY]

This is what my co-worker said yesterday when we were talking about another worker's new baby boy.

I have heard people say this belore and my mom even used to say when I was little that she wishes she hadn't brushed my sis and my hair out because we had curly hair when we were babies.

I used to believe this but now I really don't think it is possible. Our DNA would determine our hair types even if we have a certain texture at birth, that may not be our permanent texture.

I tried to explain this to my co-worker but she was emphatic that cutting the baibies hair would bring in "nappy" hair (like that would be a bad thing)

What do you guys think about it?

 

[Wildchild453]

Its a myth

 

[Country gal]

Another good question is why do babies have one texture when born but later on their hair changes?

 

[Vshanell]

It is definitely a myth. I know it's an old superstition to not cut baby boy's hair until they are a year old but it has nothing to do with texture. I've never heard of this one though. Whatever the baby's genetic texture is it will be that reguardless of weather she cuts it or not. Most baby's texture dosen't fully develop until they reach about 7 yrs.

 

[Cheleigh]

Its a myth

ITA. She could never cut her baby's hair and it would still become kinky/nappy/curly whatever it's supposed to do as the child gets older. Our genetics determine hair texture. Also trauma (or maybe cell mutation) seems to change hair texture. I've seen women go through chemotherapy or radiation and the hair that grows back is different than their previous texture.

Baby hair is usually very fine, regardless of ethnicity. Some hair starts off straight and grows curly. Others see the opposite occur. I'm no geneticist so I can't explain why hair changes texture (although I'm guessing has something to do with environmental evolution) but maybe a geneticist can explain it to us?

 

[Supergirl]

Another good question is why do babies have one texture when born but later on their hair changes?

My theory on this is that the placenta is what keeps the hair at such a soft, delicate texture and also the fact that the hair has not yet been exposed to environmental elements and such while inside the womb.

 

[Country gal]

My theory on this is that the placenta is what keeps the hair at such a soft, delicate texture and also the fact that the hair has not yet been exposed to environmental elements and such while inside the womb.

Sounds logical.

 

[rrolle234]

I guess the same thing applies as with skin color.
Most babies are born with light skin colors and as they grow they develop their permanent color

 

[JewelleNY]

I guess the same thing applies as with skin color.
Most babies are born with light skin colors and as they grow they develop their permanent color

Also, a lot of babies are born with blue eyes but they later change. My eyes were blue at birth and the green and now brown.

The girl who had the baby believed that superstition that cutting the boy's hair would mean that he would not talk She is Puerto Rican. I have heard that before. I also have heard that Indian women shave their babies hair at an early age which makes it grown in thick and even. I guess every culture has its traditions.

 

[Isis]

This is what my co-worker said yesterday when we were talking about another worker's new baby boy.

I have heard people say this belore and my mom even used to say when I was little that she wishes she hadn't brushed my sis and my hair out because we had curly hair when we were babies.

I used to believe this but now I really don't think it is possible. Our DNA would determine our hair types even if we have a certain texture at birth, that may not be our permanent texture.

I tried to explain this to my co-worker but she was emphatic that cutting the baibies hair would bring in "nappy" hair (like that would be a bad thing)

What do you guys think about it?

So your mother thought brushing the hair would change the hair structure? Does she still believe this?

I haven't heard the theory about cutting a baby's hair makes it grow in nappy. I don't think my hair was cut as a baby and the nappiness still happened at some point. This theory could easily be tested by looking at children who never got their hair cut.

 

[Princess Pie]

This may sound crazy but... the same thing happens to puppies. They start out with one kind of fur, and as they mature it changes. I have sooo many dogs, so this was the first thing I thought of.

Combing, brushing, and/or cutting aren't going to change the texture that has been determined by genetics. All of my nieces and nephews had straight hair when they were born, and by 18mos it was curly. My mom would say, "that baby is gonna have straight hair!" Then I would say, "how... both parents have 4a/b!" It's hard to defy genetics.

 

[dlewis]

I wonder why it matters to blacks so much?

My MIL was very firm about not cutting my sons hair until he was a year old but she cut it the day before he turned one. Her excuse was he was close enough to being a year old. Folks irritate me when they say stuff like that.

Baby change they don't even look the same when they are 6 months old as they did when they where born. There color, hair nose is very different.

I have heard people say you call tell what color the baby's gonna be, if they have dark spots around the finger and on the ears. My sons had no dark spots what so ever and he's 5 or 6 shades dark than he was when he was born. My daughter private area was jet black, my husband was so excited because he thought he would have a very dark child like him, but that area lighten up and she's the color she was when she was born. Go figure.

 

[Sistaslick]

I've heard all of these stories growing up People just don't know any better. Someone at Walmart not long ago told me not to put baby oil on my daughter's hair because it might turn. She told me her husband ruined her child's hair with baby oil and that it went from nice n' straight to straight up nappy over night . . . Then she was mad that it kept growing in that way. Ummm yeah . . . Help 'em Lord.

 

[caligirl]

I've heard all of these stories growing up People just don't know any better. Someone at Walmart not long ago told me not to put baby oil on my daughter's hair because it might turn. She told me her husband ruined her child's hair with baby oil and that it went from nice n' straight to straight up nappy over night . . . Then she was mad that it kept growing in that way. Ummm yeah . . . Help 'em Lord.

That's funny. I'm going to be devil's advocate here and say that I wish my hair stayed soft and curly like when I was a baby instead of turning into brillo.

 

[Legend]

I can’t believe that old hair myth is still around. *sigh* My hair was cut for the first time when I was around 12, and my hair is not baby-fine. Hair type is determined by genetics, plain and simple.

 

[senimoni]

It changes b/c it is a different type of hair that babies have when they are born...vellus or lanugo, I forget.

 

[hopeful]

That's funny. I'm going to be devil's advocate here and say that I wish my hair stayed soft and curly like when I was a baby instead of turning into brillo.

Okay, then I'll play devil's advocate too: Then I bet you couldn't have those pretty fat twists, bet that baby hair couldn't hold a twist for long. And I wonder how a puff would look with baby hair.

 

[caligirl]

Okay, then I'll play devil's advocate too: Then I bet you couldn't have those pretty fat twists, bet that baby hair couldn't hold a twist for long. And I wonder how a puff would look with baby hair.

hahaha, thanks hopeful. My hair is feeling mighty crispy right now. I need to CO wash.

 

[Poohbear]

My nephew who is 23 months now was born with silky wavy hair. He got his hair cut about a week after he turned one years old. Later on as his hair started growing in, it grew in kinky and dry, and his grandparents (my parents) would say "what happened to his good hair?" I was like "he still has good hair... the hair that grows naturally out of your scalp is good whether its straight, wavy, curly, or kinky." They just looked at me like I was crazy, and said I was just saying that because I have natural nappy hair.
But anyway, I noticed before he got his hair cut that his roots would be nappier than the ends of his hair. I believe your hair just undergoes a texture change as you age and physically mature... Just like with eye color, skin color, skin texture, bone structure, etc... There's no way that all your features will stay the same since birth.

 

[sareca]

Also, a lot of babies are born with blue eyes but they later change. My eyes were blue at birth and the green and now brown.

The girl who had the baby believed that superstition that cutting the boy's hair would mean that he would not talk She is Puerto Rican. I have heard that before. I also have heard that Indian women shave their babies hair at an early age which makes it grown in thick and even. I guess every culture has its traditions.

ITA. A lot of cultures have superstitions about their babies.