Strange Question...baby hair

[Phoenix]

Okay, I was watching A Baby Story on TLC and I was thinking...I've never seen a baby born with type 4b hair. Does this ever happen? Why is it that baby's hair texture changes over time? Is "baby hair" structurally/chemically different from the hair that you have as you get older? And how come the hair around your edges keeps that texture? Maybe I have too much time on my hands, but I was wondering...

 

[balisi]

Baby hair is lanugo, which is why it is fine and soft. As the hair develops, the texture naturally changes.

 

[vickyd]

I thought that lanugo was the fine hair that develops on the baby's body -- although the head is part of the body -- I guess I hadn't really thought about it. Below is a quote on the matter, it is I suppose open to interpretation:

"The skin of a newborn will be slightly mottled at first and may be covered with a pale, cheesy coating called vernix. Fine, downy hair called lanugo may also be present, but it usually disappears within the first few weeks."

My theory is that for nine months the baby is in a liquid environment and is developing. Some babies are born wihout hair and some have a full head of hair. The environment is filled with moisture and nutrients etc. and then after birth, the moisture is slowingly depleted or dimished and there is exposure to the outside enviornment with other airborn particles, etc. We are what we eat and breath. But the bottomline is that the shape of the follicle determines the type of hair (i.e. staight, wavy, kinky, etc.) Just a theory.. I'll be looking to see what others think.

 

[imstush]

You know I thought that once, until I saw my neighbor's baby. He was about a month old or less and his hair was 4b/c...and i had never seen that before.

 

[Porsche19]

Some babies are born with 4a/b hair. Imo that's a minority though.

You don't really see too many babies with any type of coarse curl. Regardless of race.

Usually it's straight to wavy, and if it's curly it's very soft and fine. Until they get older.

 

[natstar]

Wow i always wondered about this myself- interesting!

 

[atl_mulattamami]

vickyd is correct. because the baby is in a liquid environment the hair is constantly moisturized and nourished. to put it short, most babies hair is in completely perfect condition when they come out of the womb. as time goes on and their hair is exposed to hair, washing, combing, etc.,etc...that excessive moisture is lost...same thing goes with their skin that is why babies have such soft skin and as they gets older it gets "thicker"

 

[caligirl]

I wish I could put whatever is in that amniotic fluid in my hair.

 

[Naijaqueen]

I wish I could put whatever is in that amniotic fluid in my hair.

ROFLMAO!!!!!

 

[Porsche19]

How could it be the amniotic fluid? After all, we wash the babies hair. It's not newborns have baby hair older babies also have that texture.

Also, that would not explain why the hair that grows after birth blends in with the hair that was already present at birth. Or why a baby that was bald at birth grows straighter hair.... hair that was never in contact with amniotic fluid.

My guess would be that the follicles aren't mature, so they continue to make the soft, fine hair that the baby has covering it's body while in the womb.

It would be quite similar to pre-teens growing pubic and body hair when they reach a certain age. The follicles were always there, they just didn't have a mature enough chemical cocktail to start working correctly.

 

[FlowerHair]

I think that a baby's hair follicles are not fully matured yet, that's why the true texture develops over the first months and years.

 

[Mestiza]

This is a great thread! At what age does the hair type/texture that one will have most of her life appear?

 

[Eiano]

What it is, is that a baby's hair is 'programmed' to grow out of the scalp very fine and curly.... then after the baby is born and begins to get older this hair falls out and the 'lifetime' hair starts to fill in.

no lies!!!

 

[brittanynic16]

What it is, is that a baby's hair is 'programmed' to grow out of the scalp very fine and curly.... then after the baby is born and begins to get older this hair falls out and the 'lifetime' hair starts to fill in.

no lies!!!

I agree. We adapt as we age. Just like we lose little baby teeth to make room for larger adult teeth we lose fine, soft have to make room for the hair we see today.

 

[Phoenix]

vickyd is correct. because the baby is in a liquid environment the hair is constantly moisturized and nourished. to put it short, most babies hair is in completely perfect condition when they come out of the womb. as time goes on and their hair is exposed to hair, washing, combing, etc.,etc...that excessive moisture is lost...same thing goes with their skin that is why babies have such soft skin and as they gets older it gets "thicker"

Then theoretically, if a person with 4b hair took reallllllly good care of themselves and their hair and kept it moisturized and nourished -their textured would change and they would start growing baby hair? Does that mean that "nappiness" results from hair not being properly nourished and moisturized or that hair that is in "perfect condition" wouldn't be nappy? I've met adults with "baby soft" skin because they take really good care of it. Does that mean you can grow baby hair by taking really good care yourself & your hair? I'm not suggesting that anybody try to change their texture...I'm just wondering.

 

[Kimberly]

When I was expecting my daughter, my mother hoped my baby would be born bald because she thought that meant my daughter would have "good hair". My daughter was born with a full head of hair that was about 2 inches long. I brought her home from the hospital with little barretts in her hair. Her hair was soft and curly and I could brush it around my finger and make curls. By 6 months, she had the biggest, softest, prettiest afro puffs and, soon after that, they started to get kinkier and kinkier.

I think the amniotic fluid is definitely a contributing factor to the condition of the baby's hair at birth. They are floating in it, they drink it, they urinate in it (anyone remember urine therapy?).

My daughter is 10 now with mostly 4a hair with some 3c mixed in.

Anyway, do we know that animal placenta, or proteins derived from animal placenta is not in some of the products we use? I know I read about them using it in cosmetics so I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[Bklynqueen]

What a great thread! I agree what others say about a newborn's hair follicles have not matured fully and that's the reason for the superfine hair. I was a premie and born with no hair and when my hair finally started to grow in ( maybe around 6 or 7 months), it grew in very curly, which quickly became 4a/b hair. Also, the hair that babies are born with soon falls out and the new "stronger" hair grows in; this starts to happen when the baby is around 3-6 months old. There are some cases where some newborns hair never falls out but their texture changes gradually and they fully reach their texture by the time they are about 2 years old. And while we are on this thread, I had a male cousin who never lost his baby hair and kept the texture up until he was 15 years old! I was amazed the few times that I've seen him ( he's from St.Vincent) and could not keep my hands out of his hair! Sadly, when I seen him as a grown man, that hair was gone! I knew something tragic must have happened to lose his hair so suddenly and he told me that when another cousin came to the country sporting waves,, he decided he wanted waves too ( the fool had waves already!!!) so he bought an "S" Curl. The result? He now has what is called " buckshots" and has to resort to shaving his hair bald because he is no longer able to grow, comb and brush his hair properly. He is still kicking himself, poor lad. LOL. Sorry for the book but now I have another question. When my mom ( RIP) went through chemotherapy and her hair fell out, when it grew back, she had 2/a hair (b4 cancer, a 3b/4a). This new baby hair, never went back to its original hair texture. Anyone ever wonder why that is? Is it the chemo meds that alters the hair state? Let me know what you think, I've found this happened to a lot of cancer patients.