Does shaving your child’s head make the hair develop again thicker?

Across many Asian cultures, it is a frequent perception handed from mum to mum: shaving your child’s hair will make it develop longer and thicker.

Many Singapore mums swear by the significance of shaving to make method for more healthy, silkier tresses. My personal mum has typically regaled me with tales of how ugly my new child hair was (full with photograph proof). At a number of months previous, what little fuzz I had was skinny and patchy till she took me to the hairdresser’s.

Old wives’ story—or fact?

So is that this cultural observe backed up by science? The bald reply: no.

The texture of your child’s hair is genetically predetermined from beginning, in line with Leonica Kei, director and senior trichologist at Singapore’s Philip Kingsley Trichological Centre. Babies are born already possessing all of the hair follicles they are going to ever have.

Simply put, hair follicles are pockets of cells beneath the scalp floor which produce hair. The measurement of the follicles determines the thickness of your child’s hair — the larger the follicle, the thicker the hair strand.

The variety of follicles, alternatively, determines how a lot hair your baby may have. The larger the variety of follicles, the extra hairs potential to be fashioned.

Shaving, after all, does not change the hair follicles rooted in your bub’s scalp. This imply it is your genes, not shaving, that may take credit score on your kid’s beautiful tresses in a while.

In truth, specialists advise that folks would possibly need to delay shaving their infants’ heads, for worry of damage. “A baby’s scalp is very tender,” Kei says. “The top of his head, called the fontanelle, is especially soft because his skull bones have not fully knitted together.”

Why your child’s hair appears completely different at first

There are good the reason why your new child’s hair does not fairly look its finest. Babies begin off with vellus hair, explains Kei, which is “short, fine and poorly pigmented”. By the time your tot reaches two, this early hair may have been changed by lush, mature terminal hair.

Another frequent fear that mums have is uneven or patchy hair. Infant hair loss will be the wrongdoer on this case, and it is a pure a part of child improvement, in line with LIVESTRONG. This balding might occur attributable to hormonal modifications and may last as long as 6 months.

If your child’s balding is happening in spots, this will even be attributable to sleeping and sitting positions. According to specialists, infants who rub the again of their head towards a child seat or mattress typically lose hair in that spot.

To scale back hair loss from an excessive amount of time spent in the identical place, you might be suggested to offer the little ones extra tummy time. Alternatively, you possibly can change up which finish of the cot you lay your child’s head throughout sleeptime.

Though you need to seek the advice of a physician in case you’re involved about your child’s hair development, there’s often no want so that you can do a lot however let nature run its course. Meanwhile, take pleasure in your baby’s lovable hairdo, tufts, skinny hair and all!

Republished with permission from: theAsianMother or father Singapore

Be positive to take a look at Mother or fatherTown for extra insightful tales, questions, and solutions from dad and mom and specialists alike. If you’ve gotten any insights, questions or feedback relating to the subject, please share them in our Comment field beneath. Like us on Facebook and observe us on Google+ to remain up-to-date on the newest from theAsianguardian.com Philippines!