What is the reason for newborns' thinning hair? What should I do if my newborns have thinning hair?

The baby is less than one month old, and his hair grows very slowly and is very sparse. The mother takes care of him every day. So what is the reason for the sparse hair of the newborn? What should I do if the newborn has sparse hair?

Reasons for thinning hair in newborns

1. Hair loss: When the fetus is in the mother's womb for 5 to 6 months, the fetus has dense hair all over the body. The hair on the head will fall off when the fetus is 7 to 8 months old. When the baby is about to be born, new hair will grow again; the hair on the back of the occipital bone does not fall off, but will start to fall off after the baby is born. Therefore, it is normal for the baby to lose a small amount of hair from birth to 6 months.

2. Heredity: The amount of hair a baby has depends mainly on heredity, and there are individual differences. The hereditary tendency of hair is quite obvious, and the amount, color, straightness, etc. are all related to heredity. If the parents have good hair, the baby's hair will be good; if the parents have bad hair, the baby's hair will also be worse.

3. Growth: The growth of a baby's hair is the same as the growth of the body, some grow early, some grow late, some grow fast, some grow slow. As long as there is no disease, most babies' hair will gradually change from thin to thick, from yellow to black as time goes by and they grow and develop, regardless of the amount of hair at birth.

4. Disease: It should be noted that some babies have thinning hair due to diseases. For example, some babies have a lot of hair when they are born, but after a few months, the hair on the back of the head gradually wears off and falls off, resulting in "baldness on the back of the head", accompanied by symptoms such as excessive sweating, irritability, irritability, and crying. This is likely a manifestation of rickets caused by vitamin D deficiency in the body; certain trace elements such as zinc and iron deficiency and genetic metabolic diseases can also manifest as thinning hair. Therefore, if the baby's thinning hair situation does not improve significantly around the age of 1, trace element testing and other related examinations should be done in time for symptomatic treatment.

What to do if your newborn baby has thin hair

First of all, you should wash your hair frequently. Because of the rapid growth and development, the metabolism is vigorous. Before 6 months old, you can wash your baby's hair once a day. After half a year, you can wash it every 2-3 days. Keeping hair clean is conducive to hair growth. If you don't wash your hair often, oil, sweat and pollutants will irritate the scalp and make the hair fall out easily. Choose pure, mild and non-irritating baby shampoo products. You can gently massage the scalp when washing your hair.

Comb your baby's hair frequently. Mothers can carry a comb with them and comb their baby's hair when it is convenient. Combing the hair frequently can stimulate the scalp, promote blood circulation, and help hair growth. However, the comb should not be too hard, and it is best to use a rubber comb. Comb in the direction of hair growth.

Sufficient sleep also helps hair growth. The baby's brain is immature and easily fatigued. Lack of sleep can lead to physiological disorders, poor appetite, and poor hair growth. Newborns need to sleep about 20 hours a day.

Letting your baby get more sun exposure can also help hair growth. Sunlight and fresh air are good for hair growth, and ultraviolet rays can kill bacteria and promote blood circulation in the scalp. However, you should not expose your head to the sun, and wear a hat when going out if the sun is strong.

Is it normal for a newborn to have thin hair?

1. The amount of fetal hair varies from person to person: this difference has nothing to do with the mother's nutrition, illness, severity of pregnancy reaction, and mood during pregnancy. Therefore, mothers do not need to feel guilty about their children's thin hair.

2. Thin hair at birth does not affect future hair growth: Some parents worry that their children will lose their hair when they grow up if they have few hair at birth, which will affect their appearance. According to the data analysis of our outpatient follow-up, in general, hair will gradually grow around the age of 1, or even earlier, and will grow quite a lot around the age of 2.

3. Unnecessary "treatment" measures: Some parents do not wash their children's hair for fear of pulling the hair when washing. In fact, it is the old hair that falls off. On the contrary, if the hair is not washed for a long time, the stimulation of oil and sweat will make the scalp itchy and cause secondary infection. Some parents shave their babies' heads in the hope of accelerating hair growth, but it does not work. Some parents apply "hair growth essence" or "hair growth spirit" on the baby's scalp, which is even more unnecessary because it does not belong to alopecia. The amount, thickness, texture, color, and curvature of a person's hair are related to genetics and nutrition. As a newborn, the hair is generally sparse, which is a normal physiological phenomenon. With the growth and development and the increase of age, the hair of the newborn will change greatly, from sparse to dense, from thin to thick, and from yellow to black. In addition, anemia, suffering from Japanese encephalitis and other diseases also affect the growth of newborns and hair.