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Unlike other primates who sport thick fur coats, we humans have only a light covering of hair over our bodies. However, by the sixth month the fetus in utero is actually covered all over with short unpigmented hairs (called lanugo). Premature babies are sometimes born with lanugo, though it will fall out in a matter of weeks after birth. What does all this have to do with head hair? By the sixth month in utero a baby's hair follicles and the glands in the follicles that secrete an oily substance to keep the hair and skin soft are fully formed. There are about 100,000 hair follicles on the scalp, but as a person ages many of these follicles stop growing hair. Much of what else that is known about human baby hair is speculation. Some babies are still completely bald when they hit their first birthdays. Others have long thick hair (and tangles to comb). This is probably because some babies have hair that grows much more slowly than others. It is thought that hormones and heredity influence these hair growth patterns. Interestingly, scientists think that it is the shape of the hair follicle that dictates if a baby's hair will be straight or curly (round follicles grow straight hair; oval or crescent-shaped follicles grow frizzy hair). If you have a completely bald baby in your life, you may be reassured to know that the pattern of baby hair growth does not determine how thick or long an older child's hair will be. Adapted with permission from "Why Babies Do That: Baffling Baby Behavior Explained," by Jennifer Margulis, published by Willow Creek Press. 2005 by Jennifer Margulis. All rights reserved.
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