Baby Hair Problem

by Soniya
(INDIA)

My baby is six month old. She is a little angel her name is Jolene, but my problem is that she does not have enough hair. So please guide me with this problem.

Baby Help Line Response:



Hi Soniya!

You are worried over that your darling baby's hair is not growing as it should.

Being only six months old, this is likely to be completely normal! Many babies, even if they had a lot of hair at birth, lose some or all of it during their first six months. Then at some point, often between 6 and 12 months old, the baby's hair starts growing back again. At this point many parents discover that their baby's new hair that is completely different is color or texture than what she had as a newborn.

The reason why babies loose their first hair is hormones - the same reason why new moms often loose a lot of hair too.

Even babies that don't loose their hair, often have at least one bald spot at the back of their head during their first six months of living.

This has to do with all the time they spend sleeping or just lying on their backs. It can look kind of funny, but of course is not anything to worry about either. (Having very little hair, at least that funny hair style is something you won't have to worry about for your baby.)

While very unlikely for such a young girl, you should be aware of that there do exist medical conditions that can cause hair loss. (Most conditions are however very uncommon for babies younger than 12 months old):

• If your baby has patchy bald spots with red, flaky scaling, it could mean that your baby has a fungal infection called ringworm.

• If your baby has smooth, round, completely bald areas, she may have alopecia areata, a condition in which the immune system attacks the hair follicles, slowing hair growth. This type of hair loss usually appears in isolated patches, not over the whole head.

• Some other medical conditions — such as hormone diseases, e.g. hypothyroidism (a thyroid disorder) can also result in hair loss - typically over the whole head.

• Severe nutrition problems, causing zinc or iron deficiency can also result in hair loss, as well as really bad cradle cap ( really bad cradle cap...).

These conditions can be treated, but your baby would need to see a doctor.

I hope this doesn't make you worried! Chances are, really, that Jolene does not have a baby hair problem at all; she is just a normal little infant!

But if you do believe that she may suffer from one of the problems described above or if you simply think that her scalp doesn't look normal, let her see at pediatrician or mention your worries during your baby’s next well-child exam.

Take care, and do revisit and tell us the progress of Jolene's hair growth. Maybe a cute picture of her in tiny pigtails on her first birthday?

/Paula