Shaving Baby’s hair for hair growth?

Posted On April 12, 2017

Hello everybody !

It is believed that when baby’s hair is shaved during their early stage, it encourages the hair growth and makes it thicker and fuller later in their life. The apparent hair growth after the shave that seems thicker than normal hair even indicates how true this practice is, after all what we see is what we all tend to simply believe. But how true this practice is?

The director and senior trichologist at Philip Kingsley Trichological Centre in Singapore said that the first hair of the baby called ‘vellus hair’ which is thin and almost invisible are gone by the age between 3-7 months. When the child reach by the age two, only then the hair become more thicker and matured. According to him, we all have hair follicles which is basically a sac where the hair grows, and that ascertains how much hair we’ll have in our life time. Even the texture, amount and quality of the hair depends on the hair follicles and the genes of the baby.

It’s even said that the hair growth has it’s own cycle of ‘rest and growth’ due to which babies tend to have different lengths of hair compare to the one that are shaved. Shaved hair growth tend to be of same length and thicker in texture because of its blunt end. So, shaving hair will not affect how it grows, it purely depends on genetics.

The Trichologist have further warned about the injury that can cause with it because the top of the baby’s head called ‘fontanelle’ is soft and tender as the skull bone has not been fully developed. So, instead of shaving, it is better to keep the hair and scalp clean to encourage the growth of healthy hair. Even there are certain foods that are rich in folic acids, protein, iron, zinc such as almonds, avocados, fish, chicken, dairy products that will help to uplift the healthier and thicker hair.

Obviously the natural process does seem slow and unprogressive, but still it’s better to leave it to grow naturally than causing a lasting damage. My little one’s vellus hair fell out when she was about 3 months old due to which she had almost no hair in her early stage. Many people recommended to shave her hair for the nice, even and thicker hair growth but for some reason, I wanted to wait and see how it grows on its own. When her hair grew, it was very uneven, thin and soft, however I was not ready even then and it’s because, for me taking away what she came carrying from birth was like taking away her personality, her innocence, her vulnerability, uniqueness which is almost like taking away who she is. So, sometimes somethings are better left as it is. And as a parent, we do not have enough courage to carry out the things that associates any risks to our child.

She is 16 month old now and has a thick and healthy hair that is growing beautifully and gradually. I am not worried if she doesn’t have lengthy, thick or fully covered hair like others her age as long as her hair is growing healthy. And about shaving, I don’t prefer it even now and would suggest everyone to consider cutting your little one’s hair when she is old enough to understand about hair cut and make her first hair cut special to reminisce about it in later days. So, what do you think, is it necessary to shave baby’s hair ? Share your thoughts.

Thank you.