Children's Hair Growth

Children's hair growth is determined by many factors. Genetics, diet and hormones can affect how quickly or slowly hair grows. Children's hair growth is also affected during growth spurts.

Time Frame

• By the sixth month in utero, a baby has a thin layer of hair covering its body, which is called lanugo. During this time, the hair follicles and glands that secret oils onto the skin have also been formed. There are 100,000 hair follicles on the scalp at this point, but as a person ages, many of the follicles stop growing hair.

Growth Spurts

• Some babies are born with a full head of hair, while others are born bald. This does not dictate how much hair the child will have later in life, or how quickly or slowly her hair will grow. Infants go through a drastic growth spurt during their first year of life, and their growth then levels off until adolescence. When a child hits puberty, he once again undergoes a growth spurt. These growth spurts can affect a child's hair growth, especially during puberty when hair growth happens in other areas of the body.

Hair Loss

• Hair loss is not abnormal for children and can have a variety of causes, such as hormonal changes or common infections and ailments such as tinea capitis, or ringworm. Ringworm is caused by a common fungus, which irritates the hair shaft and causes it to break. Medication can be prescribed by a doctor to clear ringworm. Dry air, changes in hair products and allergic reactions can also cause a child's scalp to be itchy or irritated, causing a child to itch her head, resulting in hair loss.

Hair Growth Cycle

• Hair goes through a growth cycle starting with the anagen period, in which the hair follicle regenerates and there is active hair growth. Scalp hairs grow for two to seven years. During the anagen growing period, the average rate of hair growth is 1 to 2 cm per month. This is followed by the catagen stage, in which the hair follicle may change slowly for about two weeks and there is narrowing of the hair shaft. During the telegen stage, the hair follicle rests for four months. This is followed by the exogen phase, in which the hair sheds in preparation for the start of the anagen growth period again.

Considerations

• If there are concerns about how a child's hair is growing or issues with large amounts of hair loss, contact a physician to discuss problems. Children develop at different rates and at different ages. It is important to avoid comparing hair growth of one child with another. A doctor can investigate family history or genetic concerns if there are issues with a child's hair growth.