Many black babies start with straight hair, but it gets curly a few months or a year later. As your baby grows older, the size of hair increases in size and may begin to get curly. However, the texture of your baby’s hair depends on the hair follicle type. Round hair follicle produces straight hair fibers while curly hair grows from the curved follicle.
Can a Black Baby’s Straight Hair Turn Curly?
If your baby’s hair turns from straight to curly, it is because of a combination of genetics, hormones, and body chemistry. Your baby’s inherited curls may begin to pop up a few months later, replacing the straight hair. This happens if your baby’s straight hair is merely baby hair.
Nevertheless, some babies with straight hair go through a transformation that turns straight locks to curly hair. Though this is a rare occurrence, science is yet to find the answer to this change.
Why Does My Black Baby Have Straight Hair?
Straight hair is also known as type 1 and obtains its structure from the shape of the cortex. Your baby’s straight hair is determined by its protein structure and the Cysteine bond. The fibers responsible for your baby’s straight hair are round, making it drop evenly on all sides of the scalp.
While babies with straight hair have symmetrical follicles, those with curly hair have a curved one. The difference in cell behavior during hair fiber production also influences the shape of your baby’s hair.
Some genetic mutations and diseases may also influence the formation of your baby’s straight hair shape. Genes responsible for regulating the shape of your baby’s hair may be inherited or affected by the environment.
Sometimes, black babies have straight hair because it is merely baby hair that is naturally thin and fine.
Is It Rare for Black Babies to Have Straight Hair?
Though straight hair is rare among black babies, it typically grows easier and faster than other hair types. This type of hair is often greasy and shiny. The natural oils from the head smoothly flow through the strands down the hair shaft.
You Cut Your Black Baby’s Straight Hair; Will It Still Be Straight?
Most black babies are born with fine thin baby hair that is sometimes straight. Straight or curly hair depends on the hair follicle. Your baby’s hair follicle is an intricate, multi-cellular compartment that is deeply embedded inside the skin. The straight hair will likely be gone unless your baby’s hair is straight at the roots.
At What Age Do Black Babies Hair Change?
At birth, your baby’s hair is initially straight and very soft, but it becomes coarser and wavy with time. On average, each hair grows for around 3-5 years before undergoing a resting phase. The hair naturally falls out after this rest period that lasts several months.
It is expected that during the fourth year, your baby’s hair may change considerably. Although hair follicles undergo structural changes every few years, the shape is set for life. The shape of the hair follicle determines your baby’s hair change during this time.
How to Manage Your Baby’s Straight Hair
Straight hair is greasier than other hair types, and skin and oils build up on the scalp more often. Though daily washing of your baby’s hair is not recommended, you can shampoo it twice or thrice a week.
If you wash your baby’s hair too often, you may damage or dry the sensitive skin. On the other hand, not shampooing your baby’s hair enough may result in a cradle cap.
It is good to shampoo your baby’s hair last and minimize the time spent keeping the hair wet. The longer you keep your baby’s head wet, the more your baby loses heat.
Conclusion
The reason why some babies’ hair turns from straight to curly remains a scientific mystery. Straight or curly hair is greatly attributed to genes and hormones. Your black baby’s straight hair may be an inherited gene from either parent, grandparents, or some ancestor down the line.
Most black babies born with straight hair, or baby hair, grow out of it months or a year later. However, if your baby’s hair is straight from the roots, there are high chances that it will remain straight as your baby grows older.
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