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Some babies are born with platinum blond hair, called “towheads,” but their hair darkens before they reach puberty. What’s the main cause behind the baby’s hair color change progression?
The level of natural pigment produced in the hair called melanin determines the color of your hair at first. Eumelanin and pheomelanin are two different types of melanin, and the proportion of these pigments determines hair color.
Eumelanin is also divided into two varieties: black and brown. In other words, the more eumelanin produced in the hair, the darker the hair.
Pheomelanin controls the redness of your hair in the same manner as eumelanin controls the darkness. The more pheomelanin produced, the more red hair you have; however, the color would not be as noticeable if your hair also has a lot of eumelanin secretion.
So, can a baby’s hair color change from dark to light? Yes, it is possible. Color and texture are continual changes. It means that your baby’s thick, dark hair may fade and regrow in a lighter shade. Even red hair can become blonde, and straighter hair can become curly.
When Does A Baby’s Hair Color Change?
Your hair color is not set for life as mentioned above; a baby’s hair color changes due to the level of hormonal secretions. It’s not rare for dark hair babies to turn light brown or blonde as they grow older. During the first six months, anything happens with the baby regarding their hair color, skin color, and eye color changes.
Babies or toddlers can change their hair color even after six months. Blonde or red-haired babies and toddlers frequently get brown hair as they get older.
However, as you may have noticed from others, the newborn phase is not the only time when hair color changes. It might change in early childhood, but it could also dramatically change in puberty age. Hormonal changes are mostly responsible. Increased eumelanin concentrations cause the majority of the alterations in infants and children.
This is also why people’s hair grays as they get older. Melanin production decreases, and your hair becomes gay and white.
Can a Baby’s Hair Color Change From Brown To Blonde?
Yes, it is possible. You previously read a little about why baby hair color changes in part above, but let me look a little deeper.
Some kids are born with a lot of hair, while others are born with none. Nobody knows why some kids are born with a lot of hair and others don’t. According to experts, it’s thought to do with mother hormones and the genetic lottery.
But don’t get too tied to your baby’s hair because it will change rapidly! You should be aware of the following:
Your baby’s hair may fall out. There’s no need to be concerned; this isn’t a guide on “how to stop baldness in babies.” An infant sheds like a golden retriever during the first six months of life. You may observe that your infant, or a baby in your vicinity, goes from having a lot of hair to having none at all.
This is quite natural. Some specialists have linked this fact to the physiological process of birth. Others believe it has something to do with the drop in pregnancy hormones. “Telogen” refers to the stage in which your infant loses all of their hair.
Fortunately for the newborn, the telogen phase is frequently followed by new hair growth. But, as you well know, nothing will be the same as it was before. It all relies on the pigment in your hair that gives it its color.
What Color Hair Will My Baby Have?
When predicting whether your baby’s hair color will be red, brown, blonde, or somewhere in between, two factors are to consider. The first one is genetic changes during mother pregnancy, and the second one is hormonal changes in the baby after birth.
Genetics Plays A Vital Role
The most important component in determining a baby’s hair color is genetic variation during mating.
Let me provide you with a review of all the available variations. Experts estimate that each person’s 46 chromosomes have roughly 100.000 genes. When two individuals come together, this immediately means that they can have 64 trillion unique babies with various features! Now, I realize you can’t have that many babies, but it’s wonderful to know there are so many possibilities.
Another thing to keep in mind is that a baby’s DNA comes in bundles of alleles. A gene’s allele is a unique copy. A gene is a piece of DNA that codes for a specific genetic trait.
These allele bundles are either dominant or recessive, implying that dominant alleles produce darker colors and recessive alleles produce lighter tones in hair color.
Will my baby’s hair stay red? It was once believed that only the dominant alleles governed and determined the baby’s hair color, but there’s more to it. The majority of the qualities that parents can pass down to their children are polygenic. This means that both dominant and recessive genes influence the outcome! As a result, there are many more options than just blonde, dark, red, or brown hair.
Suppose a kid has two parents, one with brown hair and the other with blonde hair. The darker hair color will still be dominant, but this does not guarantee the infant will be a brunette. Instead, if the darker-haired parent had a parent or grandmother with blonde, or even red, hair, there’s a chance the kid will have it too.
A recessive trait, such as blonde hair, requires two recessive or non-dominant genes. In this situation, the dark-haired parent will have a recessive blonde or red-haired trait, matching the lighter-haired parent’s recessive trait, resulting in a blonde child. Watch the video for more elaboration.
Pigmentation In The Hair
We had already discussed this briefly previously. Melanin is the pigment found in the skin and hair, and there are two types of melanin:
Eumelanin
The pigment eumelanin is responsible for your hair’s brown or black color.
Pheomelanin
The pigment pheomelanin is responsible for your hair’s red or orange tones
Determine your kid’s hair color based on how much of each kind of pigment they have, as well as genetics.
Do Babies Get Darker or Lighter Hair?
With the preliminary information, you may be wondering can a baby’s hair change from dark to light? Yes, it is correct. Because newborn hair falls off so frequently, the hair that grows in its place is often lighter than it was before. Some parents claim to have noticed a gradual shift in their children’s hair color from dark to light with time. Their little brunette had gone full blonde before they realized it! A blonde infant could quickly turn into a beautiful brunette. It happens!
Why Do Babies’ Hair Color Change?
Depending on which genes are turned on or off, the levels of eumelanin and pheomelanin in your hair. Significantly, the expressions of the genes that control hair color do not remain consistent throughout your life; these alterations in gene expression cause some children’s hair color to vary.
Newborn dark hair usually keeps their hair dark until they reach maturity. However, certain light-haired children, such as towhead blonde, strawberry blonde, dishwater blonde, and redheads, have their hair become dark brown by their 10th birthday.
According to some experts, the explanation is that the quantity of eumelanin in your hair grows as you get older. But it’s unclear why eumelanin production increases (or why those particular gene expressions alter).
How Does Baby Hair Color Change Progression?
Many people have markedly different hair colors than when they were born; in some cases, the color changes quickly after birth, while in others, it takes years to alter. Some parents notice that their child’s hair falls out and regrows differently than before. The color trend lightened from 9 months to 2 1/2 years. After the age of three, the color of one’s hair gradually darkened until the age of five. This simply means that after delivery, your baby’s hair may change colors a few times before settling on a permanent color.
What Age Does Baby Hair Color Change?
When does the color of a baby’s hair change? That’s a difficult question to answer! Because human hair color is influenced by various elements such as hormones, DNA, and even season and environmental changes, it’s safe to assume that baby hair changes to color can vary at any age.
Many people are surprised to find that newborn hair color changes dramatically, especially in European cultures. As both the mother and the baby’s hormones alter, the hair that the baby was born with may fall out, and your baby may end up with a hair texture and color different from what they were born with.
Regardless of your baby’s hair color, you must strive to care for these priceless tresses and not be concerned when they fall out, change color, or texture. This is particularly true for baby hair care. We love to recommend for your baby short hairstyles with cheer bows.
