This is not an unusual thing. Every child, a newborn has hair on the ears. Including us, when we were babies. Even before we are born, our body is covered with little soft hair including the ears as well.
This hair is called lanugo. When babies are born, they have lanugo and it takes some time to go away. Usually, babies that are born earlier typically have this.
After some time has passed, in older stages of life, people tend to develop more hair on their bodies. And having some hair on the ears is totally normal, especially for men.
A newborn can have hair on the ears because during pregnancy, while your baby was shedding their lanugo (the fine hair that covers the body), some of that hair may have fallen into the ear canal.
You may also notice little hairs on the baby’s eyebrows or other parts of his or her face. The baby will lose this lanugo in two to three weeks.
How long do babies have hair on their ears?
Your baby will develop this lanugo hair while it’s still in the mother’s womb. This happens around 22 weeks of pregnancy, and it’s there when the baby is born. Although, lanugo hair will fall off pretty soon, somewhere in the first weeks of the baby’s life.
But even before the 22nd week, the baby’s hair follicles are starting to develop as early as 14 weeks of pregnancy. At around the 20th week, this hair is starting to sprout all over the baby’s body, to its eyebrows, chin, and even upper lip.
2 weeks later, when the pregnant lady reaches the 22nd week, lanugo is visible on the baby’s back, forehead, shoulders, and of course, baby’s ears.
Lanugo is baby hair that is totally normal and it’s there for a purpose. It covers a lot of parts of the baby’s body including the ears. It’s lost in the first weeks after the birth, but sometimes it can last a bit longer.
Baby’s who are born prematurely, usually have a lot of lanugo hair. Don’t worry about it, it’s a very common situation. The hair or lanugo on the baby’s ears and the rest of its body is a usually darker color than the color of the baby’s hair, so it’s usually more noticeable.
At this point, parents can notice that the newborn is also developing hair on its head, which can be difficult to tame. While some newborns have a lot of hair, even right after birth, some don’t have any hair at all.
When it comes to the color, it’s changeable, and there’s a big chance that the hair will go darker or even lighter.
What does a hairy newborn mean?
It means that your baby is healthy and has developed lanugo. Even if a newborn has hair on the ears, it’s a totally normal occurrence. Parents should not do anything about it and do not try to remove it. It will pretty soon fall off.
There are some stories that are claiming if you rub the hair it will fall off faster or disappear, which is not true. By doing this you can irritate the baby’s gentle skin, rather than help them lose lanugo that will soon shed off by itself.
Does lanugo hair go away?
Yes, it does. It will shed off pretty soon, most likely in the first weeks of the baby’s life. Of course, this can be individual, and it may take a bit longer, but it will fall off eventually.
Lanugo is not a health condition, so there is no need for treatment.
As mentioned above, some stories are claiming that if you rub the hair it will shed off faster. This is not true so, do not try to do this.
Lanugo can even be developed in an adult’s life. This is a little bit different from a baby’s hair because it usually appears if a person has some health condition to trigger it, such as anorexia.
There are many ways to break down what lanugo hair is, but the most common understanding is that its fine hair that grows outside of your body.
Why are some babies born hairy?
If you notice some hair or a newborn has hair on the ears, remember, even though it might be shocking, it’s also very normal. Hair on the baby’s back, shoulders, arms as well as ears, is called Lanugo, as we mentioned above.
This little fuzzy thing that is covering the baby’s body has the role of protecting the newborn’s skin and because it is developed while that baby is still in the mother’s tummy, it has the role of regulating the baby’s body temperature.
Babies are born with hair called lanugo. It’s losing its finer body hairs that cause babies to be born bald.
Lanugo is the fine fuzz you can see on a baby’s head or face. Lanugo is different from peachfuzz which is the more obvious, coarser hair it seems like everyone’s got! The lanugo begins to disappear in utero around 34 weeks gestation, and by the time of birth, it can disappear completely.
Summary
It’s totally normal if a newborn has hair on the ears. It might look weird, or scary, but there’s no need for that.
Actually, all babies while in the mother’s womb, are covered with a fine, thin layer of hair.
This hair can be shed off while the baby is still in the tummy, but there’s a high chance that it will be born with lanugo.
The hair is usually pretty visible, due to its texture and color, which is usually darker than a baby’s hair for example. It can take a few weeks or even a few months before the hair falls off.
Parents should not do anything about it. Don’t try to get rid of it by rubbing the hair, because you will most likely irritate the baby’s skin.
