Strange (to me) hair loss in 3 month old

[amberskyfire]

I've checked online and can't find anything quite like this. My first baby had no hair loss at all after she was born with a full head of long, thick hair.

Now I have a 3 month old boy who was also born with a head of full, thick hair. Recently, it developed a 1/2 inch ring all the way around the middle of his head where it seemed the hair had fallen out. I assumed this was where his scalp was growing and the hair just hadn't had time to fill in the new skin yet. Now the ring is still there, only one whole side of his head is balding. There are some lighter, shorter hairs growing all over that half of his head, but they are rougher than the long, soft brown hair on the back, top and other side. The hair only seems to be falling out of one side.

My first thought was that he was laying on that side because until now he did prefer to lay only on one side because he likes to face me in bed. Then I realized that the side he's balding on is NOT the side he usually lays on. It's the side he avoids. The bald area has no redness or flaking. It doesn't seem to have anything wrong with it at all other than that the hair seems to be falling out. And, like I said, it's not totally bald. There are thin, light hairs which feel a bit like straw. They are about 1/2 inch in length whereas his brown hair is about 1 inch long.

Anyone experience anything like this? Please tell me it's normal. I was hoping he would lose it all like normal newborn hair loss, but it has been a few weeks now and still, just this one side. He looks like he has a mohawk from just that side as if I buzzed that side of his head and left the rest.

[fruitfulmomma]

Hmm.. Does he have a birth mark in that area? The straw-like hair makes me wonder because dh has one and the hair on it is very corse and actually has no pigmentation to it. It looks blond but if you look at really close it is clear and it won't take dye like normal hair. Not sure what it was like at birth though.

[amberskyfire]

No, there is nothing there at all. He has a storkbite on the back of his neck, but not in the balding area. The hair there is a golden color, just shorter and thinner spaced than the long brown hair. You can easily see the skin underneath and it looks perfect.

[mamazee]

This happened to my older daughter. I thought maybe she was waving her head around and the hair was falling out. I've seen it on other babies too. I think hair falling out is at least fairly common because often babies are born with one color hair, and then it falls out, and then it grows in another color. It isn't always that noticeable, but it sometimes is.

[skycheattraffic]

Is baby thriving otherwise? If he is drinking enough, per and poop is okay and he is otherwise happy then he probably just has a weird pattern to losing his newborn hair and he should be just fine. You can always ask about it at his next visit but I wouldn't worry.

[Peony]

My current baby only lost patches of hair and then the new hair grew in a afferent color then the old hair that he still has. 

[Ratchet]

My DD lost her hair in a similar pattern at a similar time, and now that she's older (11 months, 8 months past her due date[preemie]) it is starting to grow back and look normal.  I would agree with PP- if he's otherwise doing fine, and the skin looks OK, just check in with your pedi at the 4 month appt.  Some fungal infections can cause hair loss but the skin would look different and it would probably be more a spreading patch than what you're describing.  And even a fungal infection isn't an emergency- it's fine to watch it and see what it does over time. 

[amberskyfire]

Thanks, all! Yes, he's very healthy otherwise. Guess we'll wait it out!
 

[element2012]

My dd had that ring from ear to ear in the back too, and her friend of the same age had it.  At 5 months, it's starting to fill back in on her and her friend. 

[CascadiaMama]

Same here--our DS had a bald ring around 3 months. At 11months he has super thick hair (almost time for haircut #2!), after it grew back in both lighter in color and thicker--like grown-up hair, not the fine wispy baby hair.