DEVELOPMENT

How does your body develop a hair follicle?

The first identifiable hair follicles appear just after the embryo begins to mature into a fetus, around pre-fetal age of 9 weeks.

The first follicles develop in the eyebrows, upper lip and chin.

Around 3-5 fetal months, follicles develop on the body, face and scalp.

The specializing cells that develop the follicles are one of the four basic types of connective tissue; like muscle tissue and nervous system tissue.

The connective tissue that develops hair are called epithelial tissue (ep-uh–thee-lee-uh m).  The surface of the skin develops what is called the epithelial buds.

The epithelial buds elongate into the cellular structure at an angle relative to the skin surface and eventually becomes the fully developed hair follicle.

Later the three major players develop:

1. Pigmentation (melanocytes) spreads to developing follicles.
2. Sebaceous (oil) glands then appear to lubricate the hair that will grow from the follicle.
3. Arrector pili a tiny muscle that attaches to the base of the follicle and to dermal tissue.

Scientist aren’t positive but it is believed, the fully mature 9-month fetus usually has all the hair follicles that they will ever develop.

No new hair follicles develop in an adult. So, take good care of those follies!!!

The first little hairs developed in the fetus are called lanugo.

Many babies lose their lanugo hair in utero around 32-36 weeks.

Other babies are born with their lanugo hair which falls out within the first few weeks.

Some babies are born with a full head of hair, some babies don’t get much hair until they are a year old.

Each person is different depending on their genes.

Did you have hair at birth?  I was bald until I was almost a year old.