Most baby bald spots fill in between 6 and 12 months of age. The bare patch you’re noticing, usually on the back of your baby’s head, is almost always a normal part of infant development caused by a combination of natural hair shedding and your baby’s sleeping position. It resolves on its own without any treatment.
Why Babies Get Bald Spots
Babies are born with fine, soft hair that was grown in the womb under the influence of their mother’s hormones. After birth, those hormone levels drop, which triggers a large number of hair follicles to shift from their active growing phase into a resting phase all at once. During this resting phase, which lasts one to six months (three months on average), the hair stops growing. When the follicles finally restart, the old strands get pushed out, and you see noticeable shedding.
This process, called telogen effluvium, is the same type of hair shedding many new mothers experience postpartum. In babies, it peaks around 3 months old and can affect the entire scalp or concentrate in specific areas.
The back of the head is the most common spot, which is why many parents assume it’s from rubbing against the mattress or crib sheet. Friction was long thought to be the main culprit, but research published in the Annals of Dermatology found that a baby’s sleeping position wasn’t actually a significant factor. The bald spot showed up regardless of whether babies slept on their backs, sides, or stomachs. Pregnancy-related factors like gestational age and delivery method had a stronger association. So while friction may play a small role, the hormonal hair cycle is the primary driver.
The Regrowth Timeline
Hair shedding in newborns typically follows a predictable pattern. The heaviest shedding happens around 3 months, and new “permanent” hair starts coming in between 6 and 12 months. For bald spots specifically caused by friction (babies who rub or turn their heads repeatedly while lying down), regrowth tends to pick up once the baby starts sitting up independently, since they’re simply spending less time on their backs. That milestone usually happens between 6 and 9 months.
Some babies regrow a full head of hair quickly, while others look patchy well into their first birthday. Both are normal. The speed depends on your baby’s individual hair cycle and genetics, and there’s nothing you can do to accelerate it.
The Hair That Grows Back May Look Different
Don’t be surprised if the new hair is a completely different color or texture than what your baby was born with. Newborn hair is very fine and often straight, regardless of what the child’s adult hair will look like. Between birth and 6 months, the hair is downy and delicate. By the toddler stage (1 to 3 years), slightly thicker strands emerge, sometimes with waves or loose curls that weren’t there before. Hair may also darken considerably. A baby born with light blonde or reddish fuzz can easily end up with brown hair by age 2 or 3.
True “adult-like” hair texture doesn’t fully develop until puberty, when rising hormone levels cause strands to become coarser, grow faster, and sometimes change color again. So the hair your baby grows in over the next year is still transitional.
What Won’t Help It Grow Faster
A persistent myth suggests that shaving a baby’s head will make hair grow back thicker. It won’t. Shaving has no effect on the follicle itself, so all you’d end up with is a temporarily bald baby. The hair that grows in afterward only appears coarser because the blunt-cut ends feel different from a naturally tapered strand.
Over-washing doesn’t help either. Scrubbing your baby’s scalp aggressively or shampooing until the hair “squeaks” strips natural oils from the hair shaft, leaving it dry and frizzy. One gentle lather with a baby-safe shampoo and a thorough rinse is all that’s needed. No special oils, serums, or hair growth products are necessary or recommended for infant hair loss.
Keep Baby on Their Back for Sleep
If you’re tempted to change your baby’s sleep position to prevent or fix a bald spot, don’t. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends back sleeping to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, and that recommendation far outweighs any cosmetic concern about hair. Once your baby is strong enough to roll over on their own, it’s fine to let them sleep in whatever position they choose. By that point, they’re also spending more time upright during the day, and the bald spot is already on its way out.
Babies who spend long stretches in car seats, swings, bouncers, and bassinets can develop both a bald spot and a flattened area on the back of the head. Supervised tummy time while your baby is awake helps with both issues by giving the back of the head a break and strengthening the neck and shoulder muscles your baby needs to sit up.
When a Bald Spot May Signal Something Else
Normal infant hair loss is diffuse or concentrated on the back of the head, with smooth, healthy-looking skin underneath. A few patterns look different and are worth bringing up with your pediatrician.
- Scaly, red patches with broken hairs: A fungal scalp infection called tinea capitis causes patchy hair loss with visible redness, flaking, and short broken hairs that look like black dots within the bare area. Swollen lymph nodes at the back of the neck are another clue. This infection is common in children, including infants, and requires treatment.
- Perfectly smooth, round patches with no redness or scaling: Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition that causes well-defined circular spots of complete hair loss. The skin looks normal but completely bare. You may notice tiny “exclamation point” hairs at the edges of the patch, thicker at the top and tapered at the base. About 1 to 2 percent of cases appear before age 2.
- Hair loss that hasn’t improved at all by 12 months: If there’s no sign of regrowth by your baby’s first birthday, or if the bald area is expanding rather than filling in, it’s worth a closer look from your pediatrician to rule out less common causes.
For the vast majority of babies, though, the bald spot is a temporary phase that resolves completely in the first year. By the time your child is blowing out their first birthday candle, the bare patch is typically a memory.