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Original poster

Newborns hair shaved

70 replies

PigFaceForever · 08/02/2022 20:04

I read in a barbers shop window a sign which said, 'newborns hair cut here'.

I googled it and in some Asian cultures they shave the newborns hair. So now I'm curious. Would that not damage the quality of the baby's hair once it grew back? If a baby was born with no hair, would that be a disappointment to the parents?

I really never knew this was a custom in some cultures and I'm now fascinated by it!

OP posts:
frazzledasarock · 08/02/2022 21:51

And the baby’s head is shaved regardless of whether the baby is a boy or a girl.

PicaK · 08/02/2022 21:54

My exdh's auntie was a hairdresser and she swore it made babies' hair grow back lovely and thick. White and Welsh.

Ghastlyghoul · 08/02/2022 21:56

It has no impact on the hair growth or hair quality. Hair might give the impression of being thicker after shaving as it is then all the same length. But it doesn’t cause any damage to the hair and neither does it improve hair strength, thickness or growth.

ApricotPeony · 08/02/2022 22:01

I wanted to do this as dd's hair fell out in patches and then the other bits grew longer, so I thought it would look better.

Kanfuzed123 · 08/02/2022 22:04

@Leilala

This isn’t an Islamic thing but cultural. Mainly Asian Muslims do it, and it’s the weight in gold to charity.

Good job we don’t- would have been an insulting donation from DS, was born almost completely bald. Was 18 months before he had hair- now he has an Afro!

Erm yes it is
PearPickingPorky · 08/02/2022 22:05

Can someone explain the "cleanliness" reason that's been given a few times?

Can't you just use shampoo?

Leilala · 08/02/2022 22:14

@fulanigirl

As a Muslim I am fully aware what Sunnah is.

The scholars are divided on this point as you may be aware as to what the reference was to (I.e hair or not). As per other posters this is also done in Hinduism and mainly Asian cultures.

You will not find a whole lot of Arabs doing this (none of my extended family). Misleads people to say it is specifically a Muslim act.

kagerou · 08/02/2022 22:19

Its done in some Chinese families (usually more traditional ones), not for any religious reasons, but with the belief it makes the hair stronger and better quality

fulanigirl · 08/02/2022 22:30

[quote Leilala]@fulanigirl

As a Muslim I am fully aware what Sunnah is.

The scholars are divided on this point as you may be aware as to what the reference was to (I.e hair or not). As per other posters this is also done in Hinduism and mainly Asian cultures.

You will not find a whole lot of Arabs doing this (none of my extended family). Misleads people to say it is specifically a Muslim act.[/quote]
I wasn’t trying to be patronising or offend you. I just wanted to point out that it’s not just an Asian cultural thing. Muslims are all over the world, Africans do it and Arabs do it too because it is an Islamic sunnah. That was all I was trying to say, which is why I added that I understand cultures may do it for their own reasons.

Aqeeqah is a religious Islamic practice, I’m not saying cultures don’t do it for their own reasons. But the reason i gave is a religious practice done by Muslims from different cultures all over the world.

Suzanne999 · 08/02/2022 22:33

Saw it done before Muslim baby naming ceremonies. Can’t remember the reason. Didn’t seem to have any effect on hair growth afterwards.

RS29 · 08/02/2022 22:34

@PearPickingPorky

Can someone explain the "cleanliness" reason that's been given a few times?

Can't you just use shampoo?

@PearPickingPorky I don’t think they mean the physical cleanliness of the hair. I take it to mean cleansing of sins/karma etc - I’m assuming f eom a past life. I could be completely wrong though!!

Really interesting thread @PigFaceForever Smile I’m white British and had no idea this was a thing in some cultures! I love learning about traditions like these 😊 although, my DS was born with a huge mop of hair so im glad it’s not a tradition we follow of he’d have cost me a fortune 🤣

EdithRea · 08/02/2022 22:35

@PigFaceForever

I read in a barbers shop window a sign which said, 'newborns hair cut here'.

I googled it and in some Asian cultures they shave the newborns hair. So now I'm curious. Would that not damage the quality of the baby's hair once it grew back? If a baby was born with no hair, would that be a disappointment to the parents?

I really never knew this was a custom in some cultures and I'm now fascinated by it!

Why would shaving some hair off damage it? What do people think hair is? All this nonsense about it being 'damaged' or altered by styling it. It's dead stuff hanging out of a hole. It doesn't care what you do.

After watching my babies grow thin, patchy hair in wisps, I rather like the idea of shaving off the downy fluff and having it all grow in properly. I'm no fan of the look where people keep combing the same 9 hairs on a baby's head, sticking a slide in, and by the time it's 4 still keeping the revolting baby rat tail down the back, too terrified to cut their hair in case it's 'damaged' or something.

Anyway, for some groups their baby is going to have thick, dark, fast-growing hair and having that grow evenly is much nicer than straggly.

Leilala · 08/02/2022 22:39

I wasn’t offended I just didn’t want people to view it as only a muslim practice.

From a hair point of view, it actually thickens the hair. Hair is suppose to grow back thicker when shaven.

nancy75 · 08/02/2022 22:47

Our Colombian neighbours shaved their sons head when he was a baby, not sure there is more of a tradition to it for them other than it’s what they do. The little boy has the thickest black hair I’ve ever seen, but looking at mum & dad I think that would always have been the case

Ghastlyghoul · 08/02/2022 23:08

From a hair point of view, it actually thickens the hair. Hair is suppose to grow back thicker when shaven.

It looks thicker but it isn’t. It’s like the myth that shaving your legs makes the re-growth coarser and thicker. It really doesn’t.

KenAdams · 08/02/2022 23:19

Not Muslim but I had it done at about 8 weeks I think. My hair has always been ridiculously thick and strong. It's considered unclean apparently which is the reason it's done in my culture. I didn't have it done for DD.

KitKatKit · 08/02/2022 23:26

We've shaved DS's hair 4 times in 16 months (initially for religious/cultural reasons but subsequently to keep it looking neat.)
My personal preference was that my child didn't have a weird mullet/rats tail thing going on, as can happen when you just leave hair to grow.
His hair is lovely, thick and evenly distributed so no regrets there.

Ozanj · 08/02/2022 23:32

Newborn head shaving is an Arab tradition that was adopted into Islam. The reason why it exists is in the desert without access to reliable shelter a baby needs to grow their ‘thick’ hair as fast as possible to protect the head. It also scrapes off maternal blood and tissue which, in the absence of water, would have attracted predators and flies. It doesn’t seem like it now but ancient Islam was a leader in medical advancements and knowledge re female and childhood health & almost all the processes from foreskin removal to headshaving seems to be rooted in ‘cleanliness’.

In India headshaving was never, traditionally, something all families did. Royals and Brahmins would have a ceremonial head shaving ceremony (and educational ‘giving away’ ceremony) at the age of 5-7 when they went away to a form of boarding school. Everyone else just let their hair grow out and then tied it up in a turban or head wrap. But in the 18th-19th centuries as Indians started to progress in the British Raj it became more commonplace and families began to adopt the tradition as they saw fit. In most Hindu families a first head shave can be at any point between 1-7 or even longer but it’s never at birth because there’s no need as ancient south Asian societies had access to water - instead there was a ceremonial newborn bath at some point.

stevalnamechanger · 08/02/2022 23:35

My Muslim friend has done this to all her children , they all have fabulous hair but don't think there is a connection

fallfallfall · 08/02/2022 23:50

wish i had, bald on the left and right from rubbing, sickly mohawk on top and little wisps at the back of the neck.
bit the bullet and have it grow in all even.

toddybell · 08/02/2022 23:55

In the Islamic faith, the baby is named on the 7th day after birth. Their hair is shaved and then weighed. The parents then donate the weight of hair in either gold or silver as the baby's first donation to charity. I think it's a beautiful sentiment.

Separately, people in the Asian sub-continent have the misconception that shaving the hair makes it grow back thicker.

I've also seen Eastern European babies with shaved heads. Not sure what their beliefs/customs are though.

mobear · 08/02/2022 23:58

My head was shaved when I was a baby for cultural reasons. I was a little older though as I was taken back to my father’s country for it (born overseas). I don’t think it’s affected my hair in any way!

JurgensCakeBabyJesus · 08/02/2022 23:58

This is really interesting, and the first act of charity is such a positive way to start a child's life. DS was born with a thick mop of hair, to match the weight in gold would've cost us a fortune!

Givemehopeee · 09/02/2022 00:25

@JurgensCakeBabyJesus

This is really interesting, and the first act of charity is such a positive way to start a child's life. DS was born with a thick mop of hair, to match the weight in gold would've cost us a fortune!
We did this for our baby who was born with a thick head of hair. When we cut it all off, it was only 1.5g so it was a small donation of £75!

It’s not just an Islamic thing. As others have said, many cultures shave it off for either hygiene reasons or to make the baby’s hair grow back thicker. It’s usually Asian cultures, including south Asian and East Asian.

Penguinsmum · 09/02/2022 00:32

My son had 3 head shaves in India from 1 year old to 3 years old...(in my husband's culture it should be done an odd number of times) my husband father in-law and brother in law had it too at the same time. My son enjoyed it! He has the most beautiful thick soft hair now at age 5.

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