DD's hair not growing!!!is this strange?

[hellymelly]

My daughter is just five.She has never had a haircut,and her hair is collar length at the longest.It is fine,curlyish and fluffy,and seems really slow growing.She has started to get upset about it as she wants long hair like her best friend.My smaller daughter( 2 3/4)has longer hair.I am a bit concerned in case she could be lacking something in her diet as all her friends have long hair or hair that is repeatedly cut.I feel a bit silly asking my GP about it,so thought I'd ask you lot instead!

I wouldn?t worry about it but why not book her an appointment at the hairdressers for a general trim and tidy up? You could discuss it with the hairdresser whilst your daughter is being pampered!

She wouldn't agree to have any cut off,she is too upset that it isn't growing.I have jsut said to her that it will grow in its own time but she has noticed that her baby sister's hair is getting longer.Last week when we were out a friend commented to DD2 that her hair was getting "lovely and long" and DD1 looked really crestfallen.I like her shorter hair looks wise,but it seems odd now how little it is growing.

Ahhh your poor dd, i use to look after a little girl who had very short curly hair, she was desperate to have long hair her mother ended up buying her hair clips with fake hair attached e.t.c

Bless her, i think there are some vitamins that help with hair growth.

I don't give her any extra vitamins,and she isn't a big eater,although she eats a reasonable variety of foods,so at the back of my mind is a worry that her ahir could be a symptom of something lacking.Part of the reason I haven't asked my GP is that I don't want her to get a complex about it.So any one with similar children,or anyone with any ideas about supplements?

I understand it can still be normal at this age.

Your proper child hair starts to grow around the age of 5 so perhaps she's going to be a late devloper in that respect?

Also some people just don't have hair that will grow particular wrong it's about the lifecyle of the follicle or something, the higher it is the longer the hair ie after how many days it naturally falls out and starts a new hair IYSWIM

Oh bless her!! I hadn?t realised it was bothering her that much ? sorry. My daughter?s hair grew OUT until she was about 5 or 6 and then suddenly caved in under the weight.

I?m tempted to think it isn?t something you need to worry too much over although I appreciate that?s easier said than done. Would she be agreeable to have the hairdresser just wash and style her hair for her? I?m just thinking a hairdresser might perhaps be the best person to put your mind at ease, especially if they?ve seen her hair and you can talk to them about it at the same time.

I remember her assuring me that my daughter?s hair (curly, thick and growing OUTWARDS) was fine and would drop and sort itself out in no time ? which it did.

My hairdresser is young and not particularly interested in children so she may not be the best person to ask,perhaps I will try in London when we are next there.I didn't know that hair changed at five,(she was five a few weeks ago.)I guess I might try mentioning it to my GP when I am there on my own.Or maybe an alternative health person of some sort? She is a beautiful little girl ,she looks like a fairy,and I feel sad that she is starting to not like something about her looks

Both of my DDs (now 15 and 12) were born with just a bit of fluff. Their hair grew very fine and slowly until they were about 5 or 6. They too had collar length hair and just used to have pretty clips in to show that they were actually girls .

Once they got to about 6 their hair started to grow properly so they could get it into bunches/plaits etc.

Now they've both got lovely, long, thick hair.

What tidybush said is my experience too. My dd has a longish bob now but until she was 5.6ish it was just a bush of tangles and split ends.

Hi there hellymelly,

Both my sister and her dd (now 5) had little hair in young childhood. My sister's hair was very fine and blond- the back grew to her shoulders but was always very short on top. Now, as an adult, her hair is very thick black hair. No problems there.

My niece's hair at 5 years 4 months is exactly the same as my sister's at the same age. It is like deja vu so imagine will come in thickly in the next year or two.

However...

One thing they both have in common is Coeliac disease. Not sure if it is a coincidence or not as I have read that it can cause restricted hair growth. My sister never had it diagnosed in childhood only when her own child was diagnosed did she have the test as it is genetic.

Don't mean to add something to give you paranoid thoughts- just one possibility for poor hair growth.

Well it is cheering to read that it might change from now on,but the coeliac thing is something I suppose I need to check out.What symptoms did your sister have?

Does your dd have eggs? Coz many hair/nails supplements are based around sulphur/aminoacids, but it's far better to use foods than tablets.

Hi-

Again, I have no idea if there is a concrete connection. So PLEASE don't get worried. Just another avenue to explore.

Little niece was having major digestion problems, very tired and has a million other food allergies that may have been masking the coeliac thing. She's very pale of complexion and was getting a lot of health issues like cold sores that aren't that common in little ones. Everything she caught something she got it worst than everyone else. Also, very bloated tummy all the time. So, my sister took her to a specialist and they suggested coeliac. The only conclusive way to diagnose it is through a biopsy. Positive.

Sometimes poor hair growth can also be for no reason at all so I wouldn't stress too much. I'm sure she'll have lustrous locks in no time.

Well my DD does get tired but she is quite active.She doesn't have any obvious digestive issues at all.She is very pale but we are all pale celts so I am not too worried about that.She is thin but not scarily so,and not short or anything.The only thing that made me slightly concerned about that is that I do have issues with gluten and have half wondered whether I should have a coeliac test.I have other allergies and was really careful about introducing foods with my dds,I didn't give them gluten until they were 12m old,and I have breastfed dd1 until she was 2 1/4 and dd2 is still feeding at 2 3/4.So at the back of my mind there is the possibility with our family history ,of allergies or auto-immune disorders.I really appreciate the advice .I will mention it to the GP and get her checked if she thinks it is nec or if her hair is still not growing at the end of the year.

pale celts have a genetic susceptibility to coeliac in literature, so do scandinavians and central europeans

I once complimented a child at DN's birthday party: she had a very cute pixie haircut and I remarked how unusual and atteactive it was. The mum then told me that her daughter's hair wouldn't grow because of a medical condition, and that it might sort itself out at the teen stage. Her daughter was very self-conscious about it.

So maybe a quick chat with your GP, just in case?

Dd had very fluffy fine hair when she was about 4 than it started to fall out so I went to Gp she had blood tests and it turned out she was low on iron.
She is 9 now and had really long thick and curly hair.

Well, it can't hurt if you have gluten issues to bring it up. Nightcat, funnily enough all the people I know with coeliac have white blonde hair, blue eyes & pale skin. Have wondered about that. Except ds of course with her dark hair, but she did have white blonde hair, pale skin and blue eyes as a child. We are celtic/eastern europe descent. Hmmm.

yes I have wondered about iron too,as she doesn't eat meat.I think I will get some floradix anyway as it is probably a good idea.She is very pale skinned but her gums,eyelids etc all look red,not pale.
We are Welsh,so pale skin,greeny eyes and fairish hair.Actually the only child friend I know with coeliac is white blonde and blue eyed.