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Lanugo hair refers to a very fine, soft and usually unpigmented type of hair that typically covers the body of a fetus. These hairs are particularly present in the late stages of pregnancy and serve several purposes, including helping to keep the vernix caseosa on the fetus’ skin. The vernix caseosa is a protective layer that protects the skin of the fetus in the amniotic fluid from drying out.
After birth, newborns usually lose their lanugo hair within the first weeks to months of life, replacing it with thicker, often pigmented hair. The process in which the lanugo hair falls out and is replaced by permanent hair is a natural part of skin development.
Lanugo hair is therefore a temporary phenomenon that occurs mainly in fetuses and newborns, and it differs in structure and function from the hair types that grow later in life, such as vellus hair (fine, short body hair) and terminal hair (longer, often darker and thicker hair).
