There are essentially three types of hair: lanugo, vellus and terminal hair.

Lanugo hair is the very fine, long, wispy, non pigmented hair found on the unborn, It is shed inside the womb at about the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy, or soon after birth.

Vellus hair covers the body surface after birth and is fine, soft, velvety and non pigmented.

The third type of hair is terminal hair, which is long, coarse and pigmented.

After puberty, vellus hair gives way to terminal hair on the face and chest in men, and the pubic area and armpits in both sexes, This change is brought about by androgens (male hormones) which both men and women have, Curiously, the same hormones can later cause terminal hair to revert back to vellus hair on the scalps of people with male pattern baldness.