Katelyn Samples, a 33-year-old mom, recently revealed how her one-year-old son of roughly only 100 people worldwide was diagnosed with an unusual condition known as "uncombable hair syndrome." Despite the condition, she teaches her child how to be proud of what she described as "unruly locks."
As specified in a Mail Online report, Katelyn, from Atlanta, Georgia, said when her son, Locklan was about five months old, and his hair began to grow, she and her 33-year-old husband, Caleb, noticed "it was quite fuzzy" and they thought it would grow curly.
However, the mother said Locklan's hair continued to grow, but it never laid down that many people seeing him are now calling him a "baby chick."
Then, in summer, a stranger sent Katelyn a message to ask if her son had a condition called "uncombable hair syndrome."
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A one-year-old boy was recently diagnosed with uncombable hair syndrome
'Uncombable' Hair Syndrome
Katelyn, who also said, since UHS is very rare, their pediatrician referred them to a pediatric dermatologist/specialist at Emory in Atlanta, Georgia.
Locklan's mom recalled saying, they took samples of his son's hair. Then, a few weeks after, they received a call from the specialist who confirmed, the boy's condition was indeed uncombable hair syndrome.
UHS, as described in the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, is a rare medical condition of the scalp's hair shaft.
The doctor had only seen one other condition in the last 19 years and Locklan's parents said they are clueless why their son has it.
Even though UHS typically only impacts the hair, the boy's mother said she was still worried about the diagnosis. She added, hearing her son has a genetic condition is not easy, especially since it is very rare there is not a lot of information on it.
Hair's Unique Texture, Easy to Keep Clean
Nonetheless, she got in touch with other parents all over the group via a UHS FB group and Katelyn turned less scared and more appreciative of how unique Locklan is.
Aside from what she described as "wild and crazy cool hair," the mother said her son is perfectly healthy, not to mention, quite happy. He does not have any severe eczema, which may be associated with UHS, as indicated in an article posted on Symptoma.com.
At this minute, since the boy is still young, and his air is quite short, his hair routine is very simple, and his parents discovered that the unique texture of the hair means, easier to keep it clean. According to Katelyn, the child's hair does not require too much washing, probably just "once a week."
The mother added, her son's hair is "water-resistant." Thus, it takes a minute to saturate it using water and shampoo with a gentle formulation.
Social Media Account Created to Raise Awareness
After being diagnosed, Locklan's parents created the Instagram account @uncombable_locks in October to share photos of him and raise awareness about uncombed hair syndrome.
Katelyn explained that they set up the said social media account because people are actually very intrigued by her son's hair and love it so much, and thus, they wanted to raise awareness of such an infrequent genetic illness.
She added, her husband is quite creative in that he came up with his IG name and set up the account. Between the boy's hair and his smile, Katelyn said they wanted to bring some joy to the Internet.
Related information about uncombable hair syndrome is shown on The Doctor's YouTube video below:
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