One mother revealed that her child is among only 100 who have the rare uncombable hair syndrome. She is now teaching her son how to take pride in his messy locks.
Katelyn Samples is 33 years old and from Atlanta. She has two children, Shepard (two-year-old) and Locklan (1 year).
Locklan’s hair began to grow at five months of age. Katelyn, 33 and Caleb (33), noticed that it was very fuzzy. They thought it would become curly.
Katelyn recalls, “It was coming into straight up and so softly fuzzy,”
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Locklan’s fuzzy hair that his parents thought would eventually lead to curly locks, but instead they found out he has ‘uncombable hair syndrome’
The genetic condition is a very rare one with only just 100 people in the world diagnosed
“As the plant continued to grow, it never laid it down… many people who saw him refer to him as a baby chick.”
Then, during summer, an unknown person messaged Katelyn asking if he was suffering from something called “uncombable hair syndrome”.
Katelyn didn’t know about the condition. This rare hair disorder causes hair loss that can’t even be flattened or brushed.
This condition is very rare, with only 100 people in the world. Some believe that Albert Einstein was suffering from UHS.
The Samples family: Locklan, centre bottom with his older brother, Shepard behind him, with their parents
Katelyn said: ‘Because UHS is so rare our paediatrician referred us to a pediatric dermatologist/specialist at Emory in Atlanta, Georgia.
They took hair samples from him and called us several weeks later to confirm that it was indeed Uncombable Hair Syndrome.
“His doctor has only ever seen one case over the last 19 years.” The reason he is suffering from it, we don’t know.
Katelyn is still worried about UHS, even though it usually affects hair.
Her words were: “Hearing your child has a genetic disorder is hard, especially since it is so rare that there isn’t much information. However, I was able to learn as much as possible and connect with other parents worldwide (in UHS Facebook group), and became less afraid and more grateful for Locklan’s singularity.
“Other that his wild, crazy-cool hair, he’s perfectly healthy, and extremely happy. He may also have severe eczema which could be related to UHS.
Locklan’s hair looks simple because it is so short right now. His parents also found it easier to maintain his hair, despite the fact that he is young.
Katelyn stated that her hair only needs to be washed once per week.
It’s water resistant so take a few minutes to wash it off with water.
While his distinctive hair does draw attention, but he usually doesn’t mind.
Katelyn stated that Lock is already a celebrity. Everywhere we go, people come to us.
They ask him about his hair, sometimes asking to touch it. People even wanted to photograph him at a local fall festival. He likes all the attention.
“We can’t travel anywhere without someone commenting on our hair.” It’s almost always in a great place.
“But the mean/rude/sarcastic remarks happen too, and it breaks me heart.”
The mother of the boy has said that her son’s 14-month-old daughter has drawn a lot more attention to his hair, including kind remarks in real life and cruel comments on social media. He’s been accused of sticking his finger into an electrical socket with his hair.
Katelyn reports that they have heard a variety of comments, including people calling him crazy and saying that it looks like he has stuck his finger into a socket.
Others will say, “Wow his locks make me smile”, “He reminds me of my cat when he’s scared”, or “That little baby gets up each day with bad hair.”
Katelyn stated that while Lock is currently the sole ones responsible for this, Lock will as he gets older.
We are so happy for Lock’s beautiful hair. He should be proud of what makes him different.. everybody should.
Caleb was diagnosed in September and Katelyn and Caleb created his Instagram account @uncombable_locks to post pictures and raise awareness.
Katelyn explained that he created his IG profile because many people love his hair so much and are interested in it.
“My husband is very imaginative and created the IG name, and I set it up.
“Between the hair of his smile, and his eyes, we wanted to bring some joy onto the Internet.”