Locklan Samples was born with jet-black hair that was comparable in color to his mother Katelyn’s hair when he was a baby. ‘His natural black hair had been replaced with what his parents refer to as ‘peach fuzz’ by the time he was six months old. ‘We were like, wow, what is this?’ the kid’s mother said of her son’s freshly blond, silky hair, which was first seen by her when he was a baby.
‘We were aware that something was different, but we couldn’t put our finger on it. After that, it just continued expanding and growing and growing.’
Locklan’s (nicknamed Lock) hair transformation was still in progress, which surprised everyone. Lock’s hair was white-blonde and incredibly silky by the time he was nine months old, and it was sticking straight up out of his head. Despite the fact that it was the same color as his three-year-old brother Shep’s hair, their hair textures were fundamentally different.
‘It was certainly something that others were noticing,’ Katelyn continued with a smile. This was the point at which Lock, a 33-year-old from Roswell, Georgia, received an Instagram message from an unknown sender who asked as to whether or not she had been diagnosed with ‘uncombable hair syndrome’.
The medical information website MedlinePlus says ‘It is characterized by dry, frizzy hair that cannot be combed flat. Uncombable hair syndrome is a medical disorder that affects the hair. This syndrome manifests itself in childhood, most often between the ages of 3 and 5, although it may manifest itself as late as the age of 12. Affected children have light-colored hair that has a glistening shine and is classified as blond or silvery in color. Hair does not grow downward but rather in a variety of directions from the head.’
‘I was thinking to myself, ‘Oh my God, what is this?’ Is there a problem with my baby’s health?’ When Katelyn initially learned about the problem, she was very concerned. ‘I got crazy on Google.’ She immediately contacted their physician, who informed her that they had never heard of the syndrome and sent her to a specialist at Emory Hospital.
‘When we went to visit the doctor, she told us it was the first time she’d seen it in 19 years,’ Katelyn said. It was unusual, so she didn’t believe it was uncombable hair syndrome, but they gathered samples and a pathologist examined them under a special microscope.
Lock’s hair was found to have uncombable hair syndrome after a detailed examination of the structure of his hair. A total of 100 known cases of the syndrome have been identified. Lock’s diagnosis came as a complete surprise to Katelyn, who stated that she was taken aback. ‘You’re just going about your day, thinking everything is good and that your child could have curly hair, which does run in the family. And then to find out that your child has a rare genetic disorder was completely surreal,’ according to her.
Fortunately, for the time being, the condition seems to be limited to Lock’s hair. Because he was growing properly in every other aspect of his life, the doctors concluded that there was no need to be concerned about anything else, according to Katelyn. Despite the fact that the family attempted to learn more about the condition, since there are so few known examples around the globe, there is very little information available online or among medical professionals. Her search for a support group on Facebook was successful, and she was able to connect with other parents of children with the same syndrome or individuals who had the condition themselves.
‘He will learn to appreciate his uncombed hair as he gets older,’ said Katelyn. ‘I would guess that 98 percent of people are wonderful and appreciate it. They like to compare him to a little rock star. It gives a smile to the faces of all who see it. And right now, while he’s young, he enjoys being the center of attention and isn’t bothered by it. In contrast, we want to instill confidence in each of our children, no matter how different they are from each other. And that it’s OK to be a little different from the crowd.’