Uncombedable hair syndrome: find out about the condition – 03/14/2024 – Balance

A British mother whose daughter has uncombedable hair syndrome wants to teach her that “different is beautiful.”

Three-year-old Layla was diagnosed with the rare condition when she was around a year old.

The family lives in the village of Great Blakenham, England. The mother, Charlotte, says that her daughter’s hair is constantly “fluffy”, as it lacks proteins and grows in a different way.

“We don’t treat her any differently, but the rest of the world does,” says Charlotte.

The mother says that the biggest challenge for the family is explaining what “consent” is to Layla — because other people don’t seem to respect this distance when approaching her hair.

“People just come up and touch it,” he says.

“How do you teach a child that it’s not okay to reach out and touch someone?”

Her mother says that, from an early age, people noticed that Layla’s hair was different. After the child’s third or fourth nail infection, the family decided to get tested.

A trichologist (hair and scalp specialist) was “thrilled because it was the first case he had seen.”

“I was shocked, we always knew she was special but then she was diagnosed as special,” Charlotte said.

The woman says she created an Instagram account to “educate people” about the condition and dealing with differences.

“There’s not much she can do with her hair and I want her to love it. I want her to know that people love it too.”

The mother says that when she recently went to a supermarket, a man aggressively questioned her: “Why do you comb your daughter’s hair like that? It looks like you rubbed balloons on her.”

Charlotte reports that she thought carefully about how to respond, as this would show Layla how to handle this type of situation.

“I said: I didn’t do anything to her hair, it’s natural and I think it’s beautiful.”

What is uncombedable hair syndrome

Uncombedable hair syndrome is a rare condition caused by a genetic mutation.

The tip of the hair is more irregular, sometimes looking like a triangle or a heart.

Typically, the tip of the hair is regular, with a crosscut, according to research published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

According to researchers, the condition, which usually occurs in childhood, improves over the years in most cases.