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Plenty of children have messy or crazy hair, but little Locklan Samples' locks look that way because of an extremely rare medical condition. The 14-month-old from Atlanta has something called "uncombable hair syndrome."
His mom, 33-year-old Katelyn Samples, explained to the Daily Mail that Locklan's hair started to grow in straight up and quite fuzzy when he was five months old. She said, "As it continued to grow, it never laid down... a lot of people who see him call him a baby chick."
A few months ago, she received a message from a stranger who saw Locklan's pictures and asked if he had uncombable hair syndrome. Katelyn hadn't heard of it so she asked their pediatrician, who referred her to a pediatric dermatologist at Emory University. After taking samples, that doctor confirmed the diagnosis as UHS.
The syndrome, which is inherited, causes a rare structural anomaly of the hair that makes it so the hair can't be flattened or brushed down. There are only 100 known cases of it worldwide.
Even though it is a genetic condition, which could mean there are other issues tied to it, overall, Locklan is happy and in great health, and his only other medical concern is severe eczema, which could be linked to the UHS.
As for his hair care routine, his mom said the texture of his hair actually makes it easier to clean, saying, "His hair doesn't need to be washed much, maybe once a week. It's water-resistant so it takes a minute to saturate with water and gentle shampoo."
While the condition is incredibly rare, some believe that Albert Einstein actually had it as well.
UHS usually resolves or improves by the onset of puberty, but for now, Locklan's parents are sharing pictures of him and raising awareness about UHS on his Instagram account, @uncombable_locks.