When Locklan “Lock” Samples was born he had dark hair just like his mother, but when he was a few months old the Georgia toddler’s hair started to change color. It also started to change texture.
Katelyn and her husband Caleb called their son’s hair “peach fuzz.”
“We were like, huh, what is this?” she told People. “We knew it was different, but didn’t know exactly how. And then it kept growing and growing.”
It wasn’t until she received a message from a stranger on Instagram that asked if Lock had been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called uncombable hair syndrome that she became not only suspicious, but concerned.
Lock, who is now 16 months old, was born with dark baby hair. But his mother told Fox 5 Atlanta that when he was around 6 months old his hair started to change.
“I was going to my mom and asking her, ‘Did I have hair like this,” she said.
It was difficult to wash his hair because it rarely stayed wet and when she dried it Lock’s hair never laid flat. It always stood up.
His hair, which now matched the color of his older brother’s, also kept growing.
But then a stranger messaged Katelyn on Instagram and asked if Lock had been diagnosed with uncombable hair syndrome.
“I got nervous because I’d never heard of it before,” she said.
She immediately began researching it and called her son’s pediatrician. The boy’s doctor was unable to help, but referred him to a specialist.
“We went to see her and she said she’d only seen this once in 19 years,” Katelyn told People. “She didn’t think it was uncombable hair syndrome, because of how rare it is, but they took samples and a pathologist looked at it under a special microscope.”
To everyone’s surprise it was uncombable hair syndrome, a condition so rare there are only 100 confirmed cases in the world.
Even though it’s a rare condition, the diagnosis does not impact Lock’s health.
“The hair strand is like a triangle shape and twisted,” Katelyn said. “Every single individual strand is that way.”
It’s possible when he reaches puberty his hair will change again, but for now the family is embracing his unique look.
“I would say that 98% of people are so kind and love it,” she said. “They say he’s like a little rock star. It brings a smile to peoples’ faces. And right now when he’s little, he loves the attention and doesn’t mind it.”
Katelyn shares photos of Lock on Instagram and hopes that by doing so she’s able to bring a smile to more people than just those in her community and let others know that it’s okay to be different.
“But with both of our kids, we want to teach them to be confident in who they are, no matter what makes them different.”
“And that it’s cool to stand out a little bit.”
I love Lock’s hair, and I don’t understand how anyone could have the nerve to say anything rude about it.
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