Sixteen month old Lock Samples is a head-turner mostly because of his head… of hair.
The Georgia toddler has ben diagnosed with what doctors call “uncombable hair syndrome”.
Locke was born with normal hair but at around six months his hair, as his mother Katelyn says, “…just started to take off.”
Lock’s hair was hard to get wet, it wouldn’t stay down and would pop back up. This perplexed the Samples family. It was only after a note from a stranger on Instagram – and a subsequent trip to the pediatrician – that the Samples family was referred to a specialist at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
There, after studying Lock’s hair under a special microscope, a pathologist confirmed he has one of about 100 known cases of uncombable hair syndrome.
“The hair strand is like a triangle shape and twisted,” Katelyn says. “Every single individual strand is that way.”
Thankfully it doesn’t affect Locke’s health. And the family has made the best of it with Locke even having his own Instagram account @uncombable_locks.
Katelyn Samples said she’s been touched by the response to Locke’s photos with parents finding the answer to the question that perplexed the Samples family for so long – some reaching out to say, “Thank you for sharing your story. I thought my child was the only one to have hair like this.”
There is a chance that Lock will outgrow uncombable hair syndrome once he reaches puberty. Until then, rock those beautiful locks, Locke!
