Boy, 10, with uncombable hair due to rare condition is 'gawked' at by strangers

26 February 2023 , 22:13

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Sam Barley often draws second glances with his wiry mane (Image: Lee McLean/SWNS)

A boy with a rare condition believed to have afflicted Albert Einstein says he is "stopped in the street" because of his frizzy hair.

Sam Barley says he's learned to embrace his "weird and wiry" hair which refuses to be combed flat.

The genetic condition known as Uncontrollable Hair Syndrome is thought to affect just 100 people worldwide, and means the 10-year-old has bright blonde frizzy hair which stands on end.

So unusual is his mane, strangers have reportedly stopped him in public asking if he's dyed or bleached it.

"They also say it looks like I've stuck my finger in a plug socket," Sam said.

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"I'm really proud of my hair and my school friends think my hair is brilliant."

Some people have told him his hair looks like he has 'stuck his finger in a plug socket' (Lee McLean/SWNS)

It's believed world-famous physicist Albert Einstein, known for his frizzy mane, also lived with the unusual condition.

Sam's mum Helen Barley first noticed something was different when he was about two-and-a-half years old and started to grow a head of "weird and wiry" hair.

"Even when he first had his hair cut at three years old, the hairdresser was baffled and had never seen anything like it before.

"When he was five, my mother-in-law messaged me and said she had seen two young girls on TV with UHS and she said she thought he had it.

Mum Helen first noticed Sam's unusual hair when he was a toddler (Lee McLean/SWNS)

"The more we looked into it and did our research, we realised that's what he's got."

Helen has said that sometimes people stop Sam and make "genuinely quite kind" comments about his hair but others often "stop what they are doing" and "gawk at him".

Sam has shaved his hair off for a couple of years but has now started to embrace his locks and grow it out.

Helen says people are 'genuinely kind' although some have stopped to 'gawp' at Sam's hair (Lee McLean/SWNS)

Finding a hairdresser who can style Sam's hair however has proved a struggle because they "just don't seem to know what to do with it."

Luckily, they have found a hairdresser near their home in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, who looks after him every eight to 12 weeks.

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She added: "We've probably been through three or four different hairdressers because they just don't seem to know what to do with it.

"You can style and brush it one way, then it pings in a completely different direction.

Sam, pictured with dad Dean, sister Erin and mum Helen, shares his ultra-rare condition with the likes of Albert Einstein (Lee McLean/SWNS)

"UHS is actually meant to be more slow growing than normal hair so his hair doesn't grow as fast."

Helen hopes that Sam will be able to meet another young person with the condition in the future as he has "never, ever met anyone else" who has it.

She said: "Because of the attention that it brings, it would be really good for him to sit with somebody who goes through the same and also gets stared at because of their hair.

"He could actually have a conversation with someone who he can sympathize and empathize with because they are going through the same thing."

Susie Beever