Think your child's hair is hard to brush? Try one with Uncombable Hair Syndrome...

For a handful of mums and dads across the globe, the struggle is so real it’s actually an extremely rare medical condition called Uncombable Hair Syndrome (UHS).

In a nutshell: rather than having round hair follicles like the majority of us, little ones with UHS actually have kidney-shaped ones, which results in fine, incredibly coarse hair that definitely can’t be tamed with your standard haircare products, or even at all.

Research suggests it’s a genetic condition, and is typically discovered when children are between the ages of 3 months and 12 years, though researchers estimate that UHS will improve with age.

Pictured here is 21-month-old Phoebe, one of 100 children thought to have the condition.

As you can see, little Phoebe’s hair looks constantly static and upright. Her mum, Jamie Braswell, says strangers judge her in the supermarket over it.

"People say, “You should brush it better. Why don’t you put it in a ponytail?” But that hurts her,” Jamie shared.

"Every morning it is sticking straight up and throughout the day I try and spray stuff in it to keep it down, but within 30 minutes it’s spiky again.

"It’s like somebody constantly has a balloon there and if I were to try and brush it properly she would scream, so we have to go with the flow.”

Despite the diagnosis - and her worries about future teasing at school - Jamie’s determined to make sure Phoebe knows her hair makes her special.

“It’s hard for me to anticipate that people might make nasty comments, but I am going to teach her that we are all different in every way and it doesn’t matter.

"I have never seen anyone with hair like hers. It’s beautiful. It makes her unique."

Images: SWNS

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