Scientists identify genes that can cause 'uncombable hair syndrome'

Key Facts

It usually starts in children between the ages of three months and 12 years and is characterized by straw blond or silvery blond frizzy hair.
READ MORE: The secret information hidden in your hair Boris Johnson or Albert Einstein might spring to mind, but while those high-profile men are famous for their unruly locks, with very few cases of uncombable hair syndrome in the world, it’s highly unlikely they have or had the condition.
They have confirmed that in 76 of these children, the cause is linked to mutations in the PADI3 gene as well as the involvement of two other genes, all three of which code for important proteins involved in hair-fiber formation.
So when a rare condition leads to such a fascinating yet impossible to manage change in hair, it is easy to appreciate why scientists want to understand how it happens and to help the families with affected children understand it better too.