Mum shamed by strangers despite daughter having uncombable hair syndrome

When Zoey was born, she didn’t have a “a lick of hair” – now five, she has an unruly mop that causes her agony when her mum tries to brush it.

A mother in the United States has been accused of not taking care of her daughter because of her “bed head” hair – but its frizzy state is actually due to a rare medical condition.

Tiffany Lequieu is unable to properly brush daughter Zoey Freda’s hair because the five-year-old has uncombable hair syndrome (UHS).

The rare genetic condition means Zoey’s hair is extremely fragile and slow to grow as well as near impossible to style.

But sadly both mother and daughter, from Alabama, often get judged because her hair “looks different”.

“I’ve had people say to me, ‘Look at that bedhead hair, don’t you take care of your daughter?’” Ms Lequieu said.

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Zoey’s hair sees her mum often get accused of not looking after her properly. Picture: PA Real Life

‘I WAS PERPLEXED’

Zoey was born without “a lick of hair” but when it did start to grow it was blonde and “looked crimped”, with Ms Lequieu likening it to a “dog with really crazy fur”.

“I was perplexed, because no-one in my family had hair like hers – ours is all brown or black,” she said.

As well as being slow to grow, Ms Lequieu also discovered Zoey’s hair was impossible to brush and style without breaking off handfuls of it.

But Ms Lequieu had no idea her daughter’s hair was due to a medical condition until she read about another child who had UHS.

Ms Lequieu joined a Facebook support group for parents of kids with UHS and was “freaked” to find out the condition could also impact teeth, nails and the heart.

A dermatologist diagnosed Zoey with UHS at two-and-a-half and, fortunately, further genetic tests ruled out any further complications.

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Zoey’s hair was impossible to brush and style without breaking. Picture: PA Real Life

She was diagnosed with uncombable hair syndrome at age two-and-a-half. Picture: PA Real Life

‘THOUGHT MY CHILD WOULD BE BALD’

Since Zoey has diagnosed with UHS, there has been plenty of trial and error involved in learning how to care for the little girl’s hair.

Ms Lequieu only washes Zoey’s hair every two to three weeks and uses a specially-designed brush with a small amount of detangler spray on it.

They’ve banned slime in the house after some got stuck in Zoey’s hair while the then-three-year-old was playing with it.

Zoey also uses a silk pillowcase to prevent her hair getting matted when she sleeps.

The little girl also has a shorter patch of hair on the crown of her head from when a brush got stuck when Zoey was two.

“There are multiple times a week when she will be walking around with a clump of hair in her hand,” Ms Lequieu said.

“When it first started happening, I thought my child would be bald for the rest of her life, but her hair is extremely thick.”

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Ms Lequieu started a Facebook page documenting Zoey’s hair journey in 2018. Picture: PA Real Life

Zoey’s hair has gotten more manageable as she gets older. Picture: PA Real Life

‘IT CAN BE TOUGH FOR HER’

Despite all the challenges her hair poses Zoey is a happy child who loves dancing and has had no trouble making friends.

In 2018 Ms Lequieu set up Facebook account The Chronicles of Zoey to celebrate her daughter as well as raise awareness of UHS.

“It can be tough for her, as she keeps saying she wants to have princess hair, but her hair doesn’t work that way,” she said.

“We both got our hair cut a few weeks ago and she wanted hers styled like mine, but she could only have the ends of her hair trimmed, which she was upset about.”

As Zoey gets older her hair has become easier to maintain and there’s even a chance it could be “normal” by the time she is a teenager.

“We‘re very positive about her hair in our house, and we’ve drilled it into Zoey from a young age to be the same,” Ms Lequieu said.