Last summer, Katelyn Samples posted a picture of her youngest son, Locklan Samples, to Instagram. Then a stranger sent her a message. It asked if her then 10-month-old son had been diagnosed with uncombable hair syndrome.

The 33-year-old mother from Roswell, Georgia, was worried.

“At first, you see ‘syndrome’ and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ like, is something wrong with my baby? Is he in pain or something?” she told ABC’s Good Morning America.

Samples began searching on Google and called her paediatrician. The doctor told her they had never heard of the syndrome, but referred her to a paediatric dermatologist at Emory Healthcare, in Atlanta.

There, Locklan was diagnosed with uncombable hair syndrome, or UHS.

A rare genetic disorder of the hair shaft, UHS is characterised by disorderly silvery-blond or straw-colored hair. The hair, which stands out from the scalp, cannot be combed flat. The syndrome commonly shows up in children between three and 12.

“When you look under the microscope, you can see that instead of having hairs that are cylinder shape … the shaft of the hair is actually more in a triangular shape,” Dr Carol Cheng, a paediatric dermatologist at UCLA Health, told ABC.

“Within the triangle, there [are] these little grooves that go up and down the long axis of the hair shaft, so that’s why it makes it really uncombable.”

Scientists know of only about 100 cases and according to the National Institutes of Health there is currently no definitive treatment. However, the condition typically improves or resolves itself once puberty begins.

Samples said her son’s hair has a “crimp” in it, adding: “It can get matted easily. It is very fragile … It can get tangled and I do have to be careful. That would be an example of a time I actually would wash it because I very rarely wash his hair. Just doesn’t need to be. It doesn’t really get greasy.”

In her initial research, Samples noticed that information was scarce. However, she soon found a Facebook group created solely for those with experience of UHS. The group exchanges information on hairstyles, products and care.

“That has been extremely helpful … it’s been comforting,” Samples told the Washington Post.

The only possible symptom Locklan has been experiencing is “extremely sensitive skin”, Samples said, adding that other parents in the Facebook group noticed this in their kids. Sometimes, she said, children with UHS can overheat.

After Locklan’s diagnosis, Samples followed her husband’s advice and launched @uncombable_locks, an Instagram account featuring pictures of Locklan and his hair.

Seven months later, users have thrown their support behind Locklan.

One wrote: “I love him so much!!! I would love to see all the other kids in a pic together that have UHS.”

Another user wrote: “Loving his fuzz top and mullet in the back. Shall we just say he’s rocker chic?”

Samples describes the attention as “filled with joy and extremely kind”. People sometimes ask to take pictures with Locklan, she said, adding that she does not mind “as long as the baby is happy and vibing with it”.