'Fluffy' tot's rare uncombable hair syndrome makes her one of only 100 in world

Callum Fairhurst went to meet Layla and her family.

A three-year-old girl with an uncontrollable mop of hair is helping to raise awareness of a rare condition that affects only 100 people worldwide.

Layla Davis, from Great Blakenham in Suffolk, has wild blonde hair which cannot be combed flat, and she has been diagnosed as suffering from uncombable hair syndrome.

Her locks have drawn comparisons with scientist Albert Einstein and a certain former Tory leader.

Layla, who is known to her friends as "Fluffy", now has an Instagram account which her mum says is helping other sufferers around the world.

Mum Charlotte Davis, 30, said: "Layla's instagram account has been a brilliant platform to educate people about the condition. It's so rare most people don't know about it - myself included before Layla got the condition."

Mrs Davis, who works for a building society, said people from all over the world had been in touch.

When Layla was born she had jet black hair.

Mrs Davis said: "It started to fall out when she was four or five months and when it grew back it grew fuzzy like a little duckling and then it started to grow unusual and people started to say to me her hair is different."

Their daughter was officially diagnosed with the condition after Mrs Davis and husband Kevin took her to a trichologist.

It does not seem to bother Layla, who says she loves her hair and is excited about being in a dancing show.

Her favourite song is Shake it Off by Taylor Swift.

Big brother Freddie, 4, does not have the condition.

Hair expert Iain Sallis, from Manchester, said: "It usually starts about age three and then the hair starts to puff out rather than calm down and then the mothers start going, 'hm hold on, my daughter's hair is sticking out and looks like a dandelion clock'."

Uncombable hair syndrome is a very rare genetic mutation in some people's hair.

It is so rare, only 100 people have been diagnosed with it.

It usually affects very young girls with blonde hair.

Sometimes it improves with age and the hair can revert to normal.

Trichologists say the cross section of the hair is very different - instead of being oval like the average hair it can be triangular or kidney-shaped.

It is also known as "spun-glass syndrome" after the effect on the hair.

Mrs Davis said the condition means that Layla's hair cannot be washed too often and has to be treated very gently.

She hopes the family's social media account will help others.

She added: “Lots of people do love her hair. She gets lots of lovely comments and I thought it'd be really nice to share that with the world.

"And then when she's older, she can look back at the comments and actually, you know, people do like my hair and it is a good thing to be proud of. I just want her to be proud of it. And then when she does get unkind, come in, she can brush it off”

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