Crimped “Spun-glass” Hair in Siblings: With Twelve Year Follow-up of an Earlier Case

Abstract

The appearance of unusually formed hair has been noted in individuals and families for many years. There have been a number of different descriptions used to classify these occurences in the literature. The varying terms of “wooly”, “kinky”, “negroid” and others have been used to describe what is seen clinically, without regard as to what such terms might actually mean. Recently, pediatricians and family physicians have become more interested in this type of hair abnormality because of the description of syndromes which associate mental retardation and failure to thrive with unusual looking hair. These children are then referred for more definite classification of their condition, especially if there are no associated signs and symptoms.