Woolly hair

Keywords Disease name Included diseases Definition and diagnosis criteria Differential diagnosis Frequency Clinical description Management and treatment Etiology Diagnostic methods Genetic counseling Unresolved questions References Abstract Woolly hair is a rare congenital abnormality of structure of scalp hair. It is marked by extreme kinkiness of hair in Caucasians. Woolly hair is either already present at birth or appears in the first months of life. The curls, with an average diameter of 0.5 cm, lie closely together and usually make the hair difficult to comb; in addition, the hair may be more fragile than usual. The hair growth rate is usually normal but the anagen phase may be truncated, with the result that the hair does not grow to be long. The hair shaft exhibits an elliptical cross section, an axial rotation and a kinked formation. A circumscribed occurrence of woolly hair in the form of a woolly hair nevus is distinguished from the forms affecting the entire scalp. The latter forms are: autosomal dominant woolly hair (hereditary woolly hair) or, far less frequently, autosomal recessive hereditary woolly hair (familial woolly hair). Autosomal recessive woolly hair can be syndromic and therefore accompanied by palmoplantar hyperkeratosis and heart abnormalities. No treatment is currently available. Traumatic physical and chemical cosmetic treatments should be avoided. Woolly hair is most pronounced during childhood; the manifestations often become less severe in adulthood.