An 18-month-old baby girl was born with a patch of white hair. What makes this so unique is that MilliAnna Worthy is the fourth generation to have been born with the white hair. Her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother were also born with an identical patch in the same place. The Ridgeland, South Carolina family gets a lot of attention; especially when they are all together.
The white streak
MilliAnna, her mother Brianna Worthy, and the other women have the white streak because they have a genetic condition called poliosis circumscripta. That means the hair follicles have little or no melanin around them, causing the hair to appear bleached.
Because of this unique condition, there may be no color in parts of the skin in that area. The National Center for Biotechnology Information calls it the "white forelock" because of its location.
Called a skunk
Brianna said when she was growing up the white hair would bother her sometimes, especially when kids called her a skunk or other names. She began to love it as she grew up because it became her signature look. The women with the white streak think of it as a great trademark for their family. Brianna said she is going to explain to her baby when she is older why she has the patch of white hair. The trait was passed down from MilliAnna’s great-grandmother Jaonne, 59, to her grandmother Jennifer, 41, to her mother Brianna, 23.
White and not gray
It is interesting that the patch is not gray as hair becomes that color in older people. The patch of hair in the four generations appears to be bleached without any color at all. There are no boys in the family. So, it is unknown if boys would also have the signature look. MilliAnna’s mother said she doesn't know how far back the birthmark goes in her family because her grandmother was adopted as a child.
What do you think of the baby with the white patch of hair? Did it cause you to take a second look when you saw the picture of the beautiful baby with the white hair on the front of her head?
