Parents revealed that their 10-month-old baby son looks like 'Wolverine' due a rare genetic condition – but gets trolled online.
Joao Miguel, from Cascavel, Parana State, Brazil, was diagnosed hirsutism – which means the little boy's hair grows at a rapid rate in comparison to his peers. Even though he's not one yet, the tot already sports a full head of thick hair and appears to have an Elvis-esque quiff.
Along with sideburns, bushy eyebrows and a little beard, Joao Miguel has thick dark hair on his chest and arms. His mum, 20-year-old Ane Caroline dos Santos Brite, revealed that her adorable son was born with the thick hair and it will continue grow as he gets older.
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After he was born, she consulted a endocrinologist in the their city and were told that "not much can be done" due to him having the genetic condition. Dad Jonas explained that condition actually runs in the family. He said that he himself has hirsutism, along with his mum and grandfather.
"It comes from my mother," Jonas said. "I was born like this, she was too, and my grandfather was too.
"Over time, the amount of hair decreases, but there is still a lot of it. It's just a question of aesthetics."
The mum has now started to share cute clips of Joao on TikTok where he quickly went viral. The social media profile has over 150,000 followers and one clip even reached over 22million views as he played with a rubber duck. Ane was blown away by all of the lovely messages she received regarding her hairy son.
"It all happened out of the blue, but we are taking it in a positive way, and it's been amazing," the mum gushed. "Joao Miguel is an incredible child, with a strong personality and super intelligent. He gets smarter every day."
Over on TikTok, one user commented: "What a cute baby, he's like a teddy bear." Another expressed: "God, what beautiful eyelashes."
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However, not everyone is so kind. The mum shared that little Joao Miguel gets trolled due to his appearance, although she tries not to focus on them.
"We try not to see and not to care because what matters is the love we feel for him," she urged. "There are many mean and nasty comments, but we are focusing only on the good ones. We are very happy to know how many people love him and wish him well."
Paediatric dermatologist Antonio Carlos M. de Arruda, vice-president from the Dermatology Department at the Paediatric Society of Sao Paulo (SPSP), shed some light on hirsutism. "It can have genetic, hormonal, and medication-related causes," the expert revealed. "Some children are born with the condition, while others might have excessive hair growth due to the use of certain medications.
"However, most cases occur due to hormonal dysfunction, mainly involving hormones known as androgens, with testosterone being the most important.
"In such cases, treatment should be carried out jointly by an endocrinologist, a hormone specialist, and a dermatologist."
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