An adorable baby boy is born with a rare birthmark that his mom and great-great-great-grandmother also have. The unique and easily distinguishable mark has been passed on in his family for decades and catches attention wherever he goes.
Many things make it easy for someone to determine whether you come from a particular family. Most of the time, that’s through a person’s eye color, facial shape, body build, personality, or even hair color.
For one particular family, however, their familial mark is having a big white patch in the middle of their jet-black hair. It’s usually a cause for head turns and looks of awe whenever they step out of their home and see other people.
Hair Color as Seen in the Movies
People have seen such unique hair color combinations in movies. Frankenstein’s wife had it, and so did Cruella de Vil on “101 Dalmatians.” For the Barnes family, it’s their everyday reality, which undoubtedly amazes the people they meet.
The white patch is caused by a medical condition called poliosis, which is a lack of pigment in the hair. The condition is best known as the “Mallen Streak,” affecting approximately 40 people in the Barnes family.
While the Mallen Streak has a scientific explanation, the Barnes family believes they have a patch of white hair because of a “kiss from an angel.” They think it’s a sign of good luck shared by family members.
A Little Boy’s Kiss from an Angel
Two-year-old Josiah Barnes is one of those who inherited the unique patch of hair. His mom Latrece, 34, said that along with her and her great-great-grandmother, about 40 more of their relatives have the same streak.
Whether Josiah’s hair is kept short or long through an afro, the white patch doesn’t disappear. It’s a staple for the young boy, and it’s something he’s embraced as part of him.
Admittedly, having the white patch of hair drew stares from people whenever they were out of the house. Latrece had to cover up her son’s streaks just so they could get things done, with people wanting a close look at her son’s hair.
Latrice would always be told by strangers that they’d never seen anybody with such hair. However, for Latrice and her family, it’s a typical sight. Talking about the rare “birthmark,” she said:
“It runs through my family. We don’t know where it originated but my grandmother had it, as did her grandparents. My daughter has maybe five white strands of hair, and my streak is about half the size of Josiah’s.”
Drawing the Public’s Attention
Some curious passerby would even ask Latrice if she had dyed her son’s hair just to get that distinct color. Her answer would always be no, and she’d go on to explain what it means to have a Mallen Streak.
There would also be times when Latrice would come across people with the same streak on their hair. After striking up a conversation with these people, there’d always be some relationship between them.
More than the white patch of hair, poliosis also often comes with a whiter patch of skin on the forehead. “It just depends on where the angels want to kiss you,” Latrece explained.
Admittedly, the proud mom prayed for her son to have it because she believed that it connected them to their family and who they really are.
A Cause of Medical Curiosity
Doctors would run tests on different family members to ensure they didn’t have some type of skin disease, and this was especially true for Latrece and her twin sister LaTerra.
Neither of LaTerra and Latrece’s parents had the streak, so doctors wanted them to be tested to make sure it wasn’t a disease. The results would always be the same—they had poliosis.
Latrece’s son Josiah is one of those in the family’s fifth generation with the Mallen Streak. One of Latrece’s sons, Xavier, doesn’t have it, nor does any of LaTerra’s children.
A Way to Stay Connected with Family
When Josiah was born via C-section, Latrece didn’t get to see her son immediately. One of the nurses suddenly exclaimed that he had the unique streak.
Admittedly, the proud mom prayed for her son to have it because she believed it connected them to their family and who they were. However, she was also first to admit that the streak came with some challenges, too.
Growing up, Latrece had to endure being called a “skunk.” She also had some cousins who chose to dye their streaks because they didn’t want them.
For Latrece, however, she believes that it’s good to be different and that her Mallen Streak is something she continues to embrace as a big part of her life and that of her family. She hopes her son Josiah thinks of it that way, too, and grows up to be proud of the streak and their family as well.
Click here to read about a baby girl named Layla who was born with a rare hair condition that makes her one of only one hundred people in the world with such hair color.