Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
Brittle hair
HP:0002299
What it means
Fragile, easily breakable hair, i.e., with reduced tensile strength.
Brittle is used to describe hair which is very short because of an abnormality is in the structure of the shaft. Microscopically the ends appear fractured. Affected patients may report bits of hair on the collar or pillow. Brittle hair can be distinguished from hypotrichosis due to slow or deficient growth (e.g., due to hypotrichosis simplex) and hypotrichosis due to the hair being fine and soft where the hair just wears out too quickly (e.g., due to ectodermal dysplasia).
Rare diseases that can present with this23
Very common80–99%
10Common30–79%
10- Brain malformation-congenital heart disease-postaxial polydactyly syndrome
- Ectodermal dysplasia-sensorineural deafness syndrome
- Focal dermal hypoplasia
- Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia
- Hypotrichosis with juvenile macular degeneration
- Pili torti
- Pili torti-onychodysplasia syndrome
- Trichohepatoenteric syndrome
- X-linked intellectual disability, Golabi-Ito-Hall type
- Zellweger-like syndrome without peroxisomal anomalies
The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
Also called: Easily breakable hair · Fractured hair · Fragile hair · Reduced tensile strength of hair
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Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.