Mom to albino baby with ginger hair dyes own so he doesn’t feel left out

By Holly Mei-Yu Stafford via SWNS

A black mom whose albino baby was born with ginger hair dyes her own "so he doesn't feel left out."

Vivienne Temitope Hassan, 24, was "shocked" when she first met her baby boy, Zayne, who was born with albinism in March 2023.

Despite Vivienne and her husband, Ezike Ebhota, who works in real estate, both being black, Zayne was born with white skin and blonde hair.

The first-time parents say that albinism doesn't run on either side of the family, making Zaye's condition even more surprising.

At three months old, the back of Zayne's hair started turning red and by September, he had a full head of red hair- inspiring Vivienne to dye her own.

Now a "happy and healthy" 10-month-old, the only part of albinism that affects Zayne is his eyes which are sensitive to light.

Vivienne, a content creator from Istanbul, Turkey, said: "When the midwives first handed Zayne to me, I was shocked and happy at the same time.

"My first I wondered if he was ok, health-wise.

"I asked doctors lots of questions and they said that his melanin may kick in after a few weeks.

"Some Nigerian babies are born lighter and then their completion gets darker but Zayne's remained the same.

"At three months old, the hair at the back of his head started to turn the reddish colour that he is now.

"I started dying my hair to match his so he doesn't feel left out and it's fun to match!

"We obviously get a lot of attention when we're out in public but people are mostly inquisitive and I'm happy to talk about Zayne's condition.

"He's naturally such a happy and friendly baby, I don't blame people for being drawn to him."

Describing her pregnancy as "normal" and with nothing being detected during scans, Vivienne was left surprised when welcoming her albino son.

Medics initially suggested that Zayne's completion may change "after a couple of weeks", however, he was later diagnosed with albinism.

Albinism is an inherited condition that leads to someone having very light skin, hair, and eyes because they have less melanin than usual in their body.

Zayne's hair changing came as a shock to Vivienne as medics hadn't advised her of this but her worries were put to rest after a Google search reassured her that it was normal.

Albinisma also means Zayne is extremely sensitive to light, so Vivienne will thickly apply suncream on him and a hat when taking him out in daylight.

"Albinism wasn't something we knew much about," Vivienne said.

"I didn't care what my son looked like -to us, he was gorgeous regardless- but it was more how Zayne's health might be in the future.

"He can't see people from a distance and when he goes outside, I lather him in suncream to protect his skin.

"We will be monitoring his sight as he grows because melanin levels affect how the retina develops.

"When we go out as a family, people stare.

"I don't blame them, we're two black people with a white baby.

"Some people have even asked if Zayne is a doll, but they soon figure it out when he lets out his adorable giggle.

"Thankfully, we haven't experienced any unkind comments in person."

Documenting Zayne's journey on TikTok -which now boasts over 232K followers- Vivienne says she's "had to grow a thick skin" to overcome trolls.

She said: "People online have said me and my husband should not have any more children, accused us of ''glorifying albinism'' and have even accused Ezike of not being Zayne's father.

"It used to hurt me to the point when I nearly deleted his account but I couldn't let hurtful strangers steal my joy.

"Zayne is such a beautiful baby and I love his little community that we've built to spread awareness of albinism.

"When we had him, we didn't know much about the condition and I'd like to think that his platform will help other parents.

"It's horrible that people would write things about an innocent baby but now I just block and delete as I see fit.

"People online have accused me of dying Zayne's hair which is crazy as he's only a baby.

"I love matching my hair to Zayne's- maybe one day I'll get my hubby to do the same."

Zayne can be found on TikTok @_kingzayne.