Longest Hair in the World
Since immemorial, long hair has been regarded as a symbol of health, beauty, and wealth. In ancient cultures such as Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, and Ancient India, hairstyles were symbols of social status.
As specialists in producing premium quality human hair wigs, Keswigs understands the significance of beautiful long hair to people. Today, let’s explore the stories of those with extraordinary hair lengths!
Smita Srivastava: Longest Hair on a Living Person 2023
By November 29, 2023, Guinness World Records had updated the world’s longest hair record. The new title for the longest hair on a living person belongs to 46-year-old Smita Srivastava from Uttar Pradesh, India. Her hair measures an impressive 236.22 cm (7 ft 9 in).
Starting at 14, Smita has been growing her hair for 32 years. She only trimmed about one foot of her hair during her second pregnancy when she felt uncomfortable, making it more manageable.
She washes her hair twice a week, and each time it takes three hours to complete the entire process:
- 30-45 minutes for washing
- 2 hours for detangling with a towel and then by hand
- After the hair is dry, she combs it and braids or ties it into a bun.
In India, goddesses are often depicted with long hair, and cutting hair is considered inauspicious. Hence, women in India generally have long hair, and Indian culture believes that “long hair enhances the beauty of women.”
Asha Mandela: World’s Longest Locks
On November 11, 2009, Asha Mandela from Florida, USA, set a record with locks measuring 5.96 m (19 ft 6.5 in). According to Asha’s Instagram bio, her locks have now grown to 110 ft (33.5 m).
Asha has been growing her hair for over 40 years, emphasizing cleanliness in maintaining her locks.
She prefers finger-sized locks to reach the roots and wash her hair thoroughly. She uses six bottles of shampoo weekly to clean her locks and takes two full days to dry them.
Asha shared her secrets to maintaining long and beautiful locks: treating them like plants, watering them, and providing fertilizer.
Xie Qiuping: Longest Hair on a Person Ever (Female)
Xie Qiuping from China achieved the world record for the longest hair on a person ever (female) by 2004. She started growing her hair in 1973 at 13 and had been growing it for 40 years by 2004.
According to records, her hair length reached 5.627m (18 ft 5 in) in 2004.
Like in India, hair holds a significant place in traditional Chinese culture. Within China, there’s a village known for its long hair, where residents highly value their hair, believing it encapsulates a part of their soul.
Ladies from long hair village may only cut their hair once a lifetime and use specially crafted rice water for hair care. As a result, some elderly women in the village still have lustrous, dark hair. Interestingly, the donors for our signature 100-inch long wigs also come from this community.
Nilanshi Patel: Teenager with the Longest Hair
In 2018, 16-year-old Nilanshi Patel from Gujarat, India, held the record for the longest hair among teenagers, measuring 170.5 cm (5 ft 7 in).
After a terrible haircut at six, Nilanshi decided never to cut her hair again.
She washes her hair once a week, and after each cleaning, it takes half an hour to dry it. Then, she and her mother spend an additional hour combing her hair.
