Long hair is one of nature's greatest gifts to women. Maintaining it can be challenging, but the results are worth it, as a luxurious braid or other beautiful hairstyle for women with long hair immediately attracts admiring attention.
However, some women take their love for their hair to extremes. They grow their hair year after year to gain fame, to hide scalp imperfections, or for other reasons.
We present you with photos of people with the longest hair in the world.
10. Little Chanco
Hair length – unknown.
This adorable Japanese girl, who has over 390,000 followers on Instagram, is unique in that she was born with a luxurious "lion's mane." Hair this long and thick usually occurs later in life, but Chanko was lucky.
Her head of shiny black hair caught the attention of not only ordinary people but also Pantene executives. She appeared in an ad alongside Japanese celebrity Sato Kondo, who is aging gracefully and isn't ashamed to show off her graying hair.
9. Stefania Smirnaya
Hair length: 1.1 meters.
In 2017, a young resident of Stavropol entered the Russian Book of Records as the girl with the longest hair at the age of 10. At the time, her locks measured 117 centimeters.
8. The Seven Sutherland Sisters
The total length of the hair is 14 meters (according to other sources - 11 meters).
Sometimes hair can bring wealth and fame, as seven girls born to a poor priest's family demonstrated to all of America. They were given the names:
- Victoria;
- Sarah;
- Isabel;
- Naomi;
- Dora;
- Grace;
- Mary.
Their mother adored long hair and regularly washed her daughters' heads with a homemade product that was supposed to enhance the growth and thickness of their locks. The product smelled foul, causing the sisters to be ridiculed by their peers. But it worked, and each of the girls could boast wavy, silky, and very long hair.
Already in their teens, the seven Sutherland sisters, with their father's blessing, began performing in various freak shows, touring the United States. They weren't just showing off their hair; they performed as singers and lyricists. They became fabulously wealthy by 19th-century standards, and their enterprising father patented his wife's hair tonic and began selling it for a fortune.
Sadly, the end of the Sutherland Sisters' Corporation was tragic. In the 1920s, short haircuts became fashionable in America, and tonics became less and less profitable. The patriarch died, and the sisters, who relied on his business ideas, were at a loss as to what to do next. The final blow came in the form of a fire that destroyed the luxurious Sutherland home. All that remains of the once-famous Rapunzel family is a photo of the longest hair in the Wild West.
7. Nilanshi Patel
Hair length: 1.8 meters.
Seventeen-year-old Nilanshi Patel, nicknamed "India's Rapunzel," didn't cut her hair for 10 years. This decision led her to set a Guinness World Record: the longest hair on a teenager.
Patel, who lives in the Indian state of Gujarat, began growing her hair continuously after a bad haircut at the age of six.
She remembers crying over a bad haircut and then deciding she'd never get one again. Today, her thick, wavy hair reaches her ankles, looking like a dark river flowing down her back.
Patel says she washes her hair once a week, and, surprisingly, it only takes her half an hour to dry. Brushing it takes at least an hour.
«"My mom helps me braid and comb my hair," says Nilanshi, explaining that her parents have always supported her decision to grow her hair. She wears her hair in a long braid or a bun and claims it doesn't hinder her active lifestyle or even her exercise routine.
6. Ni Linmei
Hair length: 2.5 meters.
Whether it's the Chinese climate that favors hair growth or the local cuisine, three people in our selection hail from the Middle Kingdom. And Ni Linmei is the shortest-haired of them all.
She grew her hair for 14 years and is very proud of it. She was often offered large sums of money to cut it off and wear a wig, but she always refused.
5. Asha Mandela
Hair length: 2.6 meters.
The Trinidad and Tobago native has earned the nickname "Black Rapunzel" because she has held the Guinness World Record for "World's Longest Dreadlocks" since 2008.
Mandela first started growing her hair in her early 20s, after she moved from Trinidad and Tobago to New York City and wanted a more natural hairstyle.
«"When I first started, it was more of a spiritual journey, and it had nothing to do with fashion or fame," Mandela was quoted as saying by the International Business Times.
However, over the years, maintaining such a large amount of hair on her head has become a real feat. To maintain their beautiful appearance, Asha has to wash them once a week, using up to six bottles of shampoo per wash. And the dreadlocks take two days to dry.
Doctors are concerned about Asha's health, as she has already suffered two heart attacks, and the weight of her hair puts pressure on her head and spine, causing it to become curved. However, Mandela has no desire to cut her hair, as it would be "tantamount to suicide.".
4. Tatyana Pismennaya
Hair length: 2.75 meters.
We've listed the maximum braid length of the longest-haired woman in Russia. However, Tatyana couldn't walk for long with her hair that long. It dragged on the ground, could get caught on things, and was repeatedly stepped on by passengers on public transportation.
So Tatyana cut her hair to two meters. And yet, it's still longer than 99% of the world's population.
3. Ake Izhen
Hair length: 5.5 meters.
This Chinese gentleman is the living embodiment of what happens if you go 50 years or more without a haircut. According to Ake, he stopped cutting his hair at the age of 23, in the late 1970s. He was even offered over 3,000 yuan to part with his excessively long hair, but Ake refused.
However, long hair is not synonymous with "unkempt." Twice a month, Yizhen visits a hairdresser for a wash and grooming. This takes at least three hours, and the procedure involves two or three hairdressers.
Interestingly, Ake Yizhen's record is not officially registered, just like that of his predecessor, a Vietnamese man named Tran Van Hay. In the photo of the world's longest hair, this elderly man looks more like the victim of a giant snake wrapped around him. His hairstyle was 6 meters long and weighed over 10 kilograms.
In 2010, Tran Van Hay died of natural causes at the age of 79.
2. Xie Qiuping
Hair length: 5.6 meters.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest hair on a woman belongs to a Chinese woman who started growing it in 1973, at the age of 13.
Her record was set back in 2004, and since then no one with long hair has been able to even come close to the length of Xie Qiuping's hair.
«"It's not a problem at all. I'm used to it," Xie Qiuping said, adding that she always has to stand up straight to support her head under the weight of her hair.
1. Savjibhai Rathwa
Hair length is 15 meters.
We're used to thinking of long hair as a feminine prerogative. However, as you can see, men are vying with women for the top spot on the list of the world's longest-haired people. Now, an Indian man has grown the longest hair of any living man, though it hasn't yet been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Ratva is very careful about his diet to ensure his hair gets the nutrition it needs and grows well. He eats only vegetarian, home-cooked meals and tries to avoid spicy foods.
«"I intend to apply for this (Guinness World Records entry) if anyone calls me to help with the process," he said. Fortunately, a local non-profit organization has agreed to assist him with all the paperwork. If Savjibhai Rathva successfully submits his application, he has a good chance of winning the title of the man with the longest hair on Earth.