True Stories of People with Strange and Unusual Hair

Our hair is our crowning glory. We style it, give it a new color, or put it some hairspray whenever we want to. But, for some individuals, their hair is so precious – they even went into extremes. Though, others are just innately bizarre. If you’re curious about them, don’t fret! Here are some true stories of people with strange and unusual hair that may just blow your mind.

Black Rapunzel: Asha Mandela

Asha Mandela has secured a world record that others set their sights on: the world’s longest dreadlocks.

Dubbed as the ‘Black Rapunzel,’ the 50-year old resident of Atlanta, Georgia has earned its name for the longest dreadlocks she started sporting 25 years ago.

While her dreads were officially documented by Guinness Book of World Records to have a length of 19 feet, 6 inches, an unofficial record showed that one of its strands spanned 55 feet, 7 inches. Marvelous!

Originally hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, Mandela said she began growing her dreadlocks when she moved to New York and wanted to have a natural hairstyle.

She added that when she first started her lovely locks, it was nothing related to style or trend in fashion but more revolving on her spiritual journey. After more than two decades, she felt she had become one with her hair and that cutting it means taking away her life.

You might wonder how she washes that length of hair. Sure, it is not easy. She cleans them once a week, using more than five shampoo bottles at one go. Plus, they weigh nearly 25 pounds when wet and take around two days for them to dry.

Not only cleaning seems to be difficult, as her doctors are concerned having such hair won’t make it easy for health as well. They think she has a curvature in her spine, which is due to the length and weight of hair she carries. Some of her physicians believe that a part of her neck has collapsed. They warned her that she could start experiencing spasms or the worst, get paralyzed.

Teenage Rapunzel: Nilanshi Patel

Nilanshi Patel holds the record for the longest human hair on the planet with a length that spans nearly 6 feet, 3 inches, or 190 centimeters. The 17-year-old girl, who hails from Modosa, Gujarat in India, is often dubbed by her friends and schoolmates as the ‘Teenage Rapunzel.’

After having a bad experience at a salon 11 years ago, Patel has never seen any hairdresser again. She was at six when it happened and then became very apprehensive about cutting her hair. Her parents agreed to her wish, and she now considers her hair as her lucky charm, turning her into an international personality.

Tallest Mohawk: Kazuhiro Watanabe

It took a large bottle of gel, three cans of hairspray plus over 15 years to grow it all out. Nevertheless, the Japanese designer Kazuhiro Watanabe made history after killing an old record for having the tallest mohawk spike.

When Watanabe was asked why he grew his 3 feet, 8 inches long mohawk spike, he said he just really wanted to be a part of the Guinness Book of World Records. Watanabe added he also considered setting a world record for consuming the most Tabasco sauce.

Watanabe said his children never saw him with his mohawk up in person but only in pictures. His hair reaches his knees, sans the gel and hairspray.

The previous record-holder for the tallest mohawk spike was the German Stefan Srocka, who had a mohawk reaching 2 feet, 7.5 inches high.

The Largest Hairy Family

Gabriel Ramos Gomez, aka Danny, Victor Gomez aka Larry, Jesus Manuel Fajardo Aceves, and Luisa Lilia De Lira Aceves are part of a family of 19 that are all suffering from Congenital Generalized Hypertrichosis. It is a rare condition, which causes excessive hair growth in the torso and facial area.

The condition affected five generations of their lineage. Women are covered with hair of a light to medium color, but men possess thick hair on nearly 98% of their bodies, except for their hands and feet.

All of their family members were supportive enough to assist scientists in research and analysis of the gene causing the condition. It paid off as they found remarkable evidence that it is linked to some irregularities with the X chromosome.

Larry and Danny Gomez both perform in the Mexican National Circus.

Most massive Female Afro: Aevin Dugas

After seeing a portrait of her mom wearing an Afro in the sixties, Aevin Dugas considered her as her role model and hair crush. Since then, Dugas decided to sport their natural hair and never turned back.

She soon entered the Guinness Book of World Records for having an afro spanning a remarkable 4 feet, 4 inches, or 1.32 meters. Her hair is even bigger than a disco ball. Not surprised, enough? Well, it is so huge it can also fit the world’s shortest man inside.

Today, Aevin Dugas, the owner of the biggest female afro, actively works as a social worker in New Orleans, USA.