Some of the people with the longest hair in the world include Asha Mandela, Xie Qiuping, and Dai Yue Qin. These women have become global icons thanks to their extraordinary accomplishments. Their journeys highlight how dedication and personal expression can reach astonishing heights, inspiring many to see what is truly possible.
On average, human hair grows about 6 inches per year, so reaching waist length typically takes around five years. Nearly two-thirds of women have hair longer than 1.4 metres, and some individuals even grow their hair beyond 5 metres. For anyone curious about who holds the world record for the longest hair ever, here is a list of notable people with exceptionally long hair. Rank Name Length 1 Asha Mandela 5.9m 2 Xie Qiuping 5.62m 3 Dai Yue Qin 4.2m 4 Ram Singh Chauhan 4.29m 5 Ni Linmei 3.6m 6 Sarwan Singh 2.49m 7 Nilanshi Patel 2m 8 Keito Kawahara 1.54m 9 Pelin Ozdemir 1.52m 10 Kazuhiro Watanabe 1.23m 10. Kazuhiro Watanabe – 1.23m Kahuziro Watanabe sited next to a water fountain.
Nationality: Japanese Date of birth: 1972 Length: 1.23m Fashion designer Kazuhiro Watanabe from Japan has spent over 15 years growing his Mohawk spike to a length of 1.23 meters. The Mohawk spike is recognised as the world’s tallest spike and appears on the list of the top 10 longest hair in the world as of 2025. To create the Mohawk, a team of stylists took two hours and required three cans of hairspray and a jar of gel. The previous record for the tallest Mohican was 80 centimetres (31.5 inches) and belonged to Stefan Srocka of Germany.
9. Pelin Ozdemir – 1.52m Pelin Ozdemir’s mother holding her hair. Photo: @dailysabah Source: UGC Date of birth: 1991 Length: 1.52m Pelin is known as Rapunzel for her 1.52m-long hair. She earned a certificate in the children’s Guinness World Records, although she did not qualify for the main Guinness World Records due to age requirements. Her parents avoided cutting her hair when she was young, and she chose to keep it long as she grew older. She does not use special products, and her mother spends about two hours drying and combing it. 8. Keito Kawahara – 1.54m Keito Kawahara and her father, Yuichi, pose for photographs with her first-ever haircut. Photo: @The Asahi Shimbun Source: Getty Images Nationality: Japanese Date of birth: 2001 Length: 1.54m Keito Kawahara is from Japan. In 2018, Guinness World Records recognized Kawahara as having the longest hair among teenagers aged 13 to 17 years old. The length of her hair was 5 feet 1 inch when it was measured in 2018. Unfortunately, she had it trimmed. According to Keito, she had already considered cutting her hair as early as March 2018, just after her record was confirmed.
7. Nilanshi Patel – 2m Nilanshi Patel poses for a picture at Modasa town. Photo: @Sam Panthaky Source: Getty Images Nationality: Indian Date of birth: 2002 Length: 2m Nilanshi from Gujarat won the Guinness World Records title for having the longest hair of any teenager in 2018. At that time, she was only 16 years old, and her hair measured 1.7m. However, just before her 18th birthday, her hair was measured, and it was 200 cm. She decided to stop having haircuts when she was six, following a bad experience at the hairdresser’s. Nilanshi washes her hair once per week, and it takes her half an hour to dry. Although Nilanshi is often mentioned in discussions about the woman with the longest hair in the world as of 2025, she cut her hair in April 2021 and donated it to a museum, marking the end of her record-setting journey. 6. Sarwan Singh – 2.49m Sarwan Singh holding his Mustache high.
Nationality: Canadian Length: 2.49m Sarwan Singh from Canada holds a notable position in discussions about the World record for the longest hair on a male due to his extraordinarily long beard, which measures 2.49 metres. The longest beard was 5.33m, and it belonged to Hans N Langseth. It was measured upon his death in 1927. Sarwan is the leader of a congregation of the Guru Nanak Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. He loves his beard so much. Sarwan believes that without his beard, he is not himself. He is just pretending to be someone he is not. 5. Ni Linmei – 3.6 m Ni Linmei combing her long hair. Photo: @dailymail Source: UGC Nationality: Chinese Date of birth: 1964 Length: 3.6m Ni from China’s Shanxi province has hair that’s twice as long as she is tall. She hasn’t cut her hair since 1998. The hair has grown to about 11 feet, 9 inches, or 3.58 metres. Taking care of such long hair is a daunting task. She spends two hours each day washing and drying her hair. She probably has to grow her hair for a few more years if she really wants to enter the Guinness Book of World Records. She might spend a fortune on shampoo, but this Chinese mother-of-two is proud of her 11-foot-long hair.
4. Ram Singh Chauhan – 4.29 m Indian man, Ram Singh Chauhan (61) displays his approximately 18-foot-long moustache in Ahmedabad. Photo: @Sam Panthaky Source: Getty Images Nationality: Indian Date of birth: 1963 Length: 4.29m Chauhan is widely referenced in discussions about the male with the longest hair in the world as of 2025, thanks to his extraordinary moustache, which he has grown for more than 32 years. Although he never aimed to set a world record, he maintained it out of devotion to the culture of Rajasthan, India. His moustache measures an impressive 14 feet (4.29 meters), last recorded in 2010. This remarkable feature has earned him notable opportunities, including a role in a James Bond film and a long-standing, 30-year position as the brand ambassador for Rajasthan tourism. 3. Dai Yue Qin – 4.2m Dai Yue Qin showing off her long hair. Nationality: Chinese Date of birth: 1964 Length: 4.2m Dai Yue Qin, better known as Miss Dyq, is the queen of long hair. Qin also has the straightest hair in the world. She was born in 1964 in Southern China and began growing her long hair at the age of 14. Everybody admired her hair, and that motivated her not to cut it off. Her hair is 4.2 metres long. It takes her around 1 to 2 hours to comb it. She washes her hair every 1-2 weeks, and it takes her around 5-6 hours to do so. Dai has joined several long hair exhibitions, including The Year of France in China, and has won several prizes.
2. Xie Qiuping- 5.62m Xie Qiuping measuring her hair. Nationality: Chinese Date of birth: 1960 Length: 5.62m Xie Qiuping from China is recognised as the female with the longest hair in the world as of 2025. She has held the Guinness World Record since 2004, when her hair was officially measured. Known not only for its exceptional length but also for its remarkable straightness, Xie’s hair reaches an astonishing 5.62 metres (18 feet 5 inches), making her a long-standing global record holder. 1. Asha Mandela – 5.9 m Asha Mandela with her hair in her car in Orlando, Florida. Nationality: American Date of birth: 1963 Length: 5.9m Asha Mandela has held the World record for the longest hair in a female since 2008. Mandela first started growing her locks in her late 20s, after she moved from Trinidad and Tobago to New York and considered having a more natural hairstyle. The length of her dreadlocks is 19 feet 6 inches or 5.9 metres. Maintaining the hair isn’t easy for Mandela.
Washing and cleaning it requires a bathtub, and it weighs an estimated 25 to 30 pounds. To maintain her locks, she must wash them once a week, using up to six bottles of shampoo per wash. She often carries her long locks in a handbag to stop them from trailing on the floor, and when she wears them loose, all eyes are definitely on her. After 25 years of growth, her hair has become an integral part of her, and she feels that if she were to cut it, she would be taking away a part of her life. Who is the baby with the longest hair in the world? Gaurangi Nyati from Rajasthan, India, holds the record for the baby with the longest hair in the world. As of November 2022, her hair had reached an impressive 14 inches. Is Rapunzel’s hair the longest in the world? The legendary character Rapunzel is fictional, so her hair does not count toward official world records; real‑world records are held by actual people.
By Teresia Mwangi, John Ouma
