While it might feel like forever since you had a hair cut after four months of lockdown, Nilanshi Patel has been growing her locks for much longer.
After a bad experience with a hairdresser when she was six, Nilanshi vowed to stop cutting her hair.
For the last 12 years, she stuck to that and ended up breaking a world record.
Now 18, she holds the Guinness World Record for longest hair ever on a teenager, first set in September 2018, when her hair was 170.5 cm (5ft 7in).
She went on to smash her own record – in July 2020, it reacehd 200cm (6ft 6.7cm).
But now, Nilanshi, from Modasa, Gujarat, India, has decided to have it all cut off into a short bob with a fringe.
Her historic locks won’t just be thrown away though – she’d donated them to a museum where they will be displayed to the public.
Vistors will be able to view the hair at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum in Hollywood, CA, USA.
Nilanshi said: ‘My hair gave me a lot – because of my hair I am known as the “real life Rapunzel”, now it’s time to give back.’
She discussed the decision to send it all to the museum with her mum Kaminiben, who had been helping her wash, dry and comb it for once a week for over a decade.
She pointed out that that Nilanshi’s story and record breaking hair had been a source of inspiration to others and that displaying her hair in the museum was the right decision.
Kaminiben then pledged that she would donate her own hair to cancer patients, while Nilanshi sent hers to the museum.
Her hair was gathered together into a bunch and then snipped, with the bunch weighing 266 g (9.4 oz) once removed.
It will now be shipped to the U.S. to be used in the museum.
Fortunately Nilanshi is thrilled with her hair in its new shorter style: ‘I love my new hairstyle. I feel proud that I’m going to send my hair to the US museum- people will see and be inspired by my hair. I’m really, really happy… Today is a new beginning and I hope I will break many more records in future.’
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