Smita Srivastava calls herself "real Rapunzel".
Meet Smita Srivastava, a 46-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh who holds the Guinness World Record for having the longest hair on a living person. Ms Srivastava calls herself "real Rapunzel". She has abstained from cutting her hair since the age of 14, and her remarkable tresses were officially measured at an impressive length of 7 feet and 9 inches last year. She is proud to have the world's longest hair which she never cuts and takes up to 45 minutes to wash. "I love my hair so much," she told Guinness World Records (GWR).
"I used to dream about holding a world record title and god answered my prayers. I want my hair to gain more recognition like this so I can gain more records," Ms Srivastava added, per Mirror.
According to GWR, the 46-year-old usually washes her hair twice per week. The entire process, including washing, drying, detangling, and styling, takes up to three hours each time. She spends 45 minutes washing it, then uses three hair dryers to dry it before using her hands to detangle it, which typically takes another two hours.
Sharing why she is so passionate about her locks, Ms Srivastava explained, "My first inspiration is my mother and my sisters - because everyone in my family has beautiful hair. My other inspiration is '80s Hindi cinema. Actresses at that time had beautiful long hair, which inspired me to grow my own hair."
"In our society, long hair announces the beauty of women. I hope to continue growing my hair as long as I can manage it. I will never cut my hair and I will keep growing it. My family has been supportive throughout," she added, as per the outlet.
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Ms Srivastava also went on to say that she never throws out any hair that she has lost through brushing or washing. "I have not thrown out any hair in the past 20 years. I have a huge collection. One day I had major hair loss but the idea of throwing my hair away saddened me. I started crying because I had lost so much hair," she said.
The world record holder revealed that apart from staying away from scissors, she has a natural hair care regime that she follows diligently. She avoids artificial shampoos and conditioners and mixes natural herbs with ingredients like egg, onion juice and Aloe Vera.
Previously, the 46-year-old also revealed that whenever she ventures outdoors with her hair flowing freely, onlookers are left "amazed." She noted that people find it difficult to fathom the existence of such lengthy hair, expressing disbelief at the extraordinary length she has maintained over the years.