A teenager who’s never had a haircut in her life breaks longest hair record

By Masakazu Senda
Published

Keito Kawahara’s quest to break the Guinness World Records title for the Longest hair on a teenager began with a random surf on the net.

The 17-year-old living in Japan came across an article about the record set by Argentinian resident Abril Lorenzatti and realised that her hair was longer.

"I spoke to my family and decided I should give it a challenge. I didn’t know there was a category in Guinness World Records that even I could break."

At a length of 155.5 centimetres, she has broken the previous record, which was set only four months ago, by 3.5 centimetres.

Brushing the longest hair on a teenager

According to Keito, she never planned on breaking the world record for the longest hair – she simply had never had a haircut in her entire life.

"I had a scar on my head when I was born, so I went on with my life without a haircut to conceal that. My hair grew long as a result and I felt it would be a waste if I trim it. Now I don’t know when to stop growing it!"

Keito’s day begins by tying up her hair for school - because of its phenomenal length, she must get her family to help blow dry and brush it.

Before she goes off to sleep, Keito must braid her hair - otherwise her hair will be all tangled up in the morning.

For Keito, breaking the record came as a surprise.

"I never thought that one day I'd break a Guinness World Records title, so I was so excited when I heard that I was indeed the number one in the world. I’ll treasure this for the rest of my life. Looking back, I think not having a haircut was the right choice."

The longest hair on a teenager in braids

Her status as the Guinness World Records title holder will last until she turns 18 on 8 April 2018.

When asked about whether she would attempt another record - such as the Longest head hair (female) - she has some mixed thoughts.

"If I keep on growing the hair, I could try. But since about a year ago, I’m getting stiff shoulders because my hair is so heavy, so I’m not sure what I would do in the future."

Keito features in our Best of March 2018 video roundup.

Meet the former record holder - who inspired Keito to apply for this record - in the video below.