Nilanshi-Patel-having-her-hair-combed.jpg

Nilanshi Patel, a 16-year-old girl from Gujarat, India, has set a new record for the Longest hair on a teenager, with long brown locks that measure 170.5 cm (5 ft 7 in) long.

She appeared on a brand-new TV series of record breaking, La Notte dei Record (The Night of Records) in Italy, which is hosted by Enrico Papi on TV8.

Nilanshi, who unsurprisingly has earned the nickname of real-life Rapunzel from her friends, has been growing her hair since she was six years old, following a bad experience at the hairdressers.

"I got my hair cut, a really bad haircut. So, then I decided that I won’t cut my hair. I decided that when I was six and have not cut it since," she explained.

Nilanshi-Patel-with-her-certificate.jpg

The decision to not cut her hair may have relieved Nilanshi of going to the hairdressers, but having such long hair requires a lot of effort and maintenance.

Washing her flowing hair is an arduous task, which she undertakes once a week. After it’s clean, it takes half an hour to dry and one hour to comb; tasks which Nilanshi's mother helps her with.

Nilanshi-Patel-with-her-mother-holding-her-hair.jpg

Nilshani's mother has always supported her decision to grow her hair - which is good as she has no plans to cut it anytime soon.

Despite taking time to maintain, Nilanshi is reassuring about the fact that she still manages leads a normal life.

"People think that I face so many problems with my hair, but I don't face any problems, I do sports and all the things with my hair. It's a lucky charm for me!"

"I style it is as a long braid or as a bun on the top of my head. When I am going to an occasion, or when I am playing table tennis, I bun my hair on my head so that it is comfortable for me."

"I feel very excited and I feel very happy and it is a big victory for me to be a world record and to set it on record."

Like this record? Take a look at our records for Longest head hair (female) and Longest ear hair