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It’s a long story.
A Nigerian wigmaker has set a new Guinness World Record by creating the longest ever handmade wig measuring a hair-raising 1,152 feet, 5 inches — which is longer than three football fields.
Helen Williams, from Lagos, spent 11 days and the equivalent of $2,493 making the Rapunzel-worthy hairpiece.
Williams initially constructed an underlay using a wig-cap and black fabric attached to a bicycle helmet, and then completed her coiffure with 1,000 bundles of hair, 12 cans of hairspray, 35 tubes of hair glue and 6,250 hair clips, Guinness World Records said in a statement Tuesday.
“Finding the materials to make the longest wig was not an easy task,” Williams said. “My experience as a wigmaker helped a lot.”
The organization also released a short video showing the wig specialist sitting on the floor next to a colossal pile of black tresses — and then modeling the impressive mane on a running track.
Helen Williams from Lagos, Nigeria has achieved a new record for the longest handmade wig which stretches an incredible 351.28 metres (1,152 ft 5 in) 👏 pic.twitter.com/gwGdqjF8Wp
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) November 14, 2023Williams has worked as a professional wigmaker for eight years and has produced thousands of wigs during that time at a rate of 50 to 300 hairpieces per week.
Despite her extensive experience, Williams admitted that it was not easy to churn out the luscious locks measuring nearly a quarter of a mile in length.
“At some point, I felt exhausted,” she said. “However, friends and family encouraged me. I did not want to let them down, so I maintained my focus. The outcome is the longest handmade wig in the world.”
The final challenge for Williams was to find a venue spacious enough to have her record-breaking wig laid out in a straight line and accurately measured.
She eventually decided to unfurl her hirsute masterpiece on the side of a highway that runs between the cities of Lagos and Abeokuta.
The supersized wig is now safely kept in Williams’ office, where she invites anyone to come and take a peek at it “whenever they want to.”
Williams said that becoming a Guinness World Record holder “will take a while… to digest.”
“This achievement is one of the best things that has ever happened to me,” she added. “I still cannot believe it.”
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