Native American boy breaks record for longest hair on a teenager

A Native American 16-year-old has been confirmed to have the world’s longest hair on a male teenager, measuring 161 cm (5 ft 3.3 in).

Reuben Looks Twice Jr. from Rapid City, South Dakota, hasn’t had his hair cut since he was two years old.

He takes the record from India’s Sidakdeep Singh Chahal, whose hair was measured last year to be 146 cm (4 ft 9.5 in).

Reuben’s parents originally decided to let his hair grow because he was scared of hair clippers.

As he grew older, he continued growing it due to his tribe’s tradition.

He said: “Culturally, Lakota people have long hair. It’s part of our Nagi (spirit). It’s who I am.

“I feel proud to represent my family and the Lakota Nation.”

Reuben normally wears his hair in a long braid.

He spends around 20 minutes washing it every morning using shampoo and conditioner. It takes an hour to dry, then a further 10 minutes to untangle, brush and braid.

To get an accurate measurement, he visited a hair salon where his hair was unbraided, washed and brushed out, before being laid out on a table to identify the longest strand.

Three measurements were taken, with the average being Reuben’s official record.

Reuben likes having long hair, and he doesn't plan on ever cutting it.

Numerous people have told him that he’s inspired them to grow their own hair out.

The only downside for him is that it sometimes gets stuck in car doors and caught on shower knobs.

Reuben belongs to the Oglala subtribe of the Lakota people. He hopes that this record will “make my family and tribe proud”.

“It’s exciting to hold this record,” he added.

There is no current holder for the record of longest hair on a living man; Reuben will qualify for the title once he turns 18.

The longest hair on a man ever belonged to Swami Pandarasannadhi, head of the Tirudaduturai monastery in Madras, India, whose hair was reported in 1949 to measure 26 ft (7.9 m).

And the longest hair on a teenager ever was 200 cm (6 ft 6 in), grown by Nilanshi Patel from India. She finally cut it in 2021 and donated it to a museum.