Palanpur: She is no fictional character from Walt Disney’s animation studios. But Modasa girl Nilanshi Patel is nicknamed “Rapunzel” by her friends and schoolmates.
For much like the princess in the Brothers Grimm fairytale, this 18-year-old holds the distinction of having world’s longest hair in teenager category. For the third straight year, Nilanshi has retained this record. A first-year student of chemical engineering at IIT, Gandhinagar, Nilanshi is fast hogging the limelight as a manufacturer wants oil and shampoo to be marketed by her name – ‘Nilanshi hair oil’ and ‘Nilanshi shampoo’.
In 2018, she had made a cut in the Guinness World Records with 170.5 cm (5 ft 7”) long flowing hair. The next year, she broke her own record with 190 cm (6 ft 3”) long hair. And now she has bettered her record with as long as 200 cm (6 ft 7”) hair, registered again in the Guinness World Records.
Her claim to fame started when her first achievement was entered into Limca Book of Records and later in the Guinness book. When asked about the secret of her long hair, Nilanshi told TOI that long hairs are in her “genes”. Her mother and father too have seen rapid growth of hair.
“They cut their hairs while I do not,” she said, adding that the ayurvedic hair oil and shampoo that her mother uses are also the same.
Nilanshi, who plays table tennis and loves swimming, confesses that she has to take lot of care for the fear of damaging her own hair while playing outdoor games.
“Usually, hair record holders change as the competition in this segment is fierce. But we had cherished a dream that she would one day set a world record for being a girl with longest hairs. She has not only registered this record but has also retained it,” said her father Brijesh Patel, who along with her mother Pinal have support the teen’s target.