Nigerian sets world record for longest handmade wig that was laid out on a highway to be measured

A Nigerian woman has set a new record for longest handmade wig, Guinness World Records said on X (Twitter) on Tuesday. The wig stretches 351.28 meters (1,152 ft 5 in).

Helen Williams spent 11 days and about $2,500 making the wig. She has been a wigmaker for eight years now, producing about 50 or 300 wigs per week. Despite this, it wasn’t easy producing the longest handmade wig as at some point she felt exhausted while making it.

“Friends and family encouraged me. I did not want to let them down, so I maintained my focus. The outcome is the longest hand-made wig in the world,” she said.

After creating the underlay with wig-cap netting and black fabric attached to a bicycle helmet, she used 1,000 bundles of hair, 12 cans of hair spray, 35 tubes of hair glue, and 6,250 hair clips to complete the hairpiece.

“Finding the materials to make the longest wig was not an easy task. My experience as a wigmaker helped a lot,” Williams said.

Her next hurdle was getting a space to have the wig laid out in a straight line to enable it to be accurately measured. She visited various areas including running tracks but none of the avenues could accommodate her hairpiece.

She finally “decided to do it beside the Lagos–Abeokuta Expressway, a long road connecting the cities of Lagos and Abeokuta,” Guinness World Records said.

Williams currently keeps the wig in her office for anyone to come and look at it whenever they want to.

Since its inception in 1955, the Guinness Book of World Records has served as a definitive source for vetting human records and achievements, and many people today are actively looking to have their names entered into the record book.

Besides Williams, other Nigerian women including chef Hilda Baci and dancer Kaffy have made the list of Guinness World Record holders with incredible feats.