18 November 2023 , 18:11
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A wig maker has set a Guinness World Record for the longest handmade hairpiece - and says she is absolutely exhausted.
Helen Williams’ creation is 351.28 metres (1,152 ft 5 in) and made from an underlay with wig-cap netting and black fabric attached to a bicycle helmet. She completed it with 1,000 bundles of hair, 12 cans of spray, 35 tubes of glue, and 6,250 hair clips. Helen, from Nigeria, spent two days and more than £2,000 making the wig.
Helen, who has been making wigs for eight years, said: “I felt exhausted. However, friends and family encouraged me. I did not want to let them down, so I maintained my focus.
"My experience as a wigmaker helped a lot. Finding the materials to make the longest wig was not an easy task, I have trained hundreds of students and have made thousands of wigs. The outcome is the longest handmade wig in the world.”
The biggest challenge Helen faced was finding a space to have the wig laid out in a straight line and accurately measured, as none of the venues she visited – including several running tracks – were long enough to accommodate it. She eventually decided to do it beside the Lagos–Abeokuta Expressway, a long road connecting the cities of Lagos and Abeokuta.
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Helen now keeps the wig in her office, where she invites anyone to come and look at it. She added: “It will take a while for me to digest. This achievement is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I still cannot believe it. My advice to everyone out there is: dreams are attainable. However, the journey is a very rough one.”
In 2022, Australian Dani Reynolds made the world’s widest wig which was measured to be 2.58 metres (8 ft 6 in) wide on 12 November 2022. The world’s tallest wig was made by Emilio Minnicelli in 2004 at 14.3 metres (46 ft 11 in) tall.
Earlier this year a 71-year-old woman became a Guinness World record holder when she made history as the oldest person to complete an obstacle course on American Ninja Warrior. Ginny MacColl began doing the sport after watching her daughter compete on TV.