Helen Williams a Lagos wig maker said entering the Guinness World Book of Records for the longest hand-made wig was an incredible achievement she never dreamt about.
Williams made a wig which stretches an incredible 351.28 metres (1,152 ft 5 in). She spent 11 days and N2m naira to create the hairpiece. It took 1,000 bundles of hair, 12 cans of hairspray, 35 tubes of hair glue and 6,250 hair clips.
“This achievement is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I still cannot believe it,” she said.
“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.”
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.
Helen now keeps the wig in her office, where she invites anyone to come and look at it “whenever they want to”.
Helen has been working as a professional wigmaker for eight years, producing anywhere from 50 to 300 wigs per week.
Earlier this year, Hilda Baci caused a sensation in Nigeria when she broke the world record for cooking non-stop. But she was unseated by Irishman Alan Fisher a few weeks ago.
