The village of Huang Luo in China's Guangxi Region is famous for the dramatically long hair worn by its female residents. A thousand miles from Beijing, the village of Huang Luo in China's Guangxi Region is famous for the dramatically long hair worn by its female residents.
For the Yao minority of ethnic women, hair is their most prized possession. The ancient settlement is known across China as the “Long Hair Village” and is even recognised by the Guinness world book of records as the “world’s longest hair village”. They grow their jet black hair up to 2.1 meters (6.8 feet) long, and manage to keep it looking strong and healthy (and free of greys) well into their old age. Their secret? They wash with fermented rice water. You know, that milky-colored liquid left over from rinsing or boiling rice. It’s been the secret to beautiful hair for these village women as well as imperial princesses in the East since ancient times.
Hair has always been a big deal for the Red Yao women of Huangluo, who get their name from the traditional red clothing. You thought you knew someone truly obsessed with their own hair? In Huangluo, it’s considered so sacred that until recently, no one was allowed even so much as to look at a woman’s loose locks except her husband and children.
The women of Huangluo can only cut their hair once in their lives, on their 18th birthday. But the chopped hair isn’t exactly sold off only to find its way into a packet of Kardashian brand hair extensions. Here, it’s given to the girl’s grandmother and made into an ornamental headpiece. It’s ironically at this time, with an ear-length haircut that the young woman is supposed to begin looking for a lover. When she marries, the hair is gifted to the groom, and later becomes a part of her everyday hairdo.
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