Measuring 2.54 m (8 ft 3 in), Sarwan Singh’s glorious beard has earned him the record title for the longest beard on a living person (male) - for a third time!
The Canadian resident initially had his beard measured in 2008, when it was 2.33 m (7 ft 8 in) long, smashing the previous record of 1.77 m (5 ft 9 in) held by Birger Pellas (Sweden).
Sarwan then had his beard measured again on the set of Lo Show dei Record in Rome, Italy in 2010, extending his record with a beard of 2.495 m (8 ft 2.5 in).
But when re-measured on 15 October 2022, it had grown even longer. It's a little greyer these days, but more fabulous than ever.
Sarwan, who practices Sikhism, has never trimmed his beard.
“From the early age of 17 since the beard started growing in, I’ve kept it the same way." - Sarwan Singh
The key guidelines for the record are that the hair is natural and that it is measured wet so the curls do not affect the length of the measurement.
Each day, Sarwan engages in the lengthy routine of grooming his beard.
He takes special care of each and every hair.
In the morning, he starts with untying his beard and entering the tub with his facial hair unfurled.
Sarwan then wets his beard until it is completely soaked.
The next step involves slowly shampooing the beard from the top down to the bottom, making sure to clean every last strand.
Once the beard is shampooed, he rinses it thoroughly and applies conditioner.
It then takes an additional 10 minutes to dry his beard completely.
Once it has been dried, Sarwan combs oil and gel through his beard, making sure it is applied evenly throughout.
Usually, Sarwan will keep his beard tied throughout the day and uses a cloth to make sure it stays put.
However, when he attends special occasions or religious ceremonies, he will untie it.
Although maintaining such a long beard may seem like hard work, Sarwan says he loves his beard and has never had any difficulties with its upkeep.
In fact, he says he has always overcome any challenges that are presented with having a long beard and often wishes it were even longer.
Sarwan considers his beard to be a gift from God.
“It’s seen as one of the most important aspects of being a Sikh,” he said.
“It is given to us by God and should be kept the way it is.”
The uncut hair is one of five compulsory articles of faith for a baptised Sikh and a Sikh man is easily identified by his full-length beard.
"Sikh has five Ks, which are articles of faith and Kes, the hair, is one of the most important ones," said Sarwan.
"Without the Kes, a Sikh is not a Sikh."
Sarwan first moved to Canada when he was invited to sing religious hymns in the golden temple.
When he arrived, the community of local Sikhs requested that he stay and educate them on the teachings of the guru.
The Sikh community, which was growing at a rapid pace, wanted a figure to teach their kids and families of the Sikh values.
And so, Sarwan made a life for himself in Surrey, British Columbia, where he is not only recognized for his beard, but for his contributions to the Sikh faith as well.
“This is something that was given as a gift from God. It’s not a personal achievement,” said Sarwan.
“I’m blessed that I was chosen to be the person with the longest beard. As Sikhs, we all keep the beard and we grow it and comb it and go through the daily routines, but I feel lucky that I’m the one that has the longest beard.”
Sarwan believes that those that have the ability to grow facial hair should and ought to respect it and treat it as a blessing.
“Anything that’s given by God should be kept the way it is,” he said.
“So, if it is growing, you should let it grow.”
Sarwan’s friends and family are all proud of his record-breaking achievement.
“It’s a very proud moment for me and the community of Sikhs because this is something that’s given as a gift from God,” said Sarwan.
“As practising Sikhs, they all respect my beard and keep their hair as well, so this is seen as a very proud moment for the whole family.”
Sarwan is also proud of his record title and thankful that he has been recognized for a feature that is such an integral part of who he is.
“As Sikhs, we keep the beard and it’s part of our identity,” he said.
“It’s a very proud moment for us to say that the longest beard is held by a Sikh.”
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