Celebrating the best human body records of 2025: longest fingernails to the hairiest face

Here at Guinness World Records, we’re all about acknowledging the things that make us unique. Many of our record titles recognize the incredible things that the human body can do and the physical attributes that make each of us who we are.

From the largest afro to the most matches held in the nose; we look back at some of the most amazing body-related records of the year. 

We meet the man with the longest fingernails 

To kickstart our list of amazing humans, we are heading to the Nam Định province of Vietnam, to meet a man called Lưu Công Huyền.  

This Vietnamese artist has been letting his fingernails grow for 34 years, and they have now grown to an incredible length and spiral round and round. So how long really are they? Mr. Huyền’s nails have grown to an incredible length of 594.45 cm (19 ft 6 in) which works out at roughly the size of an adult giraffe! 

The final measurement of his nails was produced by the average of two separate sets of measurements. On his left hand, his fingernails tallied up a total of 388.85 cm, then on the other hand (literally) his nails measured 205.6 cm. 

GWR Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday went to visit Mr Huyền in his hometown, and explained: “Measuring Mr Huyền’s nails was no easy feat. We had to run a piece of string around every twist and turn on each nail, marking the length then comparing this against tape measure.”  

This amazing individual loves to paint murals on the sides of people’s houses, so his lengthy nails are decorated with the paint splatters from his artwork.  

You may be wondering, why did he want to grow them this long? Well, Mr Huyền told GWR that he wanted to become a shaman like his father and felt that he wanted to continue to grow his nails to “look more majestic.” After careful words from his father to not pursue the teacher role, he kept growing his nails to the point of becoming a Guinness World Records title holder for the longest fingernails on a pair of hands (male) in January. 

This amazing record is something that makes Mr Huyền unique, and the many years of growing his nails will likely mean those fingernails will hold years of memories! 

“I like how I am” - The one in a billion man with the world’s hairiest face 

Next on the list is a truly incredible individual who holds the Guinness World Records title for the hairiest face on a person (male), and he embraces his unique look with pride. 

Lalit Patidar is an 18-year-old from India, and he was born with an extraordinarily rare medical condition that is officially called hypertrichosis but is better known as werewolf syndrome. Lalit’s condition means that over 95% of his face is covered with hair, as his condition causes unusual amounts of hair growth. 

Lalit discussed with GWR that he often receives some unkind comments about his appearance, and that “[the kids at school] were scared of me, but when they started knowing me and talking to me, they understood I was not so different from them.” 

As time has went on, Lalit learned to appreciate the things that make him different, and so earlier this year, he made a trip to Milan, Italy, to appear on our show Lo Show dei Record. The hair on his face was measured, and he also made a trip to a local trichologist who shaved small portions of the hair to measure them more accurately.  

After all the intense measuring, on 13 February it was confirmed that Lalit has 201.72 hairs per square centimetre. This amount of hair measures around the same density as a good quality paintbrush, meaning he is now a Guinness World Records title holder. 

Overall, he is truly an extraordinary man, and since the Middle Ages, there have only been around 50 documented cases of his condition, so he is not only a record breaker, but a one-in-a-billion record breaker! 

Check out the full Best of 2025 here…

Twisting into the record books: the contortionist with two records in a month 

Have you ever felt like you were bending over backwards for someone? Well, this contortionist does it for a living – literally! 

Eddie John Browne (Sierra Leone), also known as “Eddie Flexible”, has really put a new twist on record breaking as he managed to gain two separate records to his name only 17 days apart; you may think that would be a stretch, but not for Eddie! 

You can watch some of his twists, turns and triumphs when we caught up with him here:

So, what puts him a bend above the rest? Well, his first record-breaking feat came on 10 February of this year when he was recognized for most full body revolutions maintaining a chest stand position in one minute (male), and he managed 38 of them. Eddie shares the record with Mohammed Alsheikh (Palestine) who was acknowledged for the same record on 8 February 2017. 

Eddie achieved his second spine-tingling effort on 27 February, which was the most consecutive full body revolutions with a backbend handstand (male). He completed a total of 21 backbend handstand revolutions, which is what sealed him his Guinness World Records title. 

Eddie has been touring with Cirque du Soleil this year and has let the world have a taste of his revolutionary moves; he even featured in Guinness World Records 2026! 

Record breaking is no match for this man (just don’t sneeze!) 

We doubt that you’ve ever tried to put a match up your nose. Never mind one, but how about 81? 

Martin Ströby (Sweden) is a devoted dad who was eager to try a record-breaking attempt after seeing the excitement that a Guinness World Records book gave his children. This excitement really sparked his interest, and he broke the record for most matches held in the nose on 24 August. 

The original record holder managed a total of 68 matches, and after Martin kept trying, he realized that he could fit more and more in each nostril, which is what led him to be a pro. 

Not only did he ignite the competition, but he also gained the “so cool” status from his children. What a striking achievement! 

A record-breaking crown: celebrating the world’s largest afro 

This last record on our list is a story with real volume, one with a hair-full of history and heritage. 

The largest afro on a living person (female) is a Guinness World Records title that has long waves and curls of history, with each strand perfect in its own way. This record was held by Aevin Dugas (USA) for an amazing 15 years, but on 23 October, it was time for the crown to be handed over to Jessica Martinez (USA), putting her a cut above the rest. 

In a celebration of empowerment, the two women met in a hair salon in New York, USA, for the record title to be handed over.  

It took three people to help Jess measure the length of her hair, and in the end, it measured an incredible 29 cm (11.42 in) tall, 31 cm (12.2 in) wide, and 190 cm (6 ft 2.87 in) in circumference.  

Jess, left, and Aevin

It was at that point that Jess became a Guinness World Records title holder and she embraces her super curly hair each day! 

Well, what a year it has been for these incredible humans, and so many more.

We can’t wait to see all the amazing human body-related records that come next year.

If you want to read about more human body records you can visit our dedicated section.