Hair-raising legend: US woman grows foot-long moustache for second furry record
Every morning, Erin Honeycutt from Caro, Michigan (USA) wakes up and gives some love to her wife, Jen. She might make some breakfast first, or let out the dog, but at some point she ends up getting herself ready for the day in front of the bathroom mirror.
It doesn’t take her too long, but she does have to deal with a moustache many men could only dream of growing – measured from end to end, Erin’s curly red moustache is 31 cm (12.20 in).
“I don’t usually put too much stuff in my beard and moustache because I don’t like the feeling of product in it,” said Erin. But she does comb out her hair before adding some leave-in conditioner for softness and some beard wax for hold.
“The longer your beard gets, the less product you probably want to put in it,” she advises.
The proud owner of this stupendous ‘stache made history in 2023 when she claimed her record title for longest beard on a living person (female). Now, on 31 July 2024, Erin and her fiery hair are back in the record books for her longest moustache on a living person (female).
“Back in 2020, I started growing out my beard for the longest beard on a living person (female), and a moustache just sort of goes along with it!” said Erin.
“It took a little longer for the moustache just because I kept trimming it, because it constantly gets in my mouth – so that was really annoying. But after that, I decided to just keep it growing.”
Erin’s beard and moustache are the result of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which is a condition that causes hormonal imbalance and can result in irregular menstruation, weight gain, infertility, and excess hair growth.
She started growing excess facial hair when she was 13, and had to shave three times a day to keep up with the constant stubble.
Erin when she was younger
“The influence to stop shaving was because I was tired of constantly shaving my face three times a day,” said Erin.
“I also had seen multiple ladies online who were happy with their facial hair, and I decided that if they could be happy with what they have, then I should be happy with what I have,” she continued. “And I shouldn’t be ashamed of who I am on the outside, because this just happens naturally.”
Although she spent the earlier years of her life shaving away her beard, Erin says the support from her wife and the experience of the lockdown allowed her to experiment with showing her true self to the world. She could hide her hair behind a facemask and let it get through its awkward stages while indoors. But when lockdown lifted, she found she was happy with what she saw when she looked in the mirror.
“With something that happens naturally, I didn’t have to put much effort in it to accomplish it, and it’s a pretty awesome feat,” said Erin. “I don’t really see myself as a unique person, but to others I’m sure I’m a head-turner.”
To capture the actual length of her impressive ‘stache, Erin needed a team of people to help her out.
“Getting the measurement for my moustache was a little bit harder than getting the measurement for my beard, only because I had to hold it out with both hands in order to measure it from tip-to-tip,” she said.
“So I had three different people helping me: a hairstylist, someone holding the measurement tape, and myself and someone recording us.”
Once the record-breaking 31 cm (12.20 in) moustache was measured (an impressive 8.5 cm from follicle to tip per hair), Erin was free to celebrate her new record.
“I really like the fact that I now have two records, only for the fact that I never thought I’d be able to achieve a single record, let alone two,” she said.
“But I am proud of who I am, and I am proud to be able to show my natural self to the world, and hopefully influence others to do the same.”