Meet The Woman Who Holds The Guinness World Record For Longest Eyelashes
No need for mascara here.
puhhha / Shutterstock We’ve all dreamt of having long, beautiful eyelashes that would allow us to throw our falsies in the trash and never open another bottle of mascara ever again. We’ve tried Pinterest tutorials for hair growth, bought as-seen-on-TV products, and yet, nothing has worked.
Well, it seems that one woman accidentally discovered the secret to long lashes and has been living out our dreams with some next level eyelashes. And she currently holds the world record for the longest eyelashes!
In 2017, we met You Jianxia, who became the world record-holder for the longest eyelashes. According to the Guinness World Records, Jianxia, of Shanghai, who currently holds the world record for the longest eyelashes, has an eyelash measuring out at 4.88 inches.
Not only are they insanely long, they also took her 50 years to grow out. Fifty whole years! Can you even imagine?
But what is her secret to growing eyelashes this long? Turns out, it's taking a long nature retreat.
The publishers of Guinness World Records noted that she first noticed her eyelash growth during an 18-month nature retreat in 2013, and she now “puts the growth down to the life that she leads at one with nature.”
However, this leaves us with so many unanswered questions: Do her eyelashes get tangled? Do they ever get in her eyes or itch her face? Do her eyelashes ever fall out? What happens if she wants to put on mascara? And could an 18-month-long nature retreat also help with the growth of the hair on our heads?
I guess we’ll never know about that last one until science swoops in and gives us the explanation that we all so truly deserve.
However, Jianxia did let us in on the little secret of how she takes care of her record-breaking eyelashes and if they are, in fact, an annoyance to her everyday life.
In a 2019 interview, she said, "By simply cleansing them when I wash my face. They are a part of my body and do not inconvenience me at all."
Well, there you go. Jianxia is one with her eyelashes. Totally zen.
While most women would die for thick, beautiful eyelashes, to have nearly 5 inches worth of eyelashes? I think I, along with many other women, would pass on this. The risk of them getting tangled up or being constantly in our faces is much too high.
After so many faulty products and experiments, it seems that the ultimate, insanely puzzling solution to growing long and beautiful eyelashes this entire time was just to simply enjoy nature.
I’m not necessarily a fan of nature, but I’ll do what I can in the name of beauty. Who’s ready to drop all responsibilities and join me on a year-and-a-half-long nature retreat?
Caitlin Butkiewicz is a film fanatic and aspiring writer who is passionate about dogs, baseball, and pizza.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in September 2017 and was updated with the latest information.