Teen With ‘Werewolf Syndrome’ Set Guinness World Record for Hairiest Face

This teen set the Guinness World Record for the hairiest face.

Lalit Patidar, 18, of India, was born with an extremely rare (one in a billion) condition called hypertrichosis. According to DermNet, hypertrichosis—also known as ​​werewolf syndrome—“is excessive hair growth over and above the normal for the age, sex and race of an individual.” This can impact the entire body or just small patches, and it might be present at birth or acquired later in life.

According to the Guinness World Record, over 95% of Patidar’s face was covered in hair, with 201.72 hairs per square centimeter. 

When he learned about breaking the Guinness World Record, he said he was “speechless.”

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Teen With World’s Hairiest Face Officially Enters Guinness World Records

“I don’t know what to say because I’m very happy to get this recognition,” he gushed.

Patidar, who’s comfortable with his condition and doesn’t feel the need to make any changes, also spoke with the record book about his experience in school. Originally, he said, his classmates appeared to be afraid of him. However, as they got to know him, that fear quickly faded.

“They were scared of me, but when they started knowing me and talking to me they understood I was not so different from them, and it was just on the outside that I looked different, but I’m not different inside,” he told the record book.

Though some people do advise him to remove his hair, he isn’t too concerned about it. 

“There is not much to say to people about that,” he said. “I tell them that I like how I am and I don’t want to change my look.”

Thankfully, his family and loved ones are all supportive of him, too. In fact, he’s pretty active on his Instagram, where he lists in his bio “#borndifferent” and shares candid photos and videos of himself with his 266k followers.