‘Werewolf Syndrome’: Indian boy secures Guinness World Record for ‘hairiest face’

A teenager from India has been named the male with the hairiest face by the Guinness World Record. The teen, Lalit Patidar, 18, hails from Ratlam, a city in Madhya Pradesh, a central Indian state.

‘Werewolf syndrome’

Lalit was born with hypertrichosis, also known as ‘werewolf syndrome’, a complex and rare condition that has left his face covered with hair since he was a child.

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He was diagnosed with the syndrome at the young age of six. The condition made him the victim of ridicule as it caused the growth of “abnormal amounts” of fine hairs, as long as 5 cm, to grow on his face and other parts of body.

Due to his rare condition, he faced many bullies during his childhood days, with people calling him "monkey boy."

However, even after so many hardships, he chose his natural appearance and said, "I like how I am, and I don't want to change my look." In an interview with Guinness World Records, Lalit shared, "The first day of school wasn't so good because the other kids were scared of me, but when they got to know me, they realised I'm not so different from them."

'Lo Show dei Record' Show

The boy was invited to the show ‘Lo Show dei Record’ in Milan, Italy, for his facial hair. There, he was officially measured by a trichologist, who found that Lalit had 201.72 hairs per square cm. This helped him secure his position in the world records book for The Hairiest Face on a Person (Male).

In response to securing a record, he said, “I am speechless. I don't know what to say because I am very happy to get this recognition.”

He also said, “It’s now very rare that people are not treating me well. Most people are good to me. It depends on the person.”

(With inputs from agencies)