In a world overtaken by different styles and endless beanie-wearing hipsters, it won't take long to find an impressive beard. The world's longest beard, though, certainly won't fail that test.

Knee-reaching fluff might have its fair share of challenges, but that doesn't make it any less impressive. You see, in a world of hipsters and hippies, extraordinary beards are never far away and certainly not out of our sight. The longest among these beards, though, is starting to verge on the extreme.

So, who holds the world record for having the longest beard in the world? Why did he grow the world's longest beard, and does he remain undefeated in 2023? TAG24 dives in and takes a look!

Sarwan Singh, a Canadian Sikh, holds the world record for the longest beard on a living person, with more than eight feet of facial hair. Measuring in at exactly eight feet and three inches, Singh's beard has been in the works for many years. He moved to Canada after being invited to sing religious hymns and now works educating local Sikhs about the teachings of the guru.

Guinness World Records originally measured Sarwan's beard in 2008. At the time, it measured a still-impressive seven feet and eight inches and smashed the previous record holder by nearly two feet. Now, he has had his record renewed, and his facial hair remains the world's longest beard to this very day.

It seems that Sarwan has never trimmed his beard, though he does have a lengthy and complicated care routine for his remarkably impressive facial hair. He has no regrets over the difficulties posed by his decision to keep his beard so long and even wishes that it were longer.

"It's one of the most important aspects of being a Sikh," he told Guinness World Records when interviewed for the update on his world record in 2022. "Anything that's given by God should be kept the way it is... So, if it is growing, you should let it grow."

"It's a very proud moment for me and the community of Sikhs because this is something that's given as a gift from God."

As Sarwan expressed to Guinness World Records in 2022, he grew his beard so long because of his faith in Sikhism and the belief that his facial hair is a gift from God. In Sikhism, long hair is a symbol of manhood, and, seeing as hair (on all areas of the body) is a gift, it should never be cut or trimmed.

In Sikhism, the length of one's hair is considered to be directly related to a person's spiritual devotion to God. Because of the importance given to one's hair, women are also expected to go untrimmed all over the body, just like men.

"Sikh has five Ks, which are articles of faith," said Sarwan. "And Kes, the hair, is one of the most important ones. Without the Kes, a Sikh is not a Sikh."

You can probably imagine that having the longest beard in the world isn't always a walk in the park. It needs to be looked after carefully and thoroughly, and most importantly, it needs to be organized and arranged in a way that poses as little risk as possible and doesn't cause inconvenience.

Sarwan generally keeps his beard tied up to keep it out of the way, using cloth to make sure that it doesn't come loose and make a nuisance. His care routine is complex and takes a long time from start to finish, but the grower of the world's longest beard loves having it despite the difficulties and says that it isn't actually as hard or problematic as you might think.

To look after the longest beard in the world, Sarwan starts by untying it in the morning and entering the bathtub with it released. He fully soaks it and then slowly shampoos it all the way from his chin to the beard's end, being careful to clean it completely and thoroughly. He then rinses it all out, does the same with conditioner, and gets out of the bath.

Once he is out of the bath, he spends a whopping ten whole minutes drying his beard and making sure that there are no tangles. When this step is finished, he combs oil and gel through it and ties it back up in the cloth.

Extreme beards come with extreme inconvenience. The longer they get, the harder they are to maintain, keep clean, comb, and stop from getting tangled. It's incredibly difficult if you have excessively long facial hair to avoid putting strain on your back or even just to do basic everyday activities.

The world's longest beard is certainly one that needs to be looked after. It would be easy to slam it in a door, to get it caught on things, or to have it ripped off by accident. Hopefully Sarwan will keep this in mind and will maintain his luscious locks for many years to come.