Superstitious Thai woman has not cut her hair for 10 years

A 50 year old Thai woman revealed she has not cut her hair for more than 10 years because she is scared of evil spirits. Residents in the woman’s community, meanwhile, believe her hair is special, can prevent bad luck, and keep people safe from danger.

Several Thai media platforms reported the unusual story of the 50 year old woman, Natcha Thong-iab, who lives in the southern province of Trang, and has hair measuring 1.17 metres.

Natcha’s story is reminiscent of the biblical tale of Samson in some ways. The Israelite warrior was renowned for his prodigious strength, which derived from his uncut hair. Once it was cut, he lost all of his powers. Likewise, after Natcha cut her hair ten years ago she fell ill for seven days. Since then she decided against cutting it.

Natcha’s hair looks as if it has been glued. She says she doesn’t know what happened to it. She says she woke up one day and found her hair had become matted. She asked someone to cut and separate the matted hair in the hope that it would grow normally again, but it didn’t. Instead, it made her ill for several days.

Locals interviewed believe Natcha’s special hair has made her immortal but add she will die if she cuts it.

Natcha revealed that she dreamt about an old man one night who informed her that her hair was special. The man urged Natcha to try shooting the hair with a gun. He assured her that the bullet would not come out of the barrel.

Natcha woke up the following morning and tried it. She reported what the man said in the dream was true, the bullet did not come out. This made her more superstitious about the power of her hair.

Soldiers and policemen visited Natcha and asked her for the hair that was cut off ten years ago. They believe the hair could protect them from danger.

A lecturer from the Biology Department of the Faculty of Science at Chulalongkorn University, Jatesada Denduangboriphan, was more cautious, however, he told Thairath that the woman and others like her who have this kind of hair should visit a doctor.

Jatesada warned Natcha that she is in danger. He said her hair is too long and too thick and it could result in attracting seborrheic dermatitis or lice.

The lecturer added that hair abnormality could be a result of chemical substances in shampoo, a lack of moisture, or an abnormality in the hair coating substance.

Jatesada recommends that Natcha seeks specialist advice for her hair problem.