October 2013
- With Body and Soul
- Ultima Hora (Download)
With Body and Soul
Susanne Kalb is well-known in Majorca after coming here for many years. Just now she is spending a few days here on the island.
Loves her 1,43 m long mane of hair: Susanne Kalb. Was twice in the Guinness Book of Records.
A lucky streak – not at all: Susanne Kalb had to work very hard on her hair. Indeed at the age of 13-14 she was all for long hair but “As a child I had really thin, fine hair”. It was a good thing that Grandma Maria knew what to do. Her secret mix contained petroleum oil – “There was a special lamp oil which did not smell so strongly”. Castor oil and olive oil with brewed coffee brings a fine gloss to the hair.
Her black mane was waist-length at that time. A few years later Susanne Kalb was approached on the street in Munich by a PR agent. “That´s how I came into the media”. She appeared in various TV formats and made it twice into the Guinness Book of Records – the first time in 2002 with an incredible hair length of 1,96 m. Today it´s an admirable length of 1,43 m and the Romanian-born loves every millimetre of it.
When asked about the start of her “hair-tic”, the 43-year-old says “Long hair symbolises for me beauty, femininity and strength”. It wasn´t for nothing that men in important positions over the past centuries wore long-haired wigs. Ot just think of the Empress Sisi, whose hair was extremely long.
Recently during video recordings the mishap: Susanne´s hair was styled with a special wax. With unforeseeable consequences: “A chemical reaction led to a complete matting of my hair”. Everyone advised her to cut it all off. “But that was out of the question for me”. With a six-month intensive programme using lots of olive oil, and with great effort, she succeeded in saving her 1.5 m long hair. “Made it!”
And how does she manage otherwise with the constant companion “mane”? “Super” replies Susanne. Most of the time she makes a big plait out of her hair and she usually sleeps on one side “due to the friction”. That people stare at her, well she´s used to it, and that’s also why she does it. Above all: “Reactions are mostly very positive”. The trained beautician wants to write a book about her experience. The planned title: My Hair, My Records.
Majorca Magazine 43/2013
By Susanne Petersen