Xue Qiao / EPA
Forty-four-year-old Cen Yingyuan combs her 6-foot-long hair at home in Zhanjiang, China, Feb. 23. Cen is only 5 feet tall, and has not gotten a haircut in 11 years. She uses beer to keep her hair black and smooth.
Xue Qiao / EPA
Cen Yingyuan washes her hair.
Kevin Frayer / AP
Hindu holy man Baba Sanjay poses before and after he had his head and face shaved as part of an initiation ritual where he was to become a Naga Sadhu.
Kevin Frayer, a photographer with The Associated Press, took a series of photos of Hindu holy men before and after they had their beards and hair shaved off as part of the initiation ritual to become Naga Sadhus — naked holy men — at the Maha Kumbh Festival in Allahabad, India.
The initiation of new Naga Sadhus can only be performed at the Kumbh Mela, which occurs once every 12 years and sees millions of devotees converging at the confluence of three holy rivers: the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati.
Editor's note: Photos taken on Feb. 13, 2013 and made available to NBC News today.
Kevin Frayer / AP
Baba Ramshwal.
Kevin Frayer / AP
Brihaspst Giri.
Kevin Frayer / AP
Baba Vinod.
Kevin Frayer / AP
Baba Giri.
Kevin Frayer / AP
A barber gives a Hindu boy his first haircut before going for a holy dip in the Yamuna river on Sharad Purnima, an auspicious day for the new moon in the fall, in New Delhi, India on Oct. 29, 2012.
Kevin Frayer / AP
A boatman feeds birds on the Yamuna River in New Delhi on Oct. 29, 2012.
Kevin Frayer / AP
A barber gives Hindu boy Vanshu, 5 months, his first haircut as he is held by father Amit, second right, as his mother Rakhi Bansal, right, looks on before a holy dip in the Yamuna River on Oct. 29, 2012.
Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter
AFP - Getty Images
Six-year-old quadruplets from Shenzhen in southern China had their hair shaved into various numbers before they went to school for the first time, Agence France Presse reports.
Their parents decided to mark them with 1, 2, 3, 4 on their heads — in the order that they were born — to make it easier for teachers and classmates to tell them apart.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This picture was taken on Sept. 3, 2012 and made available to NBC News on Sept. 6.
Quadruplet boys in China have had numbers shaved into their hair based on their birth order so that people at their school can tell them apart. TODAY.com's Dara Brown reports.
•Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter
EPA
A laborer carries jute from boats in Gauripur in the Dhubri district of Assam, India, on September 3, 2012. Jute cultivation is widely practiced in Assam. Despite floods affecting about 10,000 hectares of agricultural land, Assam expects to produce about 300,000 bales of jute in 2012, compared to 200,000 bales last year, according to the state agriculture department.
The context could barely be more different, but this picture reminded me of some of the more outlandish outfits on display at Madrid Fashion Week, as featured on PhotoBlog a few days ago.
Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter
Tokyo University of Science via AFP - Getty Images
A picture taken on April 13, 2012 and released by the Tsuji Lab Research Institute for Science and Technology of the Tokyo University of Science shows a hairless mouse with black hair on its back at the laboratory in Noda, Chiba Prefecture.
Japanese researchers have sparked hopes of finding a cure for human baldness after successfully growing hair on hairless mice by implanting follicles created from stem cells, Agence France Presse reports.
According to The Wall Street Journal, a team of scientists led by professor Takashi Tsuji from Tokyo University of Science were also able to play around with the density and color of the hair.
Their findings were published online in the journal Nature Communications.
Dragon Head-Raising Day, also called Spring Dragon Day, is a traditional Chinese festival that falls on the second day of the second lunar month. According to custom, getting a haircut today can bring you good luck for the rest of the year.
Judging by their expressions, these kids don't seem to have realized their good fortune.
Wu Hong / EPA
A child gets his hair cut for good luck on Dragon Head-Raising Day in a barber's shop in Qingdao city, eastern China's Shandong province, on Feb. 23, 2012.
ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images
A child gets a haircut in Hefei on Feb. 23, 2012 in Hefei, China.
Jim Urquhart / AP
Jestina Clayton braids the hair of her daughter, Esther Clayton, 5, at her home Monday, April 25, 2011, in Centerville, Utah. Clayton and the the Institute for Justice have filed a federal lawsuit seeking changes to Utah's hair braiding regulations.
Efrem Lukatsky / AP
A stylist prepares a hair creation during the International Festival of Hairdresser Art in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2011.
Sergey Dolzhenko / EPA
A model gets make-up done backstage prior an annual hairdressers contest in Kiev, Ukraine, Feb. 9. The international festival of hairdresser's art, perfume and decorative cosmetics 'InterCHARM-Ukraine 2011' takes place in Kiev, Feb. 9-12.
Sergey Dolzhenko / EPA
A model shows a new hair style during an annual hairdressers contest in Kiev, Ukraine, Feb. 9.
Sergey Dolzhenko / EPA
A model shows a new hair style during an annual hairdressers contest in Kiev, Ukraine, Feb. 9.
The makeup is almost as fun as the hair-dos.
.
Michael Heiman / Getty Images
Diyral Briggs #53 of the Green Bay Packers puts on a Troy Polamalu wig during Super Bowl XLV Media Day ahead of Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium on February 1, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011 at Cowboys Stadium. (Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images)
JEFF HAYNES / Reuters
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel wears a Troy Polamalu wig during media day for Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, February 1, 2011.
TANNEN MAURY / EPA
Green Bay Packers Clay Matthews dons a Troy Polamalu wig as he speaks to the media inside Cowboys Stadium for the Green Bay Packers session of Media Day ahead of Super Bowl XLV between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers in Arlington, Texas, USA, 01 February, 2011. Super Bowl XLV will be played 06 February 2011.
BRIAN SNYDER / Reuters
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward wears a Troy Polamalu wig during media day for Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, February 1, 2011. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)
JOHN G. MABANGLO / EPA
Pittsburgh Steelers player Troy Polamalu wears a wig imitating his own hair as he speaks to the media in Cowboys Stadium during the Pittsburgh Steelers session of Media Day ahead of Super Bowl XLV between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers in Arlington, Texas, USA, 01 February, 2011. Super Bowl XLV will be played 06 February 2011. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO
Ritchie E. Starnes / The Daily Advance via AP
Jakyra Kearse, a 5th grader at D.F. Walker Elementary School, poses for a photo in Edenton, N.C., Jan. 26, 2011. Kearse was removed from her regular class after her new hairdo allegedly caused a distraction among her classmates.
Has someone else's hair ever distracted you from your studies?
I can't imagine I'd be much help in the office sporting this look.
Markus Schreiber / AP
A model displays a creation of the fashion autumn/winter collection of fashion lable A.F. Vandevorst at the Berlin Fashion Week 2011 in Berlin on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011.
Johannes Eisele/AFP - Getty Images
A model presents fashion of the Belgian designer label A.F. Vandevorst during the Berlin fahion week in Berlin on January 19, 2011. The Berlin Fashion Week is running until January 22.
Markus Schreiber / AP
A model displays a creation of the antum/winter collection of fashion lable A.F. Vandevorst at the Berlin Fashion Week 2011 in Berlin on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011.
E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS