Peanut butter is a pantry staple in the good old U. S. of A., where around $800 million worth of the spread is consumed each year. Creamy, crunchy, spread thick on one slice of bread with jelly on another, or encased in a sweet, sugary shell of chocolate, peanut butter is both highly versatile (in function) and deeply distinctive (in flavor).
Meanwhile, in Micronesia, 33-year-old Andrea Colson religiously consumes spoonfuls of the stuff daily — not necessarily for its heart-healthy fatty acids or high fiber content, but because she swears it keeps her ankle-length hair strong and shiny.
Colson, who was born in the U.S. but lives on an island-state called Chuuk in the Western Pacific, says that she’s been growing her now 64-inch hair since she was little, trimming it only as necessary, and that she often gets stopped in the street by people who want to know more about her dramatic lengths. “People ask the same question — is it real?” she told the Daily Mail. “I’ve never had any negativity. Mostly, people are very sweet. They often compare me to Rapunzel, which makes my day.”
When she’s not working with local children as a Christian missionary, Colson maintains a blog all about her hair, where she regularly shares photos of her latest hairstyles as well as the secrets of her routine. Coconut oil treatments, twice-weekly washes with a condition-shampoo-condition method, the occasional rinse with apple cider vinegar, and gentle detangling with a wide-tooth comb are her hair-care essentials, but she claims that her daily spoonfuls of peanut butter are the most important of all.
“I have done this faithfully for years, and can honestly say that peanut butter makes my hair healthy and strong, and also makes it grow fast,” Colson writes. “I notice my hair becoming dry and brittle if I haven’t eaten any,” she told the Mail.
We already know peanut butter to be both delicious and healthy (in moderation), but still, one has to wonder: What the hell kind of magic peanut butter are they selling on Chuuk that makes your hair grow down to your ankles?
