A “real-life Rapunzel” has hundreds of male suitors thanks to her 6ft 6in hair.
Alena Kravchenko, 25, from Ukraine, has been growing her hair since she was five years old.
Alena’s mother stressed the importance of having long hair and she’s kept those words close to her heart for three decades.
Alena is always careful to protect her hair by washing them only once a week and never combing them when wet to prevent damage. She air dries it too instead of using heat and applies hair masks regularly to keep it nice and glossy.
While the extra care seems too much, all of it has paid off as Alena now boasts a hair that’s longer than her 5ft 6in height, which means she sometimes trips over it.
“My path to long hair started at the age of five,” Alena said. “It was at that moment that my hair was cut short and I never went to the hairdresser for a haircut again.”
“Since childhood, my mother told me that a woman should have long hair,” Alena added. “These thoughts are deeply rooted in my mind and I have been growing my hair with great love for all these years.”
“In order for the volume of my hair to be long, as well as well-groomed, I am very careful with my haircare,” she explained. “I use natural masks, a selection of professional cosmetics, rinse my hair in herbs, and do head massages regularly.”
“Now, I have reached a unique length because my hair is longer than my height and I really like it,” she said.
Alena, who has more than 57,000 followers on Instagram, enjoys all the attention she gets thanks to her real-life Rapunzel locks.
“I love to stand out from the crowd, I love being compared to a princess because it makes me a unique and unusual person,” Alena said. “Men love natural blondes and with this length, I am always the center of their attention both among locals in my city and on social networks.”
“Many people in the city know me and every time they see me they admire my length and rare golden hair color,” she added. “Passers-by ask me if they can take pictures, ask if my hair is real, ask to touch it and often don’t believe their eyes when they see me.”
“The reaction is only ever positive and people are shocked in a good sense.”
While people might assume that having 6.6ft hair would have its disadvantages, Alena focuses on the advantages.
“There are no particular inconveniences in having hair this long but if I let my hair down, I step on it, this is the only uncomfortable moment,” she explained. “I try to wear my hair in a high ponytail so that the hair does not touch the ground.”
The real-life Rapunzel also shared her advice for others that wanted to grow out their hair.
“Advice from me to those who want long and healthy hair is that each woman is able to grow their hair long like mine with great desire and aspiration,” she said. “If you measure the length of my hair from the forehead, my hair reaches six-feet-six-inches.”
“I wash my hair once a week, the washing process itself takes about thirty minutes, but before that, I do a strengthening mask, which I walk around with for about an hour,” Alena added. “I never dry my hair with a hairdryer, I do not comb it when wet, I blot it very gently with a towel to absorb excess moisture.”
“My hair is a result of years of hard work, not the result of just a few months.”