A lady who has not had a haircut in as many as 28 long years, has shown off her incredibly long hair.

A real-life Rapunzel who has not had her locks trimmed since she was five-years-old, now boasts a two-metre long mane and even stars in Christmas shows as her alter ego.

 

But unlike the Grimms' fairy tale character, Alena Kravchenko, 33, is a successful businesswoman and mother to six-year-old twins, Valeria and Miroslava.

 

And Alena, of Odessa, Ukraine, has revealed that the secret to keeping locks luscious is washing them no more than once every three weeks, adding: 'I love my precious long hair and love taking care of it.

'But I don't wash it very often, because I think that products are not good for it and can make it thinner and can stunt its growth.

'I like to be natural and the natural oils in your hair are what is best for it and help to preserve its glossiness.'

 

Alena, who runs a business organising children's parties, also loves being compared to fairy tale heroine Rapunzel.

She said: 'I usually like to keep my hair tied up in a bun, but when I let it down it does attract a lot of attention and people often take photographs and call me Rapunzel, which for me is a great honour.

'I think it makes me stand out and makes me unique - so I'm very happy if that's how people see me.'

 

Having only been for a haircut once in her life, when she was five, Alena recalled her mum, Angela, 54, being a great believer that beautiful long hair was important for a woman.

 

'For as long as I can remember my mother would tell me that feminine beauty stems directly from a woman's hair,' she said.

 

'Over the years I realised that she was right, as there really is nothing more beautiful in the world than a woman with natural, flowing hair.'

 

While she has occasionally trimmed the split ends on the ends of her hair herself, she has never allowed anyone else to cut it again, meaning Alena's hair had grown half way down her back when she reached her teens.

 

When she moved into her 20s it reached her waist, then her knees - eventually touching the floor in her early 30s.

 

With her mane so long she has actually tripped over it, Alena usually wears it in a bun, or plait - literally, only letting her hair down either at weekends or on holiday.

'It's now become a bit of a treat to let my hair down, because it is far more comfortable, as in a bun it can be quite heavy,' explained Alena, who met her husband Alexander 11 years ago in Odessa, marrying a year later.

'As my two children have grown older, I've had to start to tying it up more as well, because they like to play with it when it's down and yank at it!'

 

And, while her hair no longer grows as fast, it is still gradually getting longer.

Alena continued: 'I don't think it grows as quickly as it used to.

 

'I read recently that hair growth is a sign of physical and mental well-being, which - if it's true - shows that I'm doing something right!'

 

Now, 28 years since she visited a hairdresser, Alena has no intention of going back, saying that her hair is her 'identity' and without it she would not be herself.

 

'It makes me who I am - a unique woman, who clearly has a lot of dedication to the things she cares about,' she said.

 

'I am quite a humble person, but I love the way people look at me on the rare occasions I do let it down.

'I remember the first time my husband saw me with it down - which was maybe on the third or fourth date - and it came as quite a shock to him.

'But after he had got over the surprise, he saw how unusual and beautiful it was.'

 

Hoping to bring her daughters up with the same love of long locks, Alena has yet to cut Valeria or Miroslava's hair, but says that they will be free to choose whether or not they want to spend the rest of their lives maintaining two-metre tresses.

 

'I'd like them to know that long hair is something beautiful and something to be proud of,' she added.

 

'Hopefully, they will see in me how much pride I take from it and how much pleasure it has given me over the years.'