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.

The Daily Mail

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