(14 Mar 2019) LEAD IN:
Ukrainian teenager Olena Korzenyuk is a modern-day Rapunzel.
The 15-year-old has flowing blonde hair that is longer than she is.
Now her fairy-tale tresses have broken a national record.
STORY-LINE:
15-year-old Olena Korzenyuk is 165 centimeters tall. Her hair is 235 centimeters long. When she stands on a chair, the ends of her long locks almost sweep the floor.
It's amazed experts from the Ukrainian National Register of Records. They measured Olena's hair 6 months ago, and since then it's grown another 50 centimeters.
Vitaliy Zorin, from the National Register of Records says it's staggering.
"The previous achievement was one meter, 135 centimeters and that's been the case since 2013. Obviously we've had many applications from different regions during these years. Usually parents exaggerate the length of their kid's hair. Olena's application was the most incredible of all. And, I repeat, it's incredibly amazing that she grew half a meter of hair over the last 6 months."
Professional stylist and hairdresser Yuriy Tsaryov is full of praise for Olena's tresses.
"It is very unusual to have natural blonde hair of such a length," he says.
"Usually the Slavic type of hair is more fragile with split ends, broken along its length, as it is quite thin. And the fact that we saw such long hair today says alot about how much both Mum and daughter have looked after it."
Team of stylists and hairdressers spent four hours preparing Olena's hair to set a new record. They washed, combed and straightened it. Olena's hair is naturally blonde and slightly wavy. It's a type of hair that rarely grows so long. But the girl says the secret is love and care. She has never cut, dyed or re-styled it.
"I have never cut my hair, never in my life," she says.
" As I tell everyone, the only time (my hair was cut) was when I was 3 months old, and the priest trimmed it during a baptism. That's it. Traditionally, most parents cut their baby's hair at the age of one. But mine didn't do that. And my hair continued to grow. I never wanted to cut my hair and I love it very much".
To keep such long hair in perfect condition requires daily care. Olena and her mother Maryna spend 20 minutes combing it every morning.
If Olena does it by herself it takes more than 40 minutes, as each strand has to be divided and combed from the roots to the ends. The next stage is braiding. Mum Maryna takes charge of this.
"Olena always visualises some hairdo and I help her with it," she says.
"Today she wants a braid woven inside another braid. So I divide the hair and plait the upper braid first, and then I'll weave it into the second one. But usually we just plait one braid".
Olena needs her mother's help to wash her hair as well. They do it once a week.
"We wash her hair with shampoo and usually use hair conditioner for easier combing," Maryna says.
"It takes approximately 30 minutes to wash her hair. We never use a hairdryer, but dry the hair with towels. We put the hair in the towel and we have to use a few of them because they become wet. We need five big towels on average, and then it's dried naturally. After that we comb it. Altogether it takes us half a day."
The Ukrainian Rapunzel hopes her fairy tale will continue. She's now aiming for global recognition.
Currently, 16-year-old Nilanshi Patel from India holds the record for the teenager with the world's longest hair.
The Guinness Book of Records registered the length of her locks at 170.5 centimeters in December, 2018, so Olena with her 235 centimeter long tresses has a good chance of taking the crown.
#Rapunzel #Ukraine #Olena #Korzenyuk
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives ​​
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...