To live the dream of Rapunzel...

Came upon this amazing article about this woman who has not cut her hair in 26 years. Article is written by Zhao Feifel (eastday.com) I trimmed down the article and bolded some of the key points from this article. To live a dream of beautiful, long, long hair....

China's first lady of long hair reveals scalp secret

By Zhao Feifei (eastday.com)
Updated: 2005-07-06 10:24

China's first lady of long hair whose tresses are 4.2 meters long was the star attraction at another exhibition in the ongoing "The Year of France in China" which delved deeply into the secrets of the growth on everyone's scalp.

Dai Yueqin shows off her 4.2-meterlong hair at the “Decoding the Hair” exhibition in Beijing. [eastday]

An old Chinese saying says that long hair will bring a woman "troubles." However, that is definitely not the case with fashion-conscious ladies in today's China who well know the importance to their appearance of having a chic hairstyle.

Just ask Dai Yueqin.

Dai, the woman with the longest locks in China, removed the scarf wrapped around her head to show off her 4.2-meter-long hair at the "Decoding the Hair" exhibition in Beijing last week. Dai has not cut her hair for 26 years from when she was 14 years old. She was swamped by visitors at the exhibition and she shared with them her tips on how best to look after one's hair.

Patricia Pineau, a professional hair expert, says given that an individual hair grows between 1 and 1.5 centimeters a month and that its usual life expectancy is about three years, a person with very long hair is quite exceptional.

Unlike blood, hair can store evidence of a person's toxicology and food habits. So 6cm of hair can hold six months' worth of information about their lifestyle.

And it pays special attention to one's hair in summer. The sun-drenched season can be extremely harmful to hair and while people use some form of skin-care protection, most don't even think about the harsh effect the sun has on hair.

Alain Franbourg, one of the co-authors of the "Science of Hair Care," says that sunbathing and swimming will damage even the healthiest hair by exposing it to harmful UV light, sea salt, and pool chemicals. And if one's hair is already dry, brittle, damaged, bleached or dyed, great care is needed to protect it.

Unprotected hair soaks up the sun's rays and the pool's chlorinated water like a sponge.

Heat has a drying effect. Wind dries out the hair and increases static electricity. UV rays weaken the hair and fade color. Salt and chlorine attack, the hair follicle opens up and hair can fall out or split ends appear.

Franbourg says that Chinese people's hair is much more malleable compared with that of Europeans and its completely round circumference indicates that it should have a better sheen. However, Chinese hair still needs protection.

The newest development in hair care is protective products that utilize natural plant proteins in shampoos and conditioners, vitamins, UV filters and polymers that coat and actually repair damaged hair.

A healthy diet also helps. Nuts and seeds can help promote luster and the fiber from fruits and vegetables help to restore shine and body.

And don't forget to have eight to 10 glasses of water a day because water benefits both hair and skin.

And last of all, Franbourg warns "not to brush your hair too much" because it hurts the scales protecting the hair strands."