'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair'
You might have read this idiom in Fairy tale Book or seen In
the Rapunzel Animation movie but in the street of impoverished shanty town
In Rio De Janeiro,Brazil, You can hear this fairy tale idiom for real. Natasha
Moraes de Andrade, a twelve year old girl, has her hair so long as 5ft 2in that
she has been typecast-ed as real life Rapunzel. She has never cut her hair and
standing only feet tall than her Rapunzel hair, she finally agrees to cut the
hair and sell it for £ 3,500 to be made into extension. She further
requires using a full bottle of shampoo to wash her hair every week. She spends
Four hours per week washing her hair and another hour and a half is needed to
brush it everyday. Making things even more interesting she has to carry her
hair while walking.
Her family member cannot even switch on the fan despite 40
degree of heat as her hair gets caught in the fan. Her mother Catarina Moraes
de Andrade, 42, has been often told not let her daughter's hair to be cut as it
was long and thick. But after the hair has been obstructing her life and freedom,
her mother urges to cut the hair.
Mrs Moreas de Andrade said: 'At the moment she is like a
prisoner. She just goes from school to home again.
'She can't do anything else, like sports, because her hair
gets in the way. The school told me she should get it cut so she can have her
freedom like other girls her age.
'People stare. Sometimes, they call out at Natasha in the
street and try to touch her hair.
'We spend about about £400 a year on shampoo, which is a lot
of money for us.
'I've let her keep it this way because she likes having such
long hair, but the time has come to get it cut.
Natasha once has been offered £ 1,750 for her hair but now
she hopes to make more.
She said: 'I love my long hair and I'll be sad when it's
gone. But it's a pain looking after it.
'I can't do a lot of things, like P.E. lessons at school.
'I hope to sell it for £3,500 and refurbish my bedroom. I
hope it can give me a new life.'