Natasha Moraes de Andrade: Real life Rapunzel, set to cut hair for the first time

Natasha Moraes de Andrade, 12 year old who has been nicknamed the real-life Rapunzel after refusing to cut her hair for her whole life is to cut it all off - and plans the 5ft 2in mane of hair for £3,500 to be made into extensions.

Natasha Moraes de Andrade, who lives in an impoverished shanty town in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, has never had a haircut. At 5ft 3in, she is just one inch taller than the length of her wavy chestnut hair - and the maintenance it requires sees her use a full bottle of shampoo every week.

Natasha spends four hours per week washing her hair and up to an hour-and-a-half brushing it each day. She has to carry it around when she walks, and fold it onto her lap when she sits down.

Despite Rio's 40-degree heat, Natasha's family cannot switch on a fan in the house because her hair gets caught in it.

Children in her local neighbourhood chant 'Rapunzel,  Rapunzel let down your hair' at her window, and passersby frequently take photographs

Her mother Catarina Moraes de Andrade, 42, said admirers told her never to cut her daughter's beautiful hair as it was so thick and long.

But now she's urging her girl to chop it off because it's interfering with her life. 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 has been offered £1,750 for her hair once it has been lopped off but 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 hope to sell it for £3,500 and refurbish my bedroom. I hope it can give me a new life.'

Source: Daily Mail UK