COMM: Meet real life Rapunzel Tere Lynn Svetlecich Russell who's hair is an incredible seventy four inches long. The mum of five has been growing her locks all her life and her daughters Callan, Cendalyn and Chesney are following in her footsteps. Today they have more than thirteen feet of hair between them, and grooming can prove a mammoth task.
The girls use as much as a quarter of a bottle of conditioner each time they wash their manes. TERE LYNN: My daughters shampoo their hair in the shower, and I will stand there with the handheld sprayer, I however, do not shampoo my hair in the shower. I tried that once several years ago, and my hair got so heavy with all of the water, I landed on the shower floor.
COMM: Tere Lynn said it was her well groomed hair which first attracted husband Chip when the pair were teenagers. CHIP: She had amazing hair, which was something that was, it was very eye catching, appealing to me. COMM: And the family put their best assets to good use, winning awards at long hair competitions in their home state Illinois, USA.
TERE LYNN: These are some of the ribbons that I've gotten over the last fifteen or so years and it's become quite the tradition every August for us to go to the state fair. COMM: Despite their hair obsession, none of the family have ever been to a hair salon, but that's about to change. Today they're paying their first ever visit, but instead of chopping their long locks, they've settled for a day of pampering and a day of treatments.
SHANTEL: I think this long hair is amazing, I've never seen this much long hair in one room, the hair is so healthy all the way to the floor, it's fantastic it's a phenomenon. TERE LYNN: So this is a new experience, I've never been to a salon before. TERE LYNN: It's a little painful, but it's - SHANTEL: Are you okay?
TERE LYNN: Oh I'm fine, I'm fine. COMM: Six year old Chesney has already said she wants to shorten her mane by as much as ten inches, but hasn't plucked up the courage just yet. WOMAN: How much are you cutting off?
CHESNEY: Uh ten inches. WOMAN: You are? CHESNEY: But not today.
WOMAN: Not today? TERE LYNN: Chesney is ready to have her hair trimmed, a little bit more than a trim I think, there are days when she says "Mom, it's too long, I want my hair short, and that's all there is to it" and then there's days where we talking about it seriously "No, I want my hair long Mom. " COMM: And Tere Lynn may have had a lifetime of long locks but she says she won't force her daughters to grow their hair forever.
TERE LYNN: It's not gonna be my decision, it's gonna be there's but I want them to be mature enough to make that decision for themselves.
