Hair raising! Real-life Rapunzel, 31, who's been growing her locks since she was 16 reveals she's determined to keep going until they're 2 metres long
A real-life Rapunzel who hasn't had a haircut in 15 years now has hair that measures two inches longer than she does.
Stefanie Classen, 31, a 5ft 8in security guard from Dusseldorf, Germany, is documenting her journey on Instagram as she continues to grow her hair until it reaches two metres.
Her boyfriend, Ralph Kopitz, 29, an IT technician, takes all of the pictures of her hair which appear on her social media - which now has more than 2,000 followers.
Stefanie said that she has always associated long hair with beauty: 'As soon as I became an adult, I made the conscious decision to stop getting it cut,' she said.
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Stefanie Classen, 31, (pictured) a security guard from Dusseldorf, Germany, is documenting her journey on Instagram as she continues to grow her hair until it reaches two metres
She has not cut her hair in 15 years and it now measures two inches longer than she is tall
'Now my hair's down to my ankles, I'm constantly getting Ralph to take photos.
'We're both very creative and the longer my hair grew, the more I wanted to show it off in different scenarios.
'I'll often come up with an idea in my head and Ralph will help execute it.'
It was only when she turned 16 in 2005 though that she decided to grow her hair out longer.
Stefanie began her hair growing journey in 2005 at the age of 16 after years of having shorter hair
Her boyfriend, Ralph Kopitz, 29, an IT technician, takes all of the pictures of her hair which appear on her social media - which now has more than 2,000 followers
Stefanie said: 'My parents never let me grow my hair any longer than my shoulders.
'I suppose it was easier for them to manage, but as soon as I became an adult I knew I wanted to grow it long, to see how it would look.'
After three years of leaving her hair to grow it had reached shoulder-length and Stefanie said that she had felt prettier.
She described growing out her hair as taking back control as she began her journey into adulthood.
Her parents never let her grow her hair longer than shoulder-length, so when she decided to grow her locks out, she saw it as an opportunity to take back control of her life
After the first three years of growing, her hair had reached her shoulders and she said she felt much prettier for having longer hair
Her hair is washed twice a week, but Stefanie said the hard part about looking after her locks is drying them.
She said: 'I use regular shampoo and conditioner. I go to bed with wet hair and it will normally be dry by the time I wake up - depending on the weather.
'I don't use a hair dryer because heat can be damaging.
'The last time I went to the hairdresser was 2005. I usually cut any damaged ends off once a month myself, but that's it.'
Stefanie washes her hair twice a week and although the washing is easy enough, she finds drying her hair the most difficult part about looking after her hair
Having not been to a hairdresser since 2005, Stefanie cuts the damaged ends of her hair off once a month herself
Stefanie's hair grew by 1cm every month, meaning that by 2011 her hair reached down to her hips.
'By then it was longer than most people's and I started getting a lot of comments from friends and strangers,' she said.
'They'd say things like, "Wow, your hair is so long".
'It was nice receiving compliments, which encouraged me to keep growing it.
By 2011, Stefanie's hair had reached her hips and she started receiving compliments about her mane
She said that the positive comments she received about her hair encouraged her to keep on growing it
'And if people didn't like it, I didn't care, as I love my hair long.'
Eleven years after she started her hair growing journey, Stefanie, dressed as the evil queen from Once Upon A Time, met Ralph at a comic convention.
'My friend knew Ralph, who is a keen photographer, and suggested he take a photo of me in my outfit,' she said.
'Afterwards he sent over the photos and we started writing to each other.
Stefanie met her boyfriend Ralph at a comic convention in Dortmund, Germany, eleven years after starting to grow her hair out
She was dressed as the evil queen from Once Upon A Time and Ralph (left) offered to take a picture of her in costume. After sending the picture over they kept talking
'By New Year's Eve, we were an official couple.'
With boyfriend Ralph taking photos of her and her hair, Stefanie has amassed a following on her social media, but some unusual requests led to her separating her personal account from her hair journey.
She said: 'Strangers started seeing my hair on social media and, although most people were very flattering, I received some unusual requests.
'People would ask if they could meet me to touch or brush my hair, which was knee length by 2018.
Eventually, Stefanie separated her hair growing social media from her personal one because she received some unusual requests
Some people messaged her on social media asking to touch her hair and even to ask her to film herself doing sexual acts with her hair
'One man asked if I could record myself doing sexual things with it, which was very strange.
'I still get the strange comments, but they're contained on a separate platform.
'I ignore unpleasant requests, though, as for the most part people are very kind and flattering.'
Even now Stefanie has no plans to cut her hair any time soon. She said: 'I hope by 2022 it will be two metres long,' she said. 'I think it would be quite funny to reach that goal.
'After that, I'll probably go to the hairdresser and keep it at floor length.
'I don't want to walk around with my hair dragging on the floor forever!'
To keep up with Stefanie's hair goals, follow her Instagram page @loreleys_hairdream.
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