The internet was made to give us things that are too good to be true. So when we — and other Instagram fans — first saw the photos of Trisha Reibelt, a real-life Australian Rapunzel, it was easy to presume that there were some major extensions (or photoshopping) at play. But as Daily Mail reports, the 31-year-old’s otherworldly mane — which falls down past her knees — appears to be the real thing!
That’s right, Reibelt says her hair is extension-free — a mind-blowing fact that leaves us with so. many. questions. How can she retain the length and health, all while dyeing her hair saturated hues like purple, yellow, orange, pink, and green? How long does it take her to wash and style her locks? And exactly how many scissor-shy years did it take for her to grow it this long?
The answers reveal serious dedication on Reibelt’s part, but are also brimming with solid hair-care tips. Let’s dive in.
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The 5-foot-tall Reibelt says it’s taken a solid 12 years to grow her hair from shoulder-length to about 4 feet long — just 9 inches off the ground. But she's down for a little trim here and there. While working with stylist Rebecca Taylor at the Melbourne Hair Expo a month ago, Reibelt had “a little over a foot” of hair chopped off, a move that she says has "cut down on the amount of time it takes me to do my hair in the mornings, so I get a few more minutes of sleep before work.” (We feel you!)
She dyes her hair with incredibly punky colors during at-home DIY sessions, with help from a BFF. And she touches up her roots every three months to keep the Rapunzel-goes-raver look in full swing.
With so much bleaching and dyeing, one would think that her hair would suffer major damage. But Reibelt keeps it in check with fuss-free maintenance: She stays away from heat-styling of any kind and washes her hair once a week with silicone-free shampoo and conditioner, finishing with a vinegar rinse. “When I fade my colors out, I start doing coconut-oil soaks to put moisture back into my hair as I begin using clarifying shampoo,” she reveals. “Since my hair is pretty old, I do get split ends so I like to go through it occasionally to cut off any that I find.”
The routine sounds surprisingly manageable — and chock-full of good hair-care advice, no matter what your length. And while we may not have the patience to go for the look ourselves, we can easily imagine a lifetime of clicking back to her Instagram feed to gaze at slo-mo videos of Reibelt tossing her magical mane.