A kind-hearted mum-of-four had her hair cut for the first time in six years to donate a record 67 inches of her locks to charity.
Generous Ruth Tripp, 38, gave the longest ever single donation to the The Little Princess Trust, which makes wigs for children who have lost their own hair.
She’s not been to the hairdressers once in six years and waited until her hair reached the floor before she braved the chop.
She has set a record for the longest ever hair donation to the charity and is now waiting to hear from Guinness World Records to see if it’s a world record.
The mum-of-four said: “My hair got to the floor and I knew I needed it to come off as it was just going to get damaged.
“I knew it would be harder to look after so I thought it would be better to give it away now, so somebody could actually use it and make the most of it.
“I didn’t think it was that much hair because I’m so used to having long day, I didn’t think it could be a record.
“I had no idea.”
Ruth has always had long hair and decided to start growing it when it was already at the bottom of her back, around six years ago.
She said: “My son was in the neonatal unit when he was born and the charity there who would always go ‘look at your hair.’
“I thought I could cut it off to raise some money.
“But rather than just cutting my hair off, I thought it would be best to donate my hair as well and I found The Little Princess Trust.
“I then thought about how much I would eventually have cut off and just thought I should go for it, so had it all cut off.”
Ruth, of Devon, would wash her locks using normal shampoo and conditioner, but it would take a “few hours” to air dry.
She says that young children would often say she’s got “princess hair” – which made her even more determined to donate her locks.
Ruth said: “People would say ‘it’s not all yours, is it?’ but it is.
“If I took my hair down while I was out, then children would say ‘mummy look at that princess hair’ and they would ask to have hair like that.
“That’s what children want, they want hair like that – so I knew I should give it to someone else.”
Ruth had her hair cut during a family fun day, where she raised money for The Little Princess Trust and Supporting Neonatal Users and Graduates (SNUG).
She then went to The Little Princess Trust’s headquarters in Hereford, where she delivered her hair and saw how the charity make the wigs.
Ruth, an accountant, said: “It was really good, I delivered my hair to them and they were so pleased.
“I saw the place where all the wigs were made and the salon where they fit them on the children – it was really good.
“Instead of posting the hair, I thought I would post it and make sure it got there safe and was delivered safely.
“It’s quite a bit more than what other people donate so I didn’t want it to get lost in the post.”
Wendy Tarplee-Morris, the founder of The Little Princess Trust, said she “never thought” someone would date 67 inches of hair.
She said: “We always encourage our supporters to grow their hair as long as possible to help us make wigs for children with hair loss.
“But I never thought I’d see the day when someone would donate ponytails measuring 67 inches.
“We are so grateful to Ruth for her extraordinary efforts for The Little Princess Trust and the young people who receive our wigs.”
The previous Little Princess Trust record was set in 2023, when an anonymous supporter donated 52 inches of hair.
Visit https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/big-hair-chop or https://www.justgiving.com/page/james-tripp-1723635961995 to donate.
