This kind-hearted pair look almost unrecognizable after chopping off their hair to make record-breaking donations.
Ruth Tripp (UK) made the largest single donation of hair by an individual (female) when she handed 172 cm (5 ft 7 in) of her locks to The Little Princess Trust last September.
And Jack Drever (UK) bagged the male equivalent of the record when he snipped 90 cm (2 ft 11 in) off his hair in December.
He donated it to the same charity, which makes wigs for children battling cancer.
Their donations combined measure 262 cm (8 ft 6 in), which is taller than the world’s tallest man Sultan Kösen, who stands at 246.5 cm (8 ft 1 in).
Ruth, a mum-of-four, from Devon, had been growing her hair out for many years and it had got so long it touched the floor.
She was just about to get it cut when she put things on hold.
She wasn’t having second thoughts though.
She explained: “I planned on getting my hair cut and donated to charity. I hadn’t realized that it may be record-worthy until someone mentioned it.
“After that I needed to wait a little longer to get a bit of extra length.
“Being patient was hard. I used lots of shampoo and conditioner but the main preparation was time and letting the hair grow.”
The 38-year-old added: “My donation of hair was given to The Little Princess Trust. They measured the hair with it being the longest they have ever received. They gave me a certificate for the donation of 172 cm of hair.
The previous record of 155 cm (5 ft 1.02 in) was set in 2021.
Ruth, who works as an accountant, added that it would take her a “few hours” to wash and dry her hair before having the chop.
She said: “If I took my hair down while I was out, the children would say, ‘Mummy look at that princess hair’ and they would ask to have hair like that.
“That’s what children want, so I knew I should give it to someone else.”
A few months later, Jack, a builder from Southampton, decided to cut his hair after growing it out for seven years.
The 37-year-old said: “I decided to break the record to provide the best possible donation as well as raise awareness for the charity.”
He beat the previous record of 83 cm (2 ft 8.67 in), which was set in 2023.
Jack originally grew his hair out after an ex-girlfriend told him she liked the way it looked.
It ended up coming all the way down to his waist.
But after deciding to freshen up his look, it was his business partner Lewis Bowers who suggested they should also raise some money.
They pulled in £1,833 of donations that went to The Little Princess Trust along with Jack’s luscious locks.
Wendy Tarplee-Morris, one of the founders of The Little Princess Trust, thanked both Ruth and Jack for their donations and their patience in growing their hair to such remarkable lengths.
“We always encourage our supporters to grow their hair as long as they can as it helps us meet the demand for our popular longer wigs,” she added.
“Ruth and Jack really have followed this message with some enthusiasm, and we are all so grateful to them for helping us to provide free, real hair wigs for children and young people.”
