Actor and model Cristiano Braga, from Brazil, turns heads for his luscious red locks.
The 28-year-old’s striking look has even seen him be compared to Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
Cristiano has been growing his long hair since 2012 and it now measures over two feet.
His fiery mane has attracted a lot of positive and negative attention, some from women who say it’s ‘unfair’ for a man to have such luscious locks.
The model said people accuse him of trying to be a woman and that as a man, he should stick to short hair.
But Cristiano pays no mind to the rude comments and enjoys the attention he gets.
Cristiano maintains his hair with natural oils such as aloe vera, avocado, chamomile, mint, rosemary and vegetables.
Despite his hair being two-foot-two in length, he says it only takes him five minutes to wash
‘I have no explanation for letting my hair grow; I looked in the mirror and decided to grow it, I’ve always liked long hair, and I wanted to grow my hair,’ said Cristiano.
‘There was a time, as my hair grew, I was quite criticised; people called me a woman, broom hair, scarecrow, they would cut my hair, they said I was ugly, weird.
‘I get a lot more questions now; the strangest question I got was if I wore a wig because my hair glowed a lot.’
Sometimes Cristiano is stopped on the streets by strangers who tell him his hair is better than theirs but he encourages them to work on their self-esteem.
He thinks there’s still a long way to go for gender fluidity.
He says: ‘It makes me very sad when they ask me if I want to “turn” into women because I have long hair, it shows that society does not accept what is different from the patterns.
‘Prejudice is something very present in our society and must be fought.’
Cristiano has been likened to Jesus, John Lennon, Jared Leto, Axl Rose, and Rapunzel.
He says his grandmother believes his tresses are due to his indigenous ancestry.
‘My grandmother’s grandmother was indigenous and had her hair down to her feet,’ he explains. ‘It may be something spiritual or cultural.
‘It seems that my hair protects me from the bad things in the world, I feel much stronger and more confident.’
Cristiano negotiates with his agents to keep his hair this length for his acting career.
‘Having long hair is an incredible experience, for me, hair has taught me to value myself, to have more confidence, to respect me and to make me respected and especially to not care about the opinions and criticism of others,’ he says.
‘Have patience; hair takes its time to grow and people will criticise you, so do not get discouraged, do what you want, the hair is yours, life is yours, enjoy it your way.’
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