Hair gets chop after 50 years

It's amazing the lengths some girls will go to when it comes to hairstyles – knee-length to be precise.

Cutting to the long and short of it, Val McAleenan's locks were more than a metre long.

And prior to yesterday the 63-year-old hd never had a professional cut or style - in fact she had only visited the hairdressers twice, once in 1965 and again in 2000.

The Staffordshire grandmother had grown her hair ever since her schooldays. As the years passed, her hair got longer and longer, passing her shoulders, waist, thighs and resting at knee point where it measured a staggering 145cm in length.

The WI stalwart admits she was never a fan of fancy hairstyles and preferred to leave it to grow naturally. She simply swept it up into a bun to sit firmly on top of her head.

But that all changed yesterday when Val, who lives in Woodbank, Penkridge, decided a change was long over due and finally went for the chop at a Wolverhampton hairsalon.

"I'd always had thick hair as a child and when I was 10 my mother told me if I let it grow it may go thinner," said Val, who works at Lavender Florists in Penkridge.

"I've only ever wanted a hairstyle that was easy and manageable and was rather scared about having anything different. It's always been easy for me to pop my hair up in a bun – it only takes seven minutes," said Val. "I always said I needed therapy to go to a hairdressers but I suppose I've saved an awful lot of money over the years," said the mother-of-three and grandmother-of-five.

Val's first visit to a hairsalon was in 1965 and cost seven shillings and sixpence.

"I was an art student and taking part in a dress show so I had it put up professionally. I remember it taking three girls to wash it," she laughed.

Her next trip to the hairdressers came in 2000 when she had a colour and trim for her son's wedding. But after turning 63 Val said she felt it was a case of "now or never" for her hair. "I'd been thinking about getting it cut for some time and then my boss Julie recommended I try Royston Blythe hair salon in Compton," said Val, who is president of Acton Trussell Women's Institute. Royston said he was flabbergasted when he saw the length of Val's hair.

"I couldn't believe it. I've never worked on hair that long," he said. Royston and his team provided Val with a new look and her transformation was complete as she stepped out in a Gerry Weber outfit from Cache in Compton, while staff at Skin & Tonic in Tettenhall Wood gave her a beauty makeover.

"We gave Val a graduated bob with textured layers and coloured it using dark blonde, silver and pearl tones. I know she wanted a hairstyle that was easy to manage and this style is perfect. It's a sophisticated look and we all think she looks like Helen Mirren now. She looks fantastic," he said.

And Val's verdict? "It's great. It's exactly what I was hoping for – and here's hoping I can keep it this way," she said.