Friday, April 26, 2024
A Florida woman who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest locks has revealed that her hair tendrils have grown to 110 feet in length.
Asha Mandela the 60-year-old Clermont, Florida, USA resident’s locs measured 5.96m (19 ft 6.5 in) on 11 November 2009.
On this day, Asha’s luxurious locks are even longer and according to her bio on Instagram they now measure up to 33.5 m (110 ft), Guinness World Records reports.
Asha first began growing out her lovely locks over 40 years ago, after moving from the island of Trinidad and Tobago to New York, USA.
Her beautifully maintained locks, which weigh an astonishing 19kg, are her crowning glory.
"I don't like the term dreadlocks because I don't think there's anything dread about my locks," Asha told Guinness World Records. "I refer to my own hair as my royal crown of locks or my cobra."
However, not everyone was on board with Asha's decision at first, including her two sisters, who didn't like the "Rasta business or the dreadlock stuff".
Despite taking a little bit of time to be convinced, they came to accept and embrace Asha's hairstyle and lifestyle.
Asha’s husband Emmanuel Chege, a professional lock stylist from Nairobi, Kenya, is arguably the biggest fan of Asha's locks. After they met he began dedicating his time to styling her hair.
Asha says curious onlookers will frequently approach her with questions about the cleanliness of her hair.
However, Asha insists that maintaining good hygiene for her locks is of utmost priority.
Chege washes Asha's hair once a week, an occasion that calls for up to six bottles of shampoo and ends with a two-day process of drying.
Asha said she plans to continue growing her locks.
"I will never see or feel that there's a time I would want to cut my hair. It's never going to happen," she said.
