Woman with 8-foot-long dreads hopes to set record

[October 24, 2008]  MIAMI (AP) -- Asha Mandela has hair that could rival Rapunzel's. The South Florida woman who started growing her hair 20 years ago now has locks longer than she is tall.

Mandela has submitted her hair, which measure 8-feet, 9-inches long, to the Guinness Book of World Records for the Longest Dreadlocks, the first entry in a new category.

It takes one bottle of shampoo and one bottle of conditioner every time she washes her hair and can sometimes take days to fully dry after she washes it.

Mandela, 46, said she "used to wash it three times a week. Now I do it once a week. It's very tiring. Sometimes I don't have the energy."

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.