Asha Mandela

Asha Mandela is the real life Rapunzel with 55ft long dreadlocks that are longer than a bus. Despite being warned by doctors that her hair that weighs three stone could paralyse her, Asha Mandela said she will never cut them. The mother-of-one from Atlanta, Georgia, said: 'My hair has become part of me. It is my life. I will never cut it. Cutting it would be equivalent to suicide. It would be like being a zombie.'
Mrs Mandela, 47, holds the Guinness World Record for the longest dreadlocks.
She calls her hair 'her baby' and credits them with helping her overcome cancer, two strokes and two heart-attacks. Her incredible hair has also brought her fans across the world and she has launched her own secret hair formula on the back of her success. It takes two days to wash and dry her hair, which weighs the same as a reception-age child, and is even heavier when wet. It can also get easily trapped in doors or snag on bushes.