It’s a match made in hair heaven.
Asha Mandela, the woman with the world’s longest dreadlocks has found love with a hair stylist whose massive dreadlocks rival her own.
The ‘Rasta-Rapunzel’ has locks that measure a lengthy 55ft – that’s about 16 metres or around 8 Yao Mings.
Now the 50-year-old, from Florida, has found a match with new husband, Emmanuel Chege, a qualified hair stylist from Kenya.
The smitten couple are both in love with their respective locks and say that their beautifully maintained dreadlocks are their crowning glory.
Asha said: ‘It’s really added spice in the bedroom and it does not get in the way of anything at all.
‘There are times when my hair will be on the bed with us and we can use it for whatever or we put it on the floor if we want it out of the way.’
The couple met online three years ago after he (Emmanuel) was struck by pictures of her famous dreadlocks on hair websites.
He contacted Asha and they met eight months later when she happened to be in Kenya on business.
And after adoring Asha’s locks from a far, Emmanuel was eager to get his hands on her famous tresses.
He said: ‘It was so amazing to see all this amount of hair. It was more than in my imagination.
‘At first I thought maybe her locks were almost to her knees or to the ground, but the first glance I had of her hair, it was so long and it was so amazing and her beauty was so amazing too.’
A whirlwind romance followed, and within eight months of meeting, Asha and Emmanuel were married in America.
Now, almost two years later, Asha has entrusted the care of her precious dreads solely to Emmanuel.
Emmanuel, who has worked as a hair stylist for 15 years, spends his days lovingly grooming Asha’s three-stone dreadlocks.
They take two days to wash and dry and require full-time care and Emmanuel devotes countless hours to their upkeep.
He is also growing his own dreadlocks and hopes to become the male record holder in the future.
Asha said: ‘My husband helps me with everything with my hair. I’m so spoilt since he’s been taking care of it and I’ve got totally lazy.
‘He will massage my scalp, groom my hair or twist or wash it. He does a really good job of taking care of it so that’s a plus.’
Despite dedicating their lives to maintaining their locks, Asha and Emmanuel insist that their efforts are not a pursuit of vanity.
Emmanuel said: The purpose of me having locks is spiritual. I’m a Rastafarian, and locks symbolise a lot.
‘I gives me a lot of positive energy and a lot of positive vibration – it’s like my antennas to the spiritual world.
‘It’s part of my creation and it’s part of my body.’
Asha often takes to carrying her hair in a handbag to prevent it trailing along the floor, but when she does, she garners attention.
Asha said: ‘The reaction is always a Kodak moment, it’s always a conversation piece, especially when it’s out. They always want to take pictures.
‘The reaction is always really positive, I’ve rarely had any negatives.’
Asha, who owns her own hair product business, was told by doctors her dreadlocks would paralyse her if she kept on growing them as the weight of her hair is affecting her back.
Now Emmanuel is training her at the gym to strengthen her back muscles and Asha has already lost 65lbs.
But although Asha admits her hair can be a hindrance at time, the couple says the positives far outweigh the negatives – especially in the bedroom
Emmanuel said: ‘In some instance maybe it adds up to some spices you know in our love life.
‘There are some days she will sleep on the bed and put it on the ground, some days she will feel like letting it sleep on the bed with her so sometimes you might feel like it is three of us in the bed.’
The couple have spoken about kids and are determined for their kids to have locks like theirs.
Asha said: ‘If we are blessed with children, no comb is going to go on their head.
‘There will be locks straight from birth, however long that takes to come in.
‘If we going to be lucky enough to be blessed with a child, it’s going to be a cute little Rasta baby.’
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