NGOZI GOLD MEETS THE GUINESS BOOK OF RECORDS HOLDER FOR LONGEST DREADLOCKS IN THE WORLD..ASHA MANDELA

Asha, Zulu Mandela , holds the record for the world’s longest DREADLOCKS. Her beautiful locks are twenty  and a half feet in length. Indeed, her hair got her into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2008. Asha arrived at the decision to grow dreadlocks in March 1988. Before then, Asha was just like other women – braiding and weaving her hair. But today she is a head turner. Everywhere she goes people marvel at her locs.

Born to a South African father and a Trinidadian mother, Asha said the idea to grow dreadlocks came to her in a vision. She says she had a dream and in her words..“whereby the Most High asked me to grow locks”. To her, this was, and still is, a spiritual calling. HMmmhhh!.Im impressed that her hair edges are still in tact!

Asha calls her hair LOX...meaning luscious luxurious locs....there is nothing dreadful about her hair....I think she should copyright the word lox because we loc lovers will start using it.....

NGOZI GOLD : Your locs are lovely and unique , when you started your loc journey, did you ever imagine the length of your locs will make you a living legend and at what point did you decide never to cut them.

ASHA MANDELA : When I was spiritually advised to start growing Lox, I had absolutely no idea how to care for it ,  I was beginning a new chapter in my life. I knew I was NEVER going to cut them..but I had no idea how long I was going to grow them or the enormous length they would grow to. Now 25 yrs later, to  be hailed and considered a living legend...wow, its all still a dream.

Queen Asha Mandela 

Asha is definitely a woman on fire,  she runs her business and still finds time to cook..

NGOZI GOLD : Do people treat you differently because of your hair and how do you deal with negative people?

ASHA MANDELA: The treatment from people have been both positive and negative...but I would say its 80% positive since we can never please everyone. Most people actually love my lox and admire my commitment to growing it this long and of course, they are amazed by its length and beauty. The negative people are the ones who think its dirty and useless...but they are the ones who actually give me the courage to continue on my Journey, I say to myself all the time..the more they scorn me...the taller and prouder I walk.

NGOZI GOLD : Does the length of your hair affect how you dress? what inspires your unique fashion statement ?

ASHA MANDELA : The length of my Lox has never effected the way I dress. On a regular every day basis, I dress casual without any help...but when I am doing shows or interviews, I attire in a Sari and it get a bit tricky to control my hair and wrap the Sari, other than that I am not restricted in anyway with what I can or cannot wear.
My fashion statement comes from my mixed heritage and the spiritual realm with which I am in. I am African yet I practice Hinduism , so I combined the 2 cultures and love going over the top when I mix and match my attire and accessories .. LOL..

NGOZI GOLD : Does your hair get in the way of sleep and passion with your sweetheart (lol) ...?

ASHA MANDELA :LOL..LOL..Oh my...LOL.. My Lox is quite Empress friendly LOL.. I sometimes bundle and use it as a pillow...or lay it along side me..or lay a sheet on the floor beside the bed and lay it on there for sleep.
It does not get in the way of passion at all... you may not believe this but I either lay it alongside me or on the floor during those tender moments..and It never gets in the way...its lovers friendly...LOL..LOL..

Her Hair doesnt get in the way of SLEEP OR PASSION...lol

NGOZI GOLD :  Is your family supportive of your loc journey...?

ASHA MANDELA : In the beginning my family was not happy and supportive of me growing Lox...I had already migrated to the US when I started my journey. Most of my immediate family live in Trinidad. My mom told me to remove the mop from my head before I am welcomed in her home again, she said to me " imagine I put nice Vaseline and lard in your hair and groom it so nicely..now look what you did to it" she was not happy with me at all. I stood my ground and continued on my journey..It took 5 years into my journey for my mother to finally come around , then the rest of the family started accepting me again not realizing where we would be today ...

Asha 's King / Husband/ Man helping her maintain her hair after washing

NGOZI GOLD :  How do you care for your locs?

ASHA MANDELA :Caring for my BABY is easy...its really not as hard and complicated as people seem to think. I wash my lox once a week. Its done in the shower since the sinks are to small and using a tub is very uncomfortable. I massage my roots/scalp daily with my growth renew Oyl and only retwist them for photo shoots or interviews..

Asha at a saloon in Nairobi

NGOZI GOLD : How can we achieve locs as beautiful, vibrant and long as yours

ASHA MANDELA : Maintaining a healthy diet and drinking lots of water, nourishes the inner body to assist the use of the right products on the outside. Over 12 yrs ago I suffered thinning and hair loss due to chemo treatments and just could not find a product that worked for me. So I developed my own formula to stop the thinning and hair loss and promote thickness with xxx times new growth. Its what I call "my genie in a bottle". Since then my lox just took on a life of its own and kept growing at a fast rate..My products are called ZULU Earth Solutions, its an ALL natural hair product that's formulated for ALL hair types, Its tested and proven to be effective in all the ways I described.. leaving your hair absolutely beautiful and loxcious or luscious lol...............

NGOZI GOLD : When will you bless Nigeria with your presence and loc products?

ASHA MANDELA :I will be visiting Nigeria very soon since I have a huge demand for my products. My schedule is very tight so it will be tough fitting a tip to Nigeria ..but I have such a huge fan base there, I really will visit so my brothers and sisters can have access to my products...

Asha Mandela 3 MONTHS  into her LOX journey

Asha and her King, during her African Themed wedding..

Asha and her lovely son Zion..

He loves his woman for sure...

NGOZI GOLD : What makes you smile?

ASHA MANDELA :Waking up to a new day every day, knowing I have another chance to breathe the breath of life makes me smile. Receiving lots of inboxes and emails with people telling me how much they admire me..admire my strength and determination and how much I have been an inspiration to them, makes me smile. Being blessed with a wonderful Kingman and my 11yr old son Zion, make me smile.
Knowing I am special and have set the standards high for Black women and Lox, makes me smile knowing that I must be doing something right...

Asha Mandela is truly a living Legend..Her hair length is awesome

NGOZI GOLD : Where do you see yourself and your Locs in the next 5 years!

ASHA MANDELA :5yrs from now I see myself continuing on my spiritual lox journey..and caring for my baby keeping it looking as beautiful as ever. I see myself doing lots of charity and humanitarian work, travelling to many parts of Africa caring for the homeless and underprivileged . 5yrs from now I see myself finally being acknowledged and recognized for the legend I really am and the example and path I have paved for my fellow naturals and African people...

Asha's hair being admired

ASHA'S ZULU EARTH HAIR PRODUCTS.....

Asha 's hair products ..ZULU EARTH SOLUTIONS..

Some of her hand made Jewellry from her jewellry line..

NGOZI GOLD is honored to be connected to ASHA MANDELA ..THE LIVING LEGEND AND A GREAT INSPIRATION TO WOMEN WHO WANT TO EMBRACE NATURALITY...

Enjoy an interview she had with Sunrise TV