JOHANNESBURG: A Zimbabwean man was recently robbed of his dreadlocks at a South African night club to feed a growing demand for human hair extensions, a local paper reported on Tuesday.

The Times said Mutsa Madonko had his long locks that he has grown for 10 years, cut off while partying at a Johannesburg club.

Natural dreadlocks are sold as hair extensions for anything between 200 rand ($22) and 2,500 rand ($204) depending on the length, said The Times.

The extensions are weaved into clients' own hair. They are worn by both men and women.

Synthetic extensions have been used for years, but the Times report suggests demand for 100 per cent human hair dreadlocks is growing in South Africa.

Globally, the fad for human hair extensions has spawned a multi-million dollar industry, with Indian and Brazilian hair the most popular among women.—AFP