Zac Efron has taken his whole surfer babe aesthetic to another level with a new hairstyle.

On Thursday (July 5), the Greatest Showman star went to Instagram to show off an unexpected new hairstyle he's trying out: dreadlocks. "Just for fun," the 30-year-old captioned the black-and-white shot of him sporting waving locs, a first for the once-clean-shaven heartthrob of High School Musical memory.

Even though the actor has been often the grid, he keeps a fairly active presence on social media. A few scrolls down his Instagram feed will tell you that his latest, most-photographed obsession has been experimental hair "lewks" — from "beast mode" sideburns to the fully-grown man beard he displayed during his Hawaiin getaway two weeks ago.

"Breaks over. Back on the grind," read the inscription of a photo revealing the almost unrecognizable with a face full of scruff and tresses to match.

Yet, despite the millions of double taps Efron's latest Instagram has received, his playful take on a popular hair technique within African-American culture and communities didn't sit well with everyone.

"Cultural appropriation aside, this just looks hideous on you," one user wrote. Another commenter came to Efron's defense, writing, "Guys this is a personal choice of appearance. It is NOT cultural appropriation. Stop trying to make him feel bad about it!"

As a point of reference, here's what the old, baby-faced Zac Efron used to look like:

What do you think of Zac's "fun" new 'do? Let us know in the comments.

Disney Stars Then + Now

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