The World’s Largest Afro Took Three People To Measure It

 

With an Afro that is more than six feet in circumference, Jessica Martinez set a new Guinness record.

Inside of a hair salon in New York City, New York, USA, two stunning women with magnificent heads of hair are perched upon stylist’s chairs like thrones – in a fitting expression of unity, as Aevin Dugas (USA) handed over the crown for the largest afro on a living person (female) to new record holder Jessica “Jess” L. Martinez

(USA). 

In honour of GWR Day, the pair joined Guinness World Records for a unique record-breaking experience where Aevin was able to pass over the title she held for 15 years directly to her successor Jess. Yet despite the occasion, there was no competitive spirit in the room – just smiles and laughter, as the two women bonded over their shared experiences and incredible hair.

“What I hope people will think when they see [us meet] is that at the end of the day, I love myself, she loves herself, and we’re both just trying to get people to love themselves,” said Aevin to GWR. 

“It’s not a competition, it’s literally all love.”

Jess won the new title on 23 October, taking over the record held by Aevin for over a decade.

After she had three people help her with the tape measure, her hair came out to be 29 cm (11.42 in) tall, 31 cm (12.2 in) wide, and 190 cm (6 ft 2.87 in) in circumference, making the New Yorker the proud owner of the largest afro in the world.

The distance around her afro is approximately three times the height of the world’s shortest woman living, Jyoti Amge (India)!

Jess is the second title holder for this incredible record, following in the footsteps of a true GWR ICON. Aevin – who hails from Reserve, Louisiana – made history in 2010 when she first broke the record, and she was later awarded with a certificate presentation for the largest afro (female) title on the set of Lo Show dei Record in Rome, Italy in 2012. 

With natural curls currently measuring 25 cm (9.84 in) tall, 26 cm (10.24 in) wide, and 165 cm (5.41 ft) in circumference, she firmly held the title for years, and was inducted as a Guinness World Records ICON in 2025 for her amazing messages about body positivity, self love, and cultural acceptance. 

“To be a part of the record-breaking community is very special, because I know GWR is very serious about their records,” she said. “So to be a part of it is another moment I don’t take for granted, because it really is a type of X-Men situation where y’all have all these superheroes in a book with all these different things that they do, and mine is big hair… so I love that.

“It’s like we all have our special powers!”

And despite her outstanding 15-year reign as the undisputed queen of the afro, Aevin says she actually used to pray for the day when she could hand over the title to another fabulous woman – in fact, she even saved a glittery crown from a photoshoot she did in 2020, just in case she’d have the chance to one day place it on the head of a new record holder.

“The thing is, I always wanted to pass it, not watch the thing get snatched out of my hand,” she explained. “So when the ICON thing happened… I just felt like it was the perfect transition.”

The day that Aevin and Jess finally met was therefore a bright occasion, joining each other for a photoshoot at a salon in November with GWR Adjudicator Michael Empric. 

“Meeting Aevin is just such a joy. I feel like she is the same online as she is in person – a lot of personality,” said Jess. “I just feel so blessed that I get to meet her and that she gets to be a part of this experience, because that makes me feel even more proud of myself and it feels like a special moment.”

Jess, who comes from Rockland County, New York, calls the city home – and works as a criminal justice advocate, content creator, and Founder and CEO of a brand called Somebody’s Auntie. After people on social media started flooding her comment section with suggestions to submit her iconic natural hair to GWR, she finally decided to attempt the record this year, which required lots of hard work measuring all her curls.

“When I found out that I broke the record, I was actually in shock because it didn’t quite sink in yet, it didn’t quite feel real,” she said. “But when I really started to process it, I was like ‘this is absolutely incredible,’ because the younger version of me would be so proud of myself. 

“To see someone like me, with hair like this, in the Guinness World Records book, is just so absolutely incredible. It’s not something where as a child I knew what representation looks like, but I just knew I didn’t see a lot of this [points to hair] out in the media or in the public.

“So I think it was one of those ‘on my gosh’ moments, like, ‘you did it!’” she continued. “And a part of me also felt proud of myself because I can do hard things, and this was a really really hard thing for me to accomplish. 

“And so the fact that I stuck it through, even though I had a little bit of a rocky start, and I didn’t give up, it just makes me feel like I can do anything... It’s really exciting.”

Jess explained that when she was a little girl, finding the right routine for her natural hair was a difficult task. Her mother used to do her hair, but fighting with all her curls became more difficult as she grew older, so they agreed to start using relaxers – which ultimately just damaged Jess’ hair, impacted her mother’s bank account, and influenced her self-confidence.

“I actually was super embarrassed because we were not well-off, and I would go into the salon and they would be breaking the brush on my hair…or they would say that I have too much hair so they would put two boxes of relaxers in my hair, which then I felt even worse because my mom then had to pay for two relaxers,” she said. “It was just not ever a comfortable space for me to be in.”

It wasn’t until middle school that Jess gave up the expensive, tedious, and often uncomfortable process of professionally relaxing her hair. Nevertheless, she continued to straighten it until her freshman year of college, when she finally made the decision to stop altogether.  

“And I remember I got to a point one day where I was done. I did not want to hear the sizzle, crack, pop of that flat iron on my scalp, and on my hair. And I told my mom no, I didn’t want to get my hair straightened… And eventually, I stopped wanting to straighten my hair at all,” she said.