*The world’s largest afro on a living person, as officially documented by Guinness World Records, for the third time belongs to 47-year-old Aevin Dugas of Louisiana.
In September 2022, Dugas’ afro measured 9.84 inches tall, 10.24 inches wide, and 5.41 feet in circumference, setting the current record in the company’s category for women.
She beat her own record of 5 feet 2 inches in 2021, which in turn beat her 2010 record of 4 feet 4 inches.
“I didn’t decide to grow an afro as much as I decided to go natural,’ Dugas told Guinness World Records. ‘It’s about pride in textured hair which leads to self-love.
She added: “At one time I strived to get hair that was bone straight and now all I want is it big and poofy.”
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“From that day on, I knew: “You know what? If you want to do your hair, do it yourself – learn it yourself,”‘ Dugas said.
Watch below:
@aevindugas Why I decided to start doing my own natural hairstyles and why you should too! If you’re having problems finding a good stylist try doing it yourself ????️ #hair #hairstyle #naturalhair #afro #fyp #tiktok #ig #facebook #aevindugas #hairtutorial #hairtutorials #youtube #storytime @chemhairstryhaircare ♬ original sound – Aevin Dugas
Dugas hasn’t used “creamy crack” to straighten her hair since 1999. The native of Napoleonville, about 50 miles south of Baton Rouge, said people in the area made fun of her for it in the beginning, but the comments lessened as the natural hair movement began to resurface.
As you can imagine, Dugas said folks on the street can’t resist approaching her afro to “take a little tug,” a big no-no, she told Guinness.
“They just come in and pull it because I think they’re trying to figure out if it’s real or not,” she told USA TODAY. “I think they’re trying to get comfortable with it but I just have decided physically, I cannot help you with that. That’s something you’re just going to have to figure out on your own. I’m not comfortable with it anymore.”
Other drawbacks to the style: the heat and her “skewed” peripheral vision. Also, an occasional branch will get caught in her hair if she’s walking under trees, and it would also get caught in the car door.
Today, Dugas gets regularly trims her ends and uses hot oil treatments, as well as butters she makes herself.
“I’m a pretty much once-a-week person because I don’t like buildup to form on my hair,” she told USA TODAY. “And honestly, the other thing I do with it is I leave it alone.”
Her biggest joy is inspiring young Black girls to stop using chemical straighteners, which can cause long-lasting damage to hair.
“I don’t know why but there’s something very important to me about little girls appreciating my hair and then wanting to wear their hair the same,” she said. “I tell them there is nothing that I did special, there is no magical formula, we are born with our hair like this.”
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