New Largest Afro Crowned

My name is Ava Nduga. I am from Napoleonville, Louisiana, and I have held the

Guinness World Record of largest female afro since 2012. To be a Guinness World

Records icon, it's surreal, but it's actually something that I prayed for. I

actually one day was like, you know God, if they recognize people who've been in

the book for a long time, I wouldn't even go for the record anymore. So it actually

happened. So for it to actually happen, I was just like blown away. So it's more

than just the title and the pictures. It's absolutely amazing. My name is Jessica Martinez and I am from

Rockland County, New York. So what inspired me to attempt this record was

actually the community. I had gotten on social media and I had posted a video of

my hair all big up and fluffy and a lot of people were saying, hey Jess you

should go after this world record attempt. And at first it just kind of

seemed like a pipe dream, you know, one of those things where you're like, okay, yeah, sure. But

then over time, I started to really think about it and consider it. And I started to really like

get it in my mind that this could be something that was possible. So I was like, yeah, I'm going

to try it. My name is Michael Emprick, and I'm an adjudicator with Guinness World Records in New

York City. We're celebrating Guinness World Records Day 2025 by having Avin Dugas pass on

her Guinness World Records title for largest Afro female to a new record holder, Jess Martinez

What's exciting about this is that it really represents people seeing themselves in the book

You know, sometimes little kids may not be able to see themselves in Guinness World Records

And what I love about this record title is that it really celebrates kids being able to see

themselves in those pages. What it means to be part of the record-breaking community is very

because I think people just think they just give out records but they're extremely serious about it

So to be a part of it is again another moment that I don't take for granted

because it really is like a special little X-Men type situation where y'all have all these superheroes

in the book with all their different things that they do. And you know, mine was big hair, hers is big hair

So you know it one of those things where everybody can get in this group So I love that I remember I got to a point one day where I just I was done I did not want to hear the sizzle crack pop of that flat iron on my scalp or my hair

And I told my mom, no, I didn't want to get my hair straightened

And as I continued to nourish my hair back to life, I just watched it transform

And I watched the curl pattern change. because a lot of people don't notice that or realize that even after you get rid of that first

layer of relaxer like they think that that's sort of like true you know that's my curl pattern

For me that wasn't the case. It took many many many years for my hair to continue to thrive and I

kept watering it and nurturing it and now it's gotten to the point where it's just so massively

beautiful and I'm very very happy that I made that decision because I would not have known

by removing those things that my hair would have looked like this

Meeting Ethan is just such a joy. I feel like she is the same online that she is in person

like a lot of personality. And 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 just feels like a special moment. Pleasure is all mine. When I found out that Jess broke my record, these are things that I asked for

Because I was like, I think I had approached someone in London about

can we do like a photo shoot of the Women of Guinness World Records? And the thing was, I always wanted to pass it, not just have it snatched out my hand

So when the icon thing came and I asked to be, you know, something recognized

and then I would walk away, I just felt like it was the perfect transition. What inspired you to even go after this record back in 2012

Well, it wasn't my inspiration for the record. It was my inspiration for going back to having natural hair

Because at the time, I just woke up one morning and was like, why am I wearing my hair with chemicals

for other people to be comfortable with it? And I was like, oh, my grandma could press my hair

because it was so long ago. Even like chiars and stuff, I didn't really, you know it was just like you get the hot comb you get the grease you get your hair pressed I was like my grandma can press my hair And so I went natural to go natural So obviously there a challenge when it comes to shaping your hair

And I do not have the best experience going to the salon because I have a lot of hair

And a lot of the salon owners will charge you a lot based on your length and your density

So if your hair is really thick, it brings the charge up. If your hair is really long, it brings the charge up

And so I already knew that I didn't have someone that I was comfortable going to

So I did go into a salon and my hair was cut a little bit more than I was comfortable with

which kind of set me back a little bit. But overall, it all ended up working out fine

So thankfully, my hair was able to grow in beautifully. I'm very happy with the shape now

And sometimes delayed is the best way to go. Everything happens at the right time for the right reason

The advice I would give to Jess is always live in the moment, of course, when you're doing the interviews and you're taking the pictures, but don't take it for granted because at any moment, and I think she knows this from having a bad haircut situation, it can be taken away just for something as minute as a haircut, you know

So be careful with your hair. I told her, as my mother and grandmother would say, keep people's hands out your head. Don't just let anyone in your head, meaning don't just let anybody style your hair

And it's not anything more than everybody doesn't understand natural hair. So you have to be careful who you're letting cut your hair because especially for an afro

I'm still waiting for someone to come up with afro math, which is how much do you need to take off in order to get the certain lift that you need

for your afro to look the way you want it to look. Pros for having a big hair and big afro is that I always stay warm

And I am somebody who runs a little bit more on the anemic side, depending on how my diet is

like I am always cold and my hair keeps me perfectly warm it is just you know a

lot of people will say oh aren't you hot and like you know I'm actually the perfect temperature so that's actually something I really love and a con oh I

don even want to name a con but I would say only thing is the the peripheral sometimes you can always see what to the left or the right of you So that can sometimes get you in a little bit of trouble

Something that I think is important is to know that everyone has the hair type

that they've been given at birth for a reason, and it's acceptable

It's professional. You know, it's something I always say is like, I want to inspire people to wear their natural hair in the workplace more often

I do it myself. I want people to know that natural hair is appropriate

whether you are going to school, a doctor's appointment, you have a job interview

or whatever fun, exciting event that you have in your life, your hair is appropriate

You know, a lot of people don't feel comfortable wearing their hair at prom

or on their wedding day and different things like that. And I hope that people will see the beauty in the natural hair and continue to show up like this and inspire young people

You know, I also think for youth, like little girls and boys who have textured hair, I think it's really important that they can know that their hair is beautiful just the way it is

Normally, I can do the measurements myself. In this case, because of Jess's hair length, we actually needed some assistance to make sure we got the full measurement

to make sure everything was done accurately, but she just blew it out of the water

The mark to beat was 9.8 inches by 10.2 inches by 5.41 feet in circumference

I can now announce the width a measurement of 11.42 inches, 12.2 inches, and 6 feet 2 inches in diameter

We have a new Guinness World Records title holder. Congratulations. You are officially amazing. Great job, Jess

Thank you. At the end of the day, it's just about, I love myself, she loves herself, and we're both just trying to get people to love themselves

It's not a competition. It's literally all love