Louisiana woman celebrates World Afro Day

NAPOLEONVILLE, La. (WAFB) – A Louisiana woman who has taken her hair to new heights is known around the world for her famous Afro hairstyle. Aevin Dugas from Napoleonville uses her larger-than-life hair to turn heads and change hearts. She wants young Black girls to love their natural hair, something she struggled to do growing up.

Dugas wasn’t always fond of her natural hair. In fact, she feels the need to apologize to it for years of abuse. From a young age, she always wanted straight hair.

“I’m a little girl. I want to perm. I want a perm because my mama has the perm,” said Dugas.

Chemically relaxed…easier to control… and by society’s standards at the time, more beautiful. The chemicals did so much damage to Dugas’ scalp, however, she needed a doctor’s help.

“And so, I opted for getting shots in my scalp. And did they hurt? Yes! I got shots all here and in the crown of my head and all around,” Dugas explained.

It was a slow and painful process that Dugas admits was about much more than hair.

“I went from having this, you know, healthy hair as a child, to this damaged hair that would not grow out. So of course, that messed with my self-esteem,” Dugas said.

It wasn’t until years later that Dugas charted a new path, one that embraced who she was truly meant to be.

“The natural hair gods and God was like this is it. This is what you do, because hair was my whole life. When I look back, I remember so many experiences from my hair. So, I know this is where I’m supposed to be,” Dugas said.

She landed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest female afro. When styled in an afro hairstyle, Dugas’ hair measures 9.84 inches tall and 10.24 inches wide. That’s nearly five and a half feet around.

“When I found out about the record, that I actually had won… I was like, literally… I said, oh, now I can, you know, go out there and talk about how little girls don’t have to go through what I went through,” Dugas said.

Today, she spends time with young people talking about hair care, self-love, and setting your own standards of beauty.

“Probably 95 percent of social media is not real, and I promise you, you do not want to live up to the standards of what you see on social media,” Dugas said to students at East St. John High School.

She also gave the students a few tips for everyday life.

“When all else fails you can always put your hair in a bun if you’re having a bad hair day and that’s for any texture hair,” Dugas said.

From Guinness to giving back. Dugas is grateful for the chance to share her knowledge about hair growth in person and online. She is turning her years of insecurity into valuable advice.

“I explained to people, your hair is like flowers, and your scalp is the soil. If the soil is damaged, you can’t grow beautiful flowers,” Dugas said.

She even makes her own hair care products with all-natural ingredients. She adds that’s another important step to maintaining healthy hair.

Dugas first won her Guinness title in 2012. She set her most recent record two years ago in September of 2022.

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