A New York woman now holds the record for the world’s largest afro, measuring an impressive 6 feet, 2.87 inches in circumference—an honor officially bestowed upon her by the previous titleholder.

Aevin Dugas, who first claimed the Guinness World Records title for the largest afro on a living woman in 2010, visited a New York hair salon to ceremoniously “pass the torch” to the new record-breaker, Jessica L. Martinez.

Martinez’s voluminous curls measure 11.42 inches high, 12.2 inches across, and boast the record-setting circumference.

Dugas—recognized this year as a Guinness World Records Icon—said she was proud to hand over the title she’d held for 15 years.

“What I hope people see when they watch us meet,” Dugas said, “is that I love myself, she loves herself, and we’re both just trying to encourage others to love themselves. It’s not a competition—it’s all love.”

Martinez shared that she regularly relaxed her hair until middle school, then gave up straightening entirely during her freshman year of college.

“My last silk press was freshman year, around 2014,” she said. “I straightened my hair, looked in the mirror, and saw 12-year-old Jess staring back. I knew, ‘This isn’t you. There’s nothing flat about you. You have so much personality.’ After that, I just quit cold turkey.”

When she pursued the record this year, it took three people and a tape measure to capture the full dimensions of her afro.

“When I learned I’d broken the record, I was in shock—it didn’t feel real at first,” she said. “But once it sank in, I thought, ‘This is incredible.’ The younger version of me would be so proud.”