Having hair like Beyoncé’s is no easy feat, and many have tried to copy her signature looks over the years. Her fans have wondered how she does it, and if weaves and wigs were involved in any of her hairstyles.
Yes, Beyoncé has been spotted wearing a weave during her performances, photoshoots and red carpet appearances. She’s one of many celebrities who use wigs and hair extensions to give their hair more volume, but she’s no stranger to rocking her natural curls.
Beyoncé’s Hair Evolution
Beyoncé has been in the spotlight for over two decades, and we watched her go through pretty much every hairstyle in the book. During the early 2000s, she used to experiment with light tones, big curls, beach waves, straight hair, and braided hairstyles, and went back to most of them later in life.
As hair technology developed, so did Beyoncé’s looks. She relied on wigs and weaves from early on in her career, but they were becoming more difficult to spot over time. Queen Bey also experimented with colors, but mostly stuck to brunette and golden blonde tones.
Beyoncé took the world by storm when she showed off her short pixie cut in 2013. Wigs and hair extensions stayed her best friends after this dramatic change, but she would rock her short bob from time to time as her hair grew out. Beyoncé’s hair stylist Kim Kimble said that the singer wanted to make a statement by cutting her hair off and tell the world, “I’m beautiful, sexy, bold and I can do it all.”
The Mystery of Natural Hair
Beyoncé’s fans are used to seeing her wearing wigs and extensions, so she created quite a stir when a photo of her natural curls made the rounds online. Back in 2017, she presented Colin Kaepernick with Muhammad Ali Legacy Award, and her hairstylist Neal Farinah shared her photo before event, followed by a caption that read “slay me that natural curly hair”.
Some fans were impressed by how much her hair had grown, while others believed that it wasn’t all-natural after all and that she probably added clip-ins to the look. Farinah was having none of it, and reminded his followers why it’s not so difficult to believe that Beyoncé has such lush and beautiful natural hair.
“Underneath wigs and weaves, Black women have some of the most beautiful, curly hair. It’s a choice women make – and that’s the choice a Black woman makes, to wear wigs or weaves, if she wants to. Ain’t nothing wrong with it,” said Beyoncé’s hair stylist.
The singer’s mother Tina also jumped to her defense, and tried to settle the debate by sharing a photo of Beyoncé with a sleek ponytail where she clearly wasn’t wearing any clip-ins.
Beyoncé’s Hair Team
Hairstylists Kim Kimble and Neal Farinah have both been working with Beyoncé for years, and had nothing but words of praise for the “Crazy in Love” singer.
When she was still in Destiny’s Child, her mother Tina used to take care of her hair, but she eventually asked Kimble to take charge, and they’ve been working together ever since. Farinah has also been a part of Beyoncé’s team for years, and haven’t left her side since 2005, when they first started working together.
Colorist Rita Hazan is also an essential member of Queen Bey’s hair team. According to her, the singer tends to change her hair color every three weeks and she’s always full of surprises. Hazan says that Beyoncé enjoys switching between different shades of blonde, and these transformations have been especially inspiring since she decided to embrace her natural hair.
“I love that she is embracing a more natural style and texture. It’s wonderful for me as a colorist because she is showing that it’s possible for ethnic girls to have natural hair and still look amazing as blondes,” she told Glamour Magazine.