Unlike fellow pop stars Billie Eilish and Katy Perry, Taylor Swift is not known for having ever-changing hairstyles. When we were first introduced to Swift in 2006 she had an enviable head of blonde ringlets. But were they natural, or is this Hollywood’s best-kept secret?
No – Tylor Swift doesn’t normally dye her hair, however, she has in the past. Photos from Taylor’s childhood prove that she is a natural blonde. However, her hair has been various shades across the years, suggesting that Swift does occasionally dye it. Preferring to play it safe with her hair, the most experimental Taylor has been was in 2016 when she sported a platinum bob.
Maybe one day Taylor will have a ‘mid-life crisis’ and dye her hair a wacky colour, but for now, let’s look at her hair evolution.
Blonde Bombshell
As a teenager, Taylor’s light blonde ringlets were used to cement the ‘country girl’ image that was a key part of her branding. But her hair hasn’t always been like this. Recent throwback photos posted on Taylor’sInstagram show that as a young girl, her hair was almost white in colour. It’s not uncommon for blonde hair to get darker as children grow older, however, and this can often be attributed to genetics or oxidation.
Between 2006 and 2014, Taylor’s hair gradually got darker and darker. What was once light blonde had toned down to a muted, ashy colour. In the same period, Taylor also experimented with several haircuts. In 2010, she ditched the ringlets and began straightening her hair. She also got her infamous fringe cut in. By 2013, Swift started going shorter with her hair and swapped her long locks for a chest-length style. In 2014 she went even shorter still, opting for a chin-length bob.
Going Platinum
Every year in May, celebrities from around the world gather in New York to attend the Met Gala, an annual fundraising event. The Gala is considered to be one of the most prestigious and exclusive social events in the world. So it’s no surprise that celebrities pull out all the stops with their appearance, and Taylor is no exception.
In 2016 the theme for the Gala was ‘Manus X Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology’, and Taylor was invited to co-host. In line with this, Swift rocked up to the red carpet with a white blonde bob. This was a drastic change for Taylor, and it’s the first time fans have seen her choosing a gothic vibe over her regular, feminine look.
However, the platinum tresses didn’t last long, as Taylor dyed her hair back to ashy blonde within a matter of weeks. The songstress is said to reference her regret for the bleached colour in the song Dress, from her sixth studio album Reputation.
“Flashback to when you met me, your buzz cut and my hair bleached. Even in my worst times you see the best in me”, she sings.
Surprisingly, however, this isn’t the first time Taylor has bleached her hair. E! note that she also dyed her hair in 2014 for the Californian music festival, Coachella. Posting on Instagram, Swift aptly captioned the post – which has since been deleted – ‘BLEACHELLA’.
Pink and Blue
Between 2016 and 2019, Taylor played it safe and didn’t make any changes to her hair colour, besides a few highlights here and there. Nevertheless, in the spring of 2019, Swift started experimenting again, albeit very subtly.
Whilst promoting her forthcoming single Me!on The Ellen Show, Taylor debuted baby blue dip-dyed strands at the front of her hair. Similarly, she was pictured entering her New York apartment on April 26thwith pink dip-dyed ends. Eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice that both colours correspond to the visuals for Taylor’s upcoming music era. So the subtle changes were, in fact, a promotional technique.
Final Words
So it seems that Taylor Swift has learned from past mistakes and will be sticking to her roots from here on out. With naturally blonde, shiny tresses like hers, who can blame her?