Willow Smith Calls Shaving Her Head "The Most Radical Thing" She's Done "In The Name Of Beauty"

She may have risen to fame with "Whip My Hair," but the 21-year-old has loved sporting a shaved head in the years since.

BYHayley Hynes
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Jada Pinkett Smith expressed how hard it was to shave her head amidst her ongoing battle with alopecia, but her 21-year-old daughter Willow Smith has never been one to shy away from rocking a buzz cut.

During a recent interview with Glamour UK, the "Female Energy" songstress opened up about her hair journey, and how she came to carry herself with so much confidence without any hair to hide behind. "I like to see a glare on my scalp, a bounce of light," Willow explained.

Willow Smith Calls Shaving Her Head "The Most Radical Thing" She's Done "In The Name Of Beauty"
Willow Smith performs in 2021 -- Jason Koerner/Getty Images

"Shaving my head is maybe the most radical thing I've done in the name of beauty," the California native declared, adding that, "as a Black woman, there were a lot of layers" to her relationship with learning to love her hair and skin while growing up.

Never one to walk away from experimenting with a new style, the "Meet Me At Our Spot" hitmaker said, "However I’m feeling, I like to do that" of her daily getting ready routine.

"I don’t really like to think about it too much. I love to be free with it. I think just being me sometimes is radical."


As Page Six notes, Willow shaved her head onstage in the summer of 2020 during a performance of "Whip My Hair." Speaking on the famous moment, she said, "I’m always shaving my head at monumental times in my life when things are really changing. And this is definitely one of those moments."

Elsewhere in her interview, the 21-year-old opened up about being a Black rock singer, and the backlash she's faced because of it – read more about that here, and tap back in with HNHH later for more pop culture news updates.

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About The Author
Hayley Hynes is the former Weekend Managing Editor of HotNewHipHop, she stepped down after two years in 2024 to pursue other creative opportunities but remains on staff part-time to cover music, gossip, and pop culture news. Currently, she contributes similar content on Blavity and 21Ninety, as well as on her personal blog where she also offers tarot/astrology services. Hayley resides on the western side of Canada, previously spending a year in Vancouver to study Fashion Marketing at Blanche Macdonald Centre and Journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary before that. She's passionate about helping others heal through storytelling, and shares much more about her life on Instagram @hayleyhynes.