4 min read
When it comes to pop star hair changes, no one has had more drastic cut, color, and style switch-ups than Christina Aguilera. “I get bored easily, and you know me—always needing to keep it moving and interesting and inspiring,” she tells Harper’s Bazaar over Zoom.
The singer says she’s proud of all her hair eras. “I think if I got to this point in my career and felt like I left things on the table yet to be explored, I’d be so disappointed and bummed of myself,” she says. “I’m really happy that I lived a full life and career of lots of looks, experimented, got things out of my system, and that I had the courage to do it early on and not be afraid of taking risks. Plus, having fun with the creative process and expressing myself through hair.”
After decades of hair changes, Aguilera is making her status as a hair icon official as the new face of Nexxus. “Bringing hair back from black to blond is always a process, but thank God for great products,” she says. “I’m obsessed with the Nexxus Keraphix leave-in, especially because my hair can be very dry through all the travel and changes. I want something that can last and not just rinse out, so it’s a win.”
Ahead, Aguilera breaks down four of her most iconic looks, explaining why she chose that style and what each style meant to her hair (and music) journey.
“Dirrty” Era
Stuart Mostyn
“It’s always been really important to make expression first and foremost in my creative process, and taking risks. It was really important to me early on not to feel boxed in or to play it too safe. So straight out the gate, once I got the creative freedom to make the album, I wanted to express myself wholeheartedly and authentically. I wanted to have fun—especially for a song and music video like “Dirrty.” The David LaChapelle video alone was so fun and had so many characters, and portrayals of freedom. I had done blond my whole life, up until then. It was a mix-and-match and kind of an introduction to dyeing my hair full black, which was fun. Between the last record being blond and then experimenting with the darker elements that consisted within the [Stripped] album itself and the song. It was a little naughty, a little nice, and we had fun with that. The content and material of Stripped were versatile and had different elements of the light and the dark, so it was natural for the hair to be in alignment with the music.
“Lady Marmalade” for Moulin Rouge
KMazur
“This was in association with the film Moulin Rouge. It was an incredible cast of actors and the talent on set with me, and a very female-empowered moment, when we all got to come together and sing that song; I still love doing it in my sets today, and I love that it’s a part of my catalog. It is a very specific look for the movie and for Baz Luhrmann. I had to get into character and role-play for this, which was super fun for me. I got to experiment with being over-the-top—this showgirl playfulness and Parisian flair that came with the role. I wanted to have so much fun with the look and be big and over-the-top. With my little tiny frame, the hair was the main star of the show. It was a more-is-more moment. From the makeup (by Joanne Garrett) to the costuming, everything was full on and super fun.”
“Fighter” Music Video
“That video definitely had a darker undertone and concept. I loved working with [Director] Floria Sigismondi, who came up with the twisted ballerinas and this idea of me being a moth to a flame, sort of, with cotton-candy hair, to then the black, very stylistic, super specific hair. We had some wig play in that, too, in order to preserve hair and take the damage off of real hair. I’m no stranger to letting my hair have a little taste of it all, but the looks in that video were specific to the dark undertones.”
Marilyn Monroe–Inspired Hair at the MTV Music Video Awards in 2006
Christopher Polk
“Presently, the words icon and legend are thrown around a bit too carelessly, but Marilyn is one of the ultimate, tried-and-true legends of our history, time, cinema, and Hollywood. So, how can you not use her as an eternal inspiration? But at the time, it was around the Back to Basics era, so there was a strong influence from the 1920s, 30s, and even 50s. Even the music was stylistically inspired by those eras. She was definitely a part of the mood board, as were Brigitte Bardot and Marlene Dietrich. I was experimenting with all kinds of beauty queens across eras. But also, being specific to that musical era and genre, I was aiming to pay homage to the greats of music, and where it originally stems from, like blues or jazz.”
