Reba McEntire Looks So Different With Her Natural Hair

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Though Reba McEntire has had a gorgeous hair transformation throughout her career, she's never strayed far from her fiery red tresses. The singer proudly waves the flag for redheads the world over, even celebrating National Redhead Day in 2024 with the Facebook message, "Long or short, either way I love being a redhead!" But while the breathtaking hue may be her natural color, her tresses have been styled into some, well, less than natural looks over the years. As she teased on Instagram in 2023, "If you want to get one of my signature looks, pull out your comb and get to teasing." 

The "Consider Me Gone" singer is also one of the celebrities who has been open and honest about wearing wigs. In her 2023 book, "Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots," she confirmed she wore a hairpiece in 1996 after cutting her hair short. "I finally debuted my short hair at the Country Music Association Awards show, and it felt so good!" she wrote.

But when her rich locks aren't concealed under a wig or styled and teased to the nth degree, McEntire looks totally different. She seemingly posed with her natural texture in a snap shared on Instagram by her friend and songwriter Carole King, to celebrate McEntire's birthday. The photo showed the country legend rocking stunning, shoulder length curls with eyebrow-skimming bangs and the top part of her hair pulled back. McEntire looked as beautiful as ever, but because we're so used to seeing her with sleeker styles and perfectly coiffed ends, her un-styled 'do really changed her look.

Back in the '80s, perms were all the rage. But unfortunately, Reba McEntire learned that natural curls and a perm don't always mix. She told Glamour, "In the early '80s I got a perm. I have natural curly hair. And so when my hair would be a little past my shoulders with a perm, it was just super tight because if you add a perm to natural curly hair, it looks angry. And it did." Still, while a perm may not have worked for McEntire, there's more to the style than meets the eye.

Trying out the then-trending perm isn't the only hair regret the superstar has. On "The Drew Barrymore Show," McEntire admitted she was no fan of the over-the-top mane she sported on the cover of her "Sweet Sixteen" album from 1989. "Look at that hair," the singer quipped after seeing the oh-so '80s cover photo. "Girl, I'm telling you what, I don't know what I was thinking," she said. 

But there's one look we have a feeling McEntire would be more open to trying again: her super short '90s cut. "It was freedom. I loved it. It was in '96 or '97 when I cut my hair off, and it was freeing," she told Glamour. And just like the many other fun and funky hairdos McEntire has tried, so did we.