Halsey's Hair History: From Wigs To Watercolors

From flowing "Badlands" blue to sleek and short blonde, Halsey has never been afraid to change up her personal or onstage style, with hair serving as a major mode of expression for the New Jersey native. Long-time fans of the singer-songwriter, who uses she/they pronouns, know that they have gone through countless different cuts and colors since releasing their debut album in 2015. "I never have any reasoning for why I do anything with my hair," they told Allure in 2018. "I usually wake up one day and decide I want a change, and then I do whatever is easiest and the most fun and different."

Halsey also lands on the list of celebrities who were open and honest about wearing wigs, with the "Closer" singer using faux hair pieces to channel specific aesthetics and looks, as seen with the promotional countdown to their album "The Great Impersonator." Wigs can also be a practical choice, after the star revealed online in 2022 that she had been opting for wigs to give their natural curls a chance to grow. While Halsey has undergone enough hair transformations to fill a book, we've spotlighted some highlights from her hair history, chronicling some of their most noteworthy wigs and colors. 

Halsey was a rising star when she first performed at the Texas-based festival SXSW. The then-20-year-old had cultivated an online following, released the hit single "Ghost" on SoundCloud, and signed with a record label by the time she took the stage in March 2015. Their bright blue hair, which made it onto the cover of their debut album "Badlands," was a defining element of this early era, reflecting her Tumblr-centric sense of alternative style and her unexpected approach to pop music. Though they've gone on to have plenty of head-turning cuts and colors, this watercolor-esque blue remains one of the pop star's most iconic hair hues.

By the end of 2015, Halsey had nixed their iconic blue waves in favor of a beauty-reset buzzcut. They opened up about the decision to Nylon, explaining that their biracial identity as the child of a Black father and white mother played a part in the decision. "Hair has also been a big indicator of racial issues in my life," she said. "It's one of the ultimate symbolic struggles for women of color. Shaving my head was important to me because I needed to be able to prove that I could still love myself if I did it."

Next, Halsey stepped out in September 2017 with her hair dyed black and styled in a side-parted, shoulder-length cut. Earlier that year, the pop star had adopted another buzzcut ahead of the release of their sophomore album, "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom," and chose New York Fashion Week as an opportunity to sport her edgy, easy 'do. The more au naturel style demonstrates Halsey's versatility when it comes to wigs and hairstyles, with the dark color suiting the performer.

Halsey has gone blonde several times throughout her career, with the "Closer" singer pairing the platinum hue with a bob-length cut in 2018 to cultivate a baddie-inspired aesthetic. They rocked a loosely curled look reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe's iconic curly bob for the February amfAR Gala, opting to slick back her blonde locks for a grunge-inspired punk rock look at a Hollywood fashion launch in March. "There's something cool about short blonde hair because you can do anything with it," they told Allure, explaining that they chose the style at the beginning of their "Hopeless Fountain Kingdom" album cycle. "You can color it; you can add a wig over the top. I like that kind of blank slate."

Halsey took to the internet to show off their natural hair texture in August 2018, landing on the list of celebs you probably didn't realize have naturally curly hair. "New growth, new growth; all these fades I outgrew," they captioned a curly-haired mirror selfie shared to X. While many fans were supportive of the look, some internet users theorized that the pop star was actually sporting a wig. "I can't believe I spent a whole damn year growing out my curls under those wigs for y'all to say my natural hair looks like a wig," she tweeted in response. "Some f****d up s**t lmao."

More colorful Halsey moments came in early 2019, with the singer-songwriter pairing shades of pink with two different hair lengths. First, she wore a grown-out pixie in a peachy shade at a Saks Fifth Avenue event in February before sporting a pastel wig with dark roots at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in March. Just like blonde, pink is a hair color that Halsey is very familiar with, with the singer lightheartedly commenting on the fact in 2020. "Just realized I have gone through a pink hair phase every year since 2014," she wrote on X. "I am: a cliche."

Halsey has embraced her bisexual identity since she rose to fame in 2015, with their 2019 MTV Video Music Awards hairstyle repping their LGBTQIA+ pride. The "Colors" singer wore rainbow roots with a dark, long wig, pairing the colorful coiffure with a multi-colored marble-print dress with revealing cut-outs. In 2021, they also transitioned to using she/they pronouns, revealing on social media that their pregnancy was a major influence. "I thought pregnancy would give me very strong, binary feelings about 'womanhood' but truly it has leveled my perception of gender entirely," Halsey wrote (per Teen Vogue).

Ahead of the January 2020 release of their third album, "Manic," Halsey stepped out at the ARIA Awards with a short and sleek black hairstyle paired with a colorful custom outfit. A stark difference from the dual pink looks they sported at the beginning of the year, the chin-length cut was styled with subtle finger-waves and slicked back with flippy ends tucked behind the ears. The overall ensemble couples well with the cover of their third record, channeling a whimsical technicolor vibe and featuring a similarly short, but slightly more polished, hairstyle.

Next, Halsey pulled out all the stops at the 2023 Paris Fashion Week, using a variety of wigs to make various head-turning fashion statements. One of our favorite examples is the towering wig they rocked at the Vivienne Westwood runway show, with the dark hair piece featuring hints of dark purple and subtle streaks of red. The unexpected wig, which feels reminiscent of the medieval-inspired imagery of her album "If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power," wasn't even the most eye-catching hairstyle they wore during the fashion week. The stringy, neon-orange cut sported at the Ottolinger show takes that title, with the unconventional ensemble looking like it was pulled straight out of "The Fifth Element."

While Halsey worked several wigged looks for the rollout of their 2024 album "The Great Impersonator," taking on the personas of music legends across the decades, the singer-songwriter opted for a bright red hue for the 2024 MTV Music Awards. They rocked the red carpet with a middle-parted, chest-length wig before transitioning to an edgy pixie cut for their performance of "Ego," demonstrating just how well the artist can pull off colorful hairstyles of any length. Even though we've seen so many different looks from the icon, we're always waiting to see what hairstyle Halsey will be sporting next.