Rare Photos Of Dolly Parton's Natural Hair Prove Bigger Isn't Always Better

"When somebody says, 'How long does it take to do your hair?'" Dolly Parton told Vice, "I always say, 'I don't know, i'm never there!'" Alongside her honeyed ballads and Tennessee twang, big hair is part of the theater of her persona. It became as central to her act as the sequins on her gowns or the punchlines in her patter. Naturally, wigs emerged as the solution; the higher the bouffant, the closer to God (or, at least, the closer to the caricature she cultivated over her decade-spanning showbiz career). "That way, I never have a bad hair day," Parton explained to the Hallmark Channel. Unlike the many celeb wigs that looked insanely cheap, Parton's collection is an investment in her endearing image from small-town guitar girl to living legend. In time, her wig collection grew so large she joked it numbered 365 pieces – enough to crown every day of the year with a different presence.

But rewind to her earliest Nashville days, and you'll find a very different Dolly. In rare black-and-white photos from a recording studio, likely taken before her breakout with Porter Wagoner in 1967, she appears with her natural hair. Here, we see a more modest country darling. Her locks are teased for a softer lift, but with less of the drama her wigs later achieved. Incidentally, her outfit was equally restrained. A plain, fitted turtleneck sweater is positively tentative compared to the Dolly whose silhouette could be spotted from across an arena. But even in this pared-back form, we can tell she was always destined for superstardom. After all, Dolly's charm was never in the artifice alone.

Nevertheless, Dolly Parton's gorgeous hair transformation was summed up perfectly by the singer herself. "I think there is a little magic in the fact that I'm so totally real but look so artificial at the same time," she once said (via AnOther). She has long tested the outer edges of glamour, pushing beauty into spectacle and making it her signature. And she's never been shy about admitting what it takes to maintain the illusion. In an interview with BBC Newsnight, she revealed her secret with a knowing wink: "People say how do you stay looking so young? I say, well, good lighting, good doctors, and good makeup."

In makeup, Parton has led the charge with her glamorous, yet accessible approach. She once told Good Housekeeping she doesn't believe people should "have to spend a fortune on good things." This is good news for those who like to stay up-to-date on the best affordable beauty gifts. But the singer even launched her own cost-effective makeup line, Dolly Beauty, with hero products like her "Jolene Red" lipstick.

And when it comes to fashion, the singer always doubled down on exaggeration. Dolly dresses to amplify her hourglass figure with tightly cinched waists and plunging necklines. Sequins, fringe, feathers, tassels — nothing was ever too camp if it caught the light and drew the eye. Her look speaks to the same philosophy she immortalized playing Truvy Jones in "Steel Magnolias" — "there is no such thing as natural beauty." In Dolly's world, it's not about what you have, it's about what you make of it. Maybe we should all take a leaf out of her songbook.