Willow Smith says shaving head was ‘the most radical thing’

Willow Smith isn’t whipping her hair back and forth anymore – for good reason. 

The 21-year-old daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith opened up about her hair journey in a new interview with Glamour UK.

“I like to see a glare on my scalp, a bounce of light,” the “Purge” rocker, who has been sporting the ‘do for years now, explained.

“Shaving my head is maybe the most radical thing I’ve done in the name of beauty.”

Willow explained that “as a Black woman, there were a lot of layers” to her relationship with her hair and skin growing up.

“However I’m feeling, I like to do that,” she added, of trying out different hairstyles.

“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.”

In July 2020, Willow famously shaved her head onstage while performing “Whip My Hair” during a Facebook Live event promoting her fourth album. “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,” Willow shared in a behind-the-scenes clip.

In March of that same year, the “Meet Me At Our Spot” singer shaved her head during a performance art piece called “The Anxiety.” At the time, Willow invited people to observe her and spent 24 hours in a glass room at the Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles.

For her part, Willow’s mom, Pinkett Smith, has been very vocal about her battle with alopecia over the years, long before it came to a head at the Oscars, when Will slapped Chris Rock onstage over a joke about it. 

The “Girls Trip” actress was inspired by the “Emo Girl” singer to debut her own fresh buzzcut in July 2021. “Willow made me do it because it was time to let go,” she captioned her Instagram post about the ‘do.