Whether it’s to signal a big change like a break up or a new job, exhaustion from too much upkeep and damage, or even no reason at all, more and more of our favorite ladies have been cutting off their locks and starting over with fresh, natural, ultra short cuts.
For some of these celebs, it was a highly personal, difficult decision to transition to natural hair, while for others, it’s simply a fun change of pace. In any case, we love this bold, gorgeous style and the fact that we’ve been seeing more women embracing natural hair on stages and red carpets. Check out our 16 favorites in the gallery.
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1 Sanaa Lathan
IGThis actress has absolutely no qualms about saying “bye bye” to her old locs for her role in “Nappily Ever After.” -
2 Keke Palmer
Getty Images and Keke Palmer's TwitterKeke Palmer let it all go! Broadway’s former Cinderella revealed her big chop in an airport selfie boasting, “haters will say it’s photoshopped.” -
3 Jaden Smith
Who said big boys don’t big chop? Jaden Smith is the latest celebrity to debut his chop! The 18-year-old son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith had dad Will on had when he cut his dreads off. Are we loving this look on Jaden? -
4 Amandla Stenberg
Getty ImagesAmandla Stenberg is the latest celeb to join the “Big Chop Club.” The 17-year-old recently announced that she chopped her long, curly tresses for a new film entitled Where Hands Touch. -
5 Countess Vaughn
Getty Images and Countess Vaughn's InstagramThe actress recently went ahead and chopped off all of her hair after claiming to have suffered from the side effects of bad weave jobs. Countess claims that years of rocking lacefronts damaged her scalp and hairline and decided to start over again! -
6 Bre Scullark
Getty Images and Bre's InstagramRemember America’s Next Top Model contest Bre Scullark? The model who placed in the top 3 of cylce five was known for her luscious curly mane, but for the past few years, has been rocking a chopped ’do. -
7 Erykah Badu
Getty Images and Erykah's InstagramThe singer is no stranger to a daring ’do, which is why it’s no surprise that not long ago, Erykah debuted her big chop to fans. Love it! -
8 Viola Davis
Getty ImagesEver since the annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood event in 2012, Davis has been routinely rocking her natural ’do and we can’t get enough of it.
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9 Solange Knowles
Getty ImagesWe love Solange’s short look she’s been sporting in recent years. In a 2012 interview with Essence reposted on CurlyNikki, critical comments prompted Solange to defend herself on Twitter: “I’ve never painted myself as a team natural vice president.” Haters to the left!
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10 Chrisette Michele
Getty ImagesMichele’s philosophy is to have fun with her hair and not take it too seriously. Touring requires a lot of hairstyle upkeep, and after a piece got stuck to her head she decided to shaved it all off, she told Vibe.
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11 Jill Scott
Getty ImagesScott’s chop is so enviably gorgeous. She told Essence: “This is the simplest form of myself…Tomorrow I may want a wig down to my butt and I’m gonna rock it, and the next day I may want a big Afro and I’m gonna rock that too.”
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12 Raven-Symone
Getty ImagesRaven-Symone switches up her look a lot, and we love these rarely seen curls. She told CurlyNikki she usually wears it natural when she’s not working, and often people don’t recognize her.
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13 Kim Coles
Getty ImagesWe’re all about Coles’ natural curls, AND her YouTube video series which documents her decision to chop and the transition to her new look.
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14 Kelis
Getty ImagesWe’ve almost never seen Kelis with the same hairstyle twice, but our fave just might be this short red cut.
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15 Tamera Mowry-Housley
Getty ImagesAs you probably remember, Tia and Tamera Mowry wore their natural curls on Sister, Sister. After more heavy styling as an adult, Mowry-Housley got a fresh start by chopping her locks in 2014.
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16 Jennifer Hudson
Getty ImagesWe adore Hudson’s cropped hair. She told Vogue the look was doubly inspired by Grace Jones, and her recent move to New York City to star in The Color Purple on Broadway.
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17 Nicole Ari Parker
Getty ImagesParker went natural in recent years partly because, she told CurlyNikki, she wanted her young and impressionable daughter to love her own natural hair.
Originally created by By Frank Donovan, updated and edited by Soraya Joseph.
