Taraji P. Henson Just Cut Her Hair Super-Duper Short
Jason Pham
Taraji P. Henson may be known for her luscious dark brown locks as Cookie Lyon on “Empire”—or for her (now RIP-ed) chin-length bob IRL, but even the 46-year-old actress isn’t immune to switching things up for the summer. The “Empire” star cut her hair—big time—and we’re absolutely loving it.
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The actress showed off her new do a few days ago on Instagram. Blinged out with tasseled earrings and embellished sunglasses, Henson flaunted her stunning new look: an extremely short cut with shaved down sides showing off her flouncy natural curls.
There’s an empowering reason behind the Oscar nominee’s hair change, too. In an interview with Refinery29, the actress’s longtime hairstylist, Tym Wallace (who did the fab curly undercut), explained that Henson wanted to give her natural curls a breather, so she went all-out with the cut. According to Wallace, Henson also wanted to encourage black women to embrace their natural hair, which is why decided to flaunt her own.
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“It’s great to see a woman of her stature embrace her hair, and [cut] it so short. There’s a difference between wearing a natural textured wig or weave, and actually wearing your natural hair,” Wallace said. “She’s showing that she’s all for the black girl magic—showing these young black girls that you are not defined by what society paints as beautiful when it comes to a black woman and her hair. That was the main force for me.”
Wallace also teased that Henson has gone shorter and dyed her hair a different color since posting her Insta. Pics or it didn’t happen, Taraji.
