Cynthia Erivo reveals why she shaves her head – NBC Boston

Originally appeared on E! Online

No wizard that there is or was can change Cynthia Erivo’s stunning look.

After all, she adores her clean-shaven head. While reflecting on her beauty evolution, the “Wicked” star shared why she isn’t interested in growing out her hair.

“This is what I want to look like,” Erivo, 38, told Harper’s Bazaar in an interview published Oct. 28. “I love a heel, I love a nail, I love a jaw, I love a bald head, I love a good outfit. It is legitimately a way of just expressing parts of myself.”

Indeed, the Broadway actor isn’t afraid to experiment with her hair. She’s worn several different styles over the years, including braids, a buzz cut, an underrated bob, and short blonde curls. However, Erivo took an extra bold step and shaved her head — and later, her brows — when she became Elphaba alongside Ariana Grande’s Glinda in 2021. (Similar to her costar, Grande went through her own transformation and dyed her signature brown hair blonde.)

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And with Erivo sporting such a dramatic look, she’s created a go-to moisturizing routine to keep the cut fresh.

“Between each shave, maybe like three days, [I’ll use a] hot towel immediately,” she explained to Refinery 29’s Unbothered in February. “Keep the pores open with a little spray, like a tea tree one, to make sure everything is taken care of.”

After hydrating her skin, the “Defying Gravity” singer then locks those steps in with Beyoncé’s Cecred Hair Oil.

“It just keeps everything good,” she gushed over the popular product. “Keeps the scalp really moisturized and healthy.”

Though her bald cut has become synonymous with her role as the Wicked Witch, this look also represents her years-long self-love journey. In fact, the “Color Purple” alum revealed she tried to shave her head at the start of her career, but it didn’t go as planned.

“I remember saying to myself, ‘I’d like to walk into a room and have people just see my face,’” she told Self in March 2023. “[My hairdresser] would only cut some of it. So I left with a haircut that I didn’t want. I allowed her fears or something she was projecting onto me to affect how I made my decision.”

Erivo eventually found another stylist to give her the chop of her dreams, and that comforting interaction made her realize that “my beauty doesn’t stem from how I do my hair.”

“Being powerful is every day finding what the most authentic version of yourself is that day and sticking with it, not allowing other people’s perception of who you are or what you are sway you,” she continued. “How you feel about yourself — that’s powerful for me.”

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