In the words of Beyoncé’s colorist, Rita Hazan: “Beyoncé always wanted [her hair] to be lighter,” she tells ESSENCE. But, with the icon kicking off her Cowboy Carter tour this week, she’s found an updated Western compliment to the previous tour look she coined as “Renaissance blonde.” Introducing, the Western wave.
While last year was all about her brass-less blonde hair color, there’s a new style in town for her Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit 32-stop roll out. Big Western curls took center stage at the first stop in Los Angeles, with her brown roots hidden under a white cowboy hat (we expected nothing less from the Houston native).
Although she’s been seen in a number of styles recently, from a 1920s bob for the launch of her SirDavis American Whiskey brand and extra long platinum micro braids on her tour announcement, still, nothing says Cowboy Carter more than soft, horse-drawn curls.
The tour hairstyle, by Neal Farinah, follows her Grammy Award-winning reclamation of the country genre, a style of music originally owned by Black people, now defined by a collection of big, full-bodied barrel curls on a Kim Kimble wig. With Cécred being the official beauty partner of her tour (obviously), blonde waves plumped with her Moisture Sealing Lotion and Nourishing Hair Oil nodded to the hydrated bounce we saw on stage the first night.
And, with 31 remaining stops on her tour, blonde Western waves are officially the style representing Beyoncé’s cowboy era.