Back in May, Keke Palmer surprised us all when she casually unveiled a shaved head on Twitter.  And because she’s always been a standout, the actress and singer took her transformation a step further by adding purple dye into the mix.

Now, the star is opening up about her decision to shave her head and start again.  Like many who suffer from heat and chemical damage, Keke says she did the “big chop” not only as a style statement, but in an effort to help her strands grow back healthy and strong.

In a post to Instagram, she says that while she had tons of hair under weaves and braids, her natural tresses were damaged by heat.  

In an interview with Refinery29, Keke also revealed that she wanted to give her chance to grow and be free, saying,  “My texture has changed quite a bit over the years from all the things I’ve done to it. I really want to be able to let my hair rest and become it’s own thing.”  

Aside from getting creative with her hair, Keke has also been in the studio working on music. She recently unleashed a collaborative mixtape alongside friend Jane Handcock. Together, they call themselves “Keyana Nikole.”

The body of work comes on the heels of her solo mixtape Lauren and provides another taste of what we can expect from her full length studio album.  In the meantime, we’ll keep an eye out for her next hair transformation.