Beyoncé Shares Why She Cut off All Her Hair After Becoming a Mom

Musical icon Beyoncé has expanded her empire far beyond the stage, like with her brand lines BeyGOOD and IVY PARK. On February 20, she’ll be launching Cécred, a hair product brand titled with a portmanteau of her name. To promote the new venture, the Renaissance star gave a rare interview with Essence Magazine, reflecting on her relationship to her hair, especially since becoming a mother.

In one passage, Beyoncé shared more about her thought process when she chopped off a significant amount of her hair in 2013, wearing it in a pixie cut and shocking fans.

“I remember the day I decided to just cut all my hair off,” Beyoncé began. “I didn’t have a particular style in mind. It wasn’t an aesthetic choice, but it was a very big emotional transformation and metamorphosis that I was going through. So much of my identity as a performer has been connected to flowing hair. Cutting my hair off was me rebelling against being this woman that society thinks I’m supposed to be.”

She went on, “I was a new mother, and something about the liberation of becoming a mother made me want to just shed all of that. It was a physical representation of me shedding the expectations put upon me. I just wanted it off. Neal Farinah, my hairstylist and friend, was freaking out because it was really long, really thick and really healthy. I just got the scissors and chopped it off. It was very intentional. And it was what I needed to do. And after that, I became super brave. It was the first step to many more audacious decisions I made in my life and my career that have led to who I am now.”

The star also shared some details about watching her mother, Tina Knowles, working in her hair salon and how haircare is a family legacy.

“I saw her shampooing and trimming hair, transforming women, leaving them feeling really good,” Beyoncé recalled. “Looking back, it was more than just a hair appointment—it was therapy. I worked in her salon, sweeping the floors and helping out where I could. I used to eavesdrop and listen in on their conversations intently. It was a sacred space for these women.”

Read the full interview with Essence here.