Rihanna's Hair Evolution Will Leave You At A Loss For Words

Rihanna is a beauty chameleon, to say the very least. The singer-turned-entrepreneur is no stranger to debuting striking hair changes and has been doing so ever since she first stepped onto the scene in 2005. Through the years, she's blessed fans with just about every style under the sun, from edgy pompadours and choppy mullets to side bangs and natural curls. The most impressive part of all is that the hitmaker always looks incredible — so much so that she can even make the early aughts pouf covetable, and that might be the biggest triumph of all.

In a 2011 Vogue interview, Rihanna famously said, “When I cut my hair, the whole sound changed, my style changed,” referring to the first time she cut her hair short in 2007. After that, changing up her hairstyle became her thing, and both fans and fashion aficionados took notice, thrilled to see what look she’d stun in next, be it short or long, textured or sleek, wavy or straight. To this day, it’s one of the many things fans love her for, and to show said love for the star, TZR compiled photos of her incredible hair evolution, starting with her early days in the music business to the present day as the beauty industry’s reigning queen.

2006 on NBC’s Today Show

Yes, even Rihanna rocked the pouf in the mid-2000s.

2008 Brit Awards

The "Umbrella" hitmaker epitomized 2000s beauty with a side-swept pixie cut.

2010 Grammy Awards

It doesn't get much more iconic than Rihanna's cool pompadour hairdo, teamed with a white feathered dress.

2011 Grammy Awards

The entrepreneur famously debuted red hair in 2010, and this bouncy side-parted blowout is a favorite from the red-haired Rihanna era.

2012 Grammys

Rihanna’s blonde and beachy Grammy's hair is timelessly epic.

2013 Grammys

This photo goes down in balayage history as one of RiRi's prettiest hairstyles of all time.

2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards

From Rihanna's bantu knots to her metallic teal lipstick, she stole the show at the fourth annual ceremony.

2015 Met Gala

Rihanna’s retro, ‘60s-inspired hair flip is what takes the musician’s bob to the next level.

2019 at The Fashion Awards

The Fenty Beauty founder’s cascading Fulani braids were the perfect accompaniment to her Cinderella-esque gown.

2021

Rihanna was one of the many celebrities to modernize the mullet in 2021 — and damn, did it work.