Gwen Stefani's Complete Hair Transformation

Not many celebrities can say that they've had success in the entertainment industry for over three decades, but one who can is the queen of pop rock and ska punk: Gwen Stefani. Whether you know her as the unapologetic lead singer of the '90s band No Doubt or you love her because of her bolsterous solo pop era in the 2000s, there's no denying that Stefani has left her mark on the industry. And when it comes to her look, most people will agree on one thing: Stefani looks like she has barely aged since her breakthrough.

In fact, one of the main ways we can distinguish when an image of her was taken is based on the hairstyle she's rocking in it, as her locks have changed a lot over the years. From a blond bob to dyed hair ends and super-sleek and ultra-long tresses, the "Truth" singer has given us a variety of looks over the years without straying too far from her signature platinum-blond mane.

When the ska-rock band No Doubt was formed in 1986, lead vocalist Gwen Stefani had no idea that her fame would skyrocket like it did. In 1992, the band released its self-titled debut album, and Stefani became a part of female punk-rock history. At the time, the singer's look was quirky, fun, and unpredictable. Stefani rocked a short bob haircut, which always looked bouncy and slightly messy during her performances. Whether she was rocking it in soft, natural-looking beachy waves or as a flippy bob (proving that short hair is super fun), Stefani's hairstyles showed everyone that a bob is anything but boring. We didn't know it at the time, but the musician's brave experimentation with hair was only foreshadowing the hair evolution that was yet to come.

Reflecting on her early looks for Teen Vogue in 2014, Stefani admitted that she was always looking for inspiration around her while growing up. "I wasn't rebellious at all—I was just curious," she told the outlet. "I just knew what affected me in a positive way and went from there. I was actually a big copycat! I would see all these girls who had cool style and were just different, and I knew I wanted to be like that," Stefani revealed, adding, "I'd see something I liked and then sort of make it my own — you keep doing that and it becomes a sort of evolution of your style." She's got a point!

After No Doubt's debut album was released, Gwen Stefani's style became known as a mix of punk, goth, and pop princess, as the musician effortlessly pulled off mixing and matching a variety of styles. When Teen Vogue asked her in 2014 whether she regretted any of her early looks, Stefani replied, "I don't really get embarrassed about it, but I definitely look back at certain moments and don't think I look good...but I know why! I didn't have a hair stylist, I did all my own makeup, and I was going to the local fabric store for all of my outfits," she admitted. The best part? Her style was so authentic that she said she would have embraced the same hairstyles and outfits regardless of whether people would see them on a grand scale or not.

In the mid-'90s, the singer's hair became lighter and lighter as platinum blond became her signature look, and she added blunt bangs to her bob haircut. Additionally, Stefani experimented with black lowlights, showcasing the decade's version of the popular skunk hair trend of the early 2020s.

Cultural appropriation has been a problem in Hollywood for a long time, and in the late '90s, Gwen Stefani was one musician who experimented with hairstyles that originated from cultures outside of her own. In particular, Stefani donned Bantu knots and cornrows, two hairstyles that come from Africa.

Stefani also experimented with bold hair colors during this period, even dying her hair baby blue and pink. Speaking about the pink hair to Vogue in 2019, the singer admitted that it was a result of dramatic changes in her life that left her wanting to find a creative outlet with which to work through them. What did she turn to? Her hair, of course. "I was really confused at this time. I was 29 years old... I didn't have any budgets. I didn't have a stylist. It was literally on my own with all guys. I wanted my hair like cotton candy light hair," she explained. "I had this vision of what I wanted and I ended up with fuchsia pink hair for like a year." We've all been there!

As we entered the new millennium, Gwen Stefani decided that it was time to say goodbye to her colorful hair and introduce a more classic look instead: Old-Hollywood curls. No Doubt's lead singer was all about embracing a more vintage, Marilyn Monroe-like aesthetic, often combining her platinum-blond locks with a classic red lip. In fact, Stefani was known for creating the perfect '90s wine-red lip for years, so going slightly lighter with the shade of red she would go for didn't come as a big surprise.

Now that Stefani had said goodbye to her pink and blue hair, she was once again embracing platinum blond, a color that perfectly suited her pin-up-girl hairstyle. The musician was all about achieving maximum volume at the roots, and having shoulder-length hair definitely helped add that lightness to her look.

With the release of No Doubt's fifth studio album, "Rock Steady," in 2001, Gwen Stefani's style became more punk rock, and her hair followed suit. This meant going to extremes by rocking super-long hair one day and short hair the next. Stefani stuck to her signature shade of platinum blond but experimented with the length, presumably with the help of extensions. Half-updos with extreme poufs were the norm, and when she went short, she leaned into her punk-rock aesthetic by having it ultra straight and somewhat choppy.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2002, Stefani admitted that having people discuss her style wasn't something she was used to. "Any perception of you is weird. You have your own life and reality, and anything people might think of you is their own perception," she explained. "It's like when you don't see someone for a while, and they say, 'Your hair's grown', or, 'You're so skinny', and you don't realise it about yourself."

By the time the mid-2000s rolled around, Gwen Stefani was exploring her luck as a solo artist. In 2004, the singer — who was now in her mid-30s — released her debut solo studio album, "Love. Angel. Music. Baby.," and her career exploded. Inspired by the Harajuku area of Tokyo, Japan, the album contained numerous songs dedicated to Japanese style. "Everyone had this crazy personal style," Stefani told Rolling Stone in 2005, reflecting on visits to Tokyo. "The last couple of times I was there, it had evolved into all these different things like the Gothic Lolitas and these girls with blond hair and dark tans and high-heel shoes, like they were from Hollywood." While her album was a major success at the time, Stefani was once again called out for appropriating a culture, this time using Harajuku style to further her success.

Around this time, Stefani sported a variety of hairstyles; however, her most prominent look was the messy curls she frequently wore when attending industry events. In 2004, the musician attended the premiere of the Hollywood blockbuster "The Aviator," in which she appeared, and her red-carpet look consisted of voluminous and slightly messy curls that were tamed by a delicate pin with crystals. "Even if I'm not getting my picture taken, I've always enjoyed the process of getting ready," Stefani told Elle in 2007. "I have a high tolerance for sitting in the makeup chair. I'm the kind of person who spends most of my time getting ready for a party and then leaving within half an hour because I'm bored!"

Any millennial surely remembers the hair pouf trend from the 2000s that made an epic comeback in recent years. Many celebs rocked the hairstyle at the time, but one of the leading ladies of the aughts who pulled it off better than most is none other than "Rich Girl" singer Gwen Stefani. 

Between 2008 and 2010, the singer rocked various versions of the pouf, showing everyone just how versatile the trend can be. From a slightly messy updo to a retro version of it, the style added height and volume, and Stefani was undoubtedly a fan of that. Combined with her signature eyeliner and red lip, the bouffant hairstyle quickly became one of the musician's trademark looks — and her go-to hair choice for red-carpet events.

By the early 2010s, Gwen Stefani was the undeniable queen of icy hair. Anyone who has ever rocked the color knows that maintaining platinum-blond hair is more expensive than most think, but luckily, Stefani can afford the regular expenditure.

In 2012, the singer revealed to Harper's Bazaar that she fell in love with the light shade when she was 25. "It was like I'd unlocked the key," Stefani said, recalling that she spent eight hours getting her hair bleached. "I remember feeling like, 'I have arrived. This is me. Finally.'" The other part of her signature look, her red lips, was something she grew to love thanks to her grandmother, who gifted Stefani a red lipstick when she was a teenager. "I remember sitting in my ghetto, beat-up Honda Prelude and putting on that lipstick in the rearview mirror and being like, 'Uh-huh, I like that. That's the s*** right there.' I never stopped after that," she admitted. And now we can't imagine her wearing any other look for this long!

While Gwen Stefani's hair was never boring, in the mid-2010s, the star — who joined "The Voice" as a coach during this period — seemingly brought back some of that daring '90s edge back. In particular, she wowed us with two hairstyles, both of which involved dying the ends of her hair. When Stefani showed up at the 2014 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas red carpet, her striped red hair and deep side part definitely made an unforgettable statement. Two years later, the singer attended the 102.7 KIIS FM's Wango Tango red carpet, and her ends were jet black, creating a perfect contrast to her icy locks. 

In a 2015 conversation with ET, Stefani admitted that she has been dying her hair for decades. "Nothing here is me. Everything is fake," she said. When the interviewer asked what her natural hair color looks like, the star simply said, "Um, who knows? I haven't seen it since ninth grade." In 2016, Stefani's hairstylist, Danilo Dixon, opened up about their process to E! News. "I am very devoted and I have a wonderful collaborator," the celebrity hairstylist said. "I have a theory and Gwen has a desire. ... The truth is Gwen's hair has a career too. It has to entertain, it has to perform," Dixon added. The kicker? Dixon created a "high-lift formula" that allows him to color her hair without bleach. "We haven't used bleach since 2004," he confirmed.

As the late 2010s were approaching, Gwen Stefani wasn't experimenting with her hair color anymore. The pop star stuck to blond; however, the shade wasn't as cool-toned and icy as it had been a couple of years prior. "We color her hair every Monday before we film The Voice. Gwen's an Italian girl with wavy brown hair — if you look at the video for 'Cool,' we did her in her natural shade, maybe a little darker," Danilo Dixon told Allure in 2017. The hairstylist added of her hair, "People are, like, 'That's not natural,' and I say, 'Of course it is — it's supernatural.'"

While Stefani was sticking to her signature combo of blond hair and red lips, she did switch things up at the end of the decade by rocking bouncy ponytails more frequently. From a super-sleek and tight high ponytail to a voluminous one with a pouf, Stefani — or, rather, her hairstylist — always managed to find the right ponytail for her face shape.

As we know, 2020 was marked by the coronavirus pandemic, and for the world of the rich and famous, that meant fewer public outings and more video recordings from home. However, by 2021, social-distancing rules weren't as strict, and we got to see stars like Gwen Stefani hit red carpets again.

During this period, the "Hollaback Girl" singer rocked her signature platinum-blond color; however, this time around, it was very long and perfectly straight. The new hairstyle, most likely enhanced with extensions, was also a focal point of her 2022 Met Gala look. The sleek hair, styled with a middle part, brought a modern edge to the singer's look, proving that her style was as youthful as ever even though she was in her early 50s.

In 2023, Gwen Stefani admitted that feeling pretty in your 50s doesn't always come easily. "Especially at my age now, I feel like there's so many people that are around my age that just want to still feel pretty, you know what I'm saying? [We want to] feel good and wake up in the morning," Stefani told People that year, revealing that getting ready is non-negotiable. "It's part of [me] putting the armor on and getting ready to do what I do and be that version of me," she said. "It's really therapeutic because it's very artful."

While Stefani was always open to experimenting with hairstyles (even though she remained loyal to her hair color), as the mid-2020s were approaching, the musician continued exploring a variety of looks, often rocking bold updos on red carpets. For the 2023 CMT Music Awards, Stefani went with a funky double-bun hairstyle, proving that there isn't much the singer can't pull off. In fact, in 2024, the singer even explored viral styles, giving the jellyfish haircut a short-lived chance. 

Between the red lipstick and platinum-blond hair, Gwen Stefani is one of the few artists who has managed to switch up their look over the years without really straying too far from what they know suits them. Today, Stefani is still rocking her locks blond and long, a look that allows her to have fun with different hairstyles. In fact, this May, we got to see Gwen Stefani's beautifully sculpted hair at the 2025 AMAs, though it couldn't save her outfit. 

Considering that she rose to fame looking similar to how she does now, it's not surprising that Gwen Stefani is unrecognizable with her natural hair. While we have no doubt that the musician will stick to her signature look, we're looking forward to seeing how she spices things up in the years to come. After all, if there's one thing we do know about Stefani, it's that she was never one to fear change. So, who knows — perhaps there's an edgy bob or messy shag lurking in her future?