Reba McEntire's Biggest Hair Regret Was A Major '80s Beauty Trend
Beyond her accomplishments in the music industry, Reba McEntire is also noteworthy for her ever-changing hair. She likely won't return to one cut, however, despite how long she initially wore it. "In the early '80s I got a perm," McEntire told Glamour in 2024. "I have natural curly hair. And so when my hair would be a little past my shoulders with a perm, it was just super tight because if you add a perm to natural curly hair, it looks angry. And it did." Like other '80s personalities, the "I'm a Survivor" singer opted for a boomer hair trend that isn't as popular with younger generations. Though she eventually grew tired of it, it took nearly two decades for her to say goodbye to this hairstyle that people actually found attractive in the '80s.
It wasn't until the late '90s that McEntire's hair said "Consider Me Gone," and she finally ditched the perm, which was her signature style at the time. The results were both liberating for her and a breath of fresh air for her fans. "It was in '96 or '97 when I cut my hair off, and it was freeing," she told Glamour. The various shoulder-length and shorter varieties she'd wear from then on were not only present in her public appearances, but also received mass exposure on her beloved TV sitcom, "Reba," and movies like "The Little Rascals."
Reba McEntire's hair is ever-changing
Although "The Night When The Lights Were Out In Georgia" singer Reba McEntire was once recognized for her curly, '80s-era perm, some fans may argue her later style choices stood out more as her definitive looks. Throughout the late '90s and early 2000s, McEntire sported several flavors of the beloved pixie cut and other shorter styles, including a wavy, shoulder-length cut she flashed at the "Charlotte's Web" premiere in 2006 in Los Angeles. More recent appearances, like her red carpet run during the 68th Grammy Awards in February 2026, show she's since grown out her hair. She's still, however, forgoing her natural curls, and she refuses to go back to the aggressive perm she now loathes.
Though her hair's innate curly texture was once one of her defining features, McEntire is sometimes almost unrecognizable rocking her natural hair today. A March 2025 Instagram post from the "It's Too Late" singer Carole King revealed McEntire sometimes lets loose and displays her native curls. The look, though uncharacteristic for McEntire nowadays, gives her a casual, relatable vibe, proving she doesn't always need to be done up to appear vibrant and beautiful. Although she seems married to either straightening her hair or giving it a flowy texture, photos such as King's instill hope that she may humor the public by giving them a better look at her curly 'do down the road.