Beyoncé is sharing the story behind her dramatic hair transformation in 2013 when she decided to cut off her signature long locks.
Before launching her new hair care line, Cécred, the music icon opened up to Essence about the personal significance of her latest business venture, explaining how doing her hair has been a ritualistic and therapeutic process since she was a child.
The "Cuff It" singer, who is the publication's March/April cover star for its Beauty Issue, reflected on her hair journey during the interview, including the time she surprised fans in 2013 with a big chop.
"I love how we associate a certain hairstyle with moments in our lives, like that short-hair moment," she told Essence, referring to her pixie cut. "I remember the day I decided to just cut all my hair off. 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."
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Beyoncé continued, "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 also pointed out that she changed her look about a year after welcoming her first child, daughter Blue Ivy Carter, with husband Jay-Z.
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The music superstar said at the time she felt "the liberation of becoming a mother" and wanted a look that reflected this new stage in her life.
"It was a physical representation of me shedding the expectations put upon me. I just wanted it off," she explained.
Fans were shocked when she posted a selfie of her shorter hairdo on social media. Even her hairstylist and friend Neal Farinah was "freaking out" at the time because the singer cut her tresses herself, she revealed.
"I just got the scissors and chopped it off. It was very intentional," she shared. "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."
That moment and experiences working in her mother's hair salon as a child inspired Cécred, which Beyoncé told the publication was an idea she has been workshopping with mom Tina Knowles since she was a teenager.
Although she has been pondering the idea for year, she first announced the upcoming release of her hair care line in an Instagram post. Feb. 6.
She shared a video of a projector showing some throwback clips, including one of her as a child, as well as new videos of people getting their hair done.
In the clip, there are also shots of her mother's salon, called "Headliners Hair Salon," as well as another clip of her as a little girl standing next to Knowles.
The video conveyed how personally connected Beyoncé's is to her new company.
Read on to learn everything there is to know about the new hair care line and how much it matters to her.
What is Beyoncé's new hair care line called and when will it be available?
On Instagram, Beyoncé revealed her new hair care line will be called Cécred and it will be made available on Feb. 20.
The "Break My Soul" singer also shared a link to a website for her new line, which features an array of clips. The homepage asks fans to register their email address for upcoming updates. No information has been made available just yet.
What does Cécred mean?
When speaking with Essence, Beyoncé shared how she came up with the name for her hair care brand. She also mentioned how it connects to her past treatments for psoriasis.
"The relationship we have with our hair is such a deeply personal journey. From spending my childhood in my mother’s salon to my father applying oil on my scalp to treat my psoriasis — these moments have been sacred to me," she explained to the magazine.
According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, psoriasis is a chronic disease that make patches of skin "scaly and inflamed."
Beyoncé spoke about salons and barbershops being places of relaxation and community, too. She referred to them as a type of "sanctuary."
The "Texas Hold 'Em" singer said she created a hair care line that reflected that "sacred" experience.
"So I took the end of my name, Cé, and made it the beginning of the word sacred to create Cécred," she explained. "From my mother’s salon, daily rituals with my father, and years of experience in developing a hair care line, the journey has been just that: Cécred."
What has Beyoncé said about her new hair care line?
Beyoncé shared details about the family salon she mentioned in her Instagram post when she chatted with Essence.
She said that Knowles' salon was a part of their home.
"(Tina Knowles) built a small salon at the back of our house, and I can recall catching glimpses of her while I watched cartoons or played with my dolls and toys. These moments are etched into every corner of my childhood memories," Beyoncé shared.
Nearly a year ago in May 2023, Beyoncé started hinting that she was coming out with a hair care line when she shared a photo of herself curling her hair and a throwback photo of someone curling the ends of her braids.
At the end of the slideshow, she shared a statement that talked about her love of beauty salons and how her former girl group Destiny's Child would perform in them.
“How many of ya’ll knew my first job was sweeping hair in my mama’s salon?” she wrote. “Destiny’s Child got our start by performing for clients while they were getting their hair done. I was exposed to so many entrepreneurial women in her salon."
“I saw first hand how the ways we nurture and celebrate hair can directly impact our souls,” Beyoncé continued. “I watched her heal and be of service to so many women. Having learned so much on my hair journey, I’ve always dreamed of carrying on her legacy. I can’t wait for you to experience what I’ve been creating.”
In 2021, Beyoncé also talked about the special connection that Black women have with their hair in an interview she did with Harper’s Bazaar.
She said, "I’ve seen how much Black women’s emotions are attached to our hair and beauty. The beauty industry does not always understand these emotions and what we need."
"I want to build a community where women of all races can communicate and share some of those secrets, so we can continue to support and take care of each other. I want to give women a space to feel their own strength and tell their stories. That is power," she continued.
What inspired Beyoncé’s Cécred?
While spending time in her mother's salon as a child, Beyoncé told Essence she saw Tina Knowles "transforming women" who sat in her chair.
"Looking back, it was more than just a hair appointment—it was therapy," Beyoncé said.
She remembered working in the salon and helping her mother clean up. Just like her mothers' clients, she found the shop "therapeutic."
Beyoncé shared that she also started seeing a therapist at the time.
"(My mom) found a therapist for me, during a period when I was extremely introverted and hardly spoke," she said. "It was in her salon that I realized my dreams of being a performer —inspired by one of her clients who happened to be an opera singer."
She said speaking with that client and others helped shape her into the icon she is today.
"That’s my foundation — and I think as an artist, so much of my bold experimentation with hair comes from being inspired by art and sculptures; getting creative with braids; figuring out new techniques; and exploring ways to maintain hair growth with protective styles and wigs, while still feeling fabulous. It all stems from my experiences growing up in my mother’s salon," she added.
Tina Knowles spoke with Essence about her daughter's new company, as well.
She reiterated the significance of hair in their family and the Black community.
“In the culture of Black folks, all the way from the beginning: If you could do some hair, you’ll never be broke,” Knowles said. “I told my kids that. My mama told me that. So it’s just our legacy, and this full-circle moment feels amazing.”
She said that Cécred was born from the rituals that have been passed down in their family and throughout the Black community.
Which celebrities have tried Beyoncé's Cécred?
Trevor Noah is already a fan of Beyoncé’s hair care line.
On the Feb. 8 episode of his “What Now? With Trevor Noah” podcast, the comedian shared how he needed to get his hair done for the 2024 Emmys.
“I couldn’t find a place to get my hair done,” he said, sharing how his hairstylist didn’t have a salon for him to go. “She sends me a text and she says, ‘Hey Trevor, Beyoncé said we can use her private hair studio if you need to.’ So I go, ‘Which Beyoncé?’ Because I don’t want to assume. I mean, I don’t have Beyoncé’s number. I don’t even know Beyoncé like that.”
Noah was then given an address to go to where Beyoncé was going to hook him up. The obscure place, he said, was like a “hair care laboratory.”
Once there, he said that Beyoncé told the people he was on his way “and then she basically hooks me up with like some secret products that Beyoncé uses, I guess.”
Grammys executive producer Ben Winston then asked Noah if that’s why he won an Emmy that night, to which he responded, “I wouldn’t be shocked, my friend.”
That’s why, Noah said, he went to go say thank you to the singer “for saving my hair” at the Grammys when he hosted on Feb. 4.
Additionally, Bey’s mom confirmed that Noah used some of the products that the singer is working on.
“So thrilled that the super handsome, talented Trevor Noah came to Our Ce’Cred space to get his hair done and experienced our beautiful laboratory and test salon,” Knowles wrote on Instagram, in part. “Ce’Cred had those curls popping on the Emmys and thanks to his lovely Hairsylist Erinn for bringing him.”
What products are in Beyoncé's hair care line?
Beyoncé described her hair care line as a "legacy project" during her interview with Essence.
She said Cécred will combine, "the legacy and the wisdom passed down through generations" with science and technology.
The magazine revealed that an eight-piece collection will arrive on Feb. 20.
Some of the products are a clarifying shampoo and scalp scrub, moisturizing deep conditioner, a reconstructing treatment mask and a fermented rice and rose ritual treatment.
Prices for the hair care line have not been announced.
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