Think about your favorite celebrity; the bigger the star, the better. Now imagine them as just a simple silhouette. What’s the one feature of that outline that sticks out the most? We would bet that it’s their hair.
Every celebrity has a calling card when it comes to their look—for Taylor Swift, it’s her iconic red lips. For Kim Kardashian, as her Balenciaga Met Gala outfit would suggest, it’s her hourglass figure. However, according to TikTok, all that takes a backseat to their hair.
In the viral “Hollywood Hair Theory,” creators make the claim that to reach icon status, all you need is a distinct hairstyle and a dream. Ahead, we break it all down.
The Theory
Branding is nothing new to the art of celebrity. In fact, there wouldn’t be celebrity as we know it without it. However, TikTokers Nicky Reardon and Coco Mocoe argue that in order to beat the constant overstimulation of our current culture, the only way to truly stand out in and become a household name is to have a signature hair look.
While Swift and Kardashian might be known by their lipstick or silhouette, hair has undeniably played a part in both their brand images as well, especially when they were first becoming famous—there’s a reason we still always think of Swift as a sweet country girl with blonde ringlets.
In fact, it’s the first few years of a celebrity’s career where a signature hairstyle is most important because it’s how they introduce their brand to the world—Reardon names Billie Eillish’s green hair, Niki Minaj’s pink hair during her Pink Friday era, and Justin Bieber’s bowl cut as just some of many examples.
The theory posits that a signature look is key to helping celebrities get so famous so fast. There is perhaps no bigger present example of the Hollywood Hair Theory at work than Ice Spice. When she rapped her way her title of America’s sweetheart with “Munch,” her bright, curly copper hair stood out because, although her music was amazing, her hair was both totally distinct and immediately recognizable as her own.
Even though she’s since switched up her look to include straight hair or hot pink bobs, she’ll always be associated with those copper curls. Spice was a popular Halloween costume this year, and regardless of the outfit that was being referenced, her curls were present. At this point, copper curls are more than just a beauty choice, they’re an extension of her.
@icespice/instagram
The TikTokers also note that Spice already has a chia pet in her likeness despite still being in the “Best New Artist” category at the Grammys. Her hair is just as crucial to her brand as her music. In fact, if you saw a curly head of orange hair and nothing else, Ice Spice would definitely come to mind.
It’s not just hair color that fits the theory, either—styles and cuts also fit the bill. For example, when I say “ponytail,”nobody in the world is as associated with the style as much as Ariana Grande. Hair has always played a huge role in Grande’s image, and when she got her start on Nickelodeon, she had cranberry red hair that was closely associated with her character, Kat. When it was time to leave the character behind and transition to being a pop star, she switched to a totally different—though equally identifiable—look with her iconic high ponytail.
Grande’s pony helped her career reach new heights. Mocoe pointed out in a video that Grande’s stylist, Law Roach, knew the ponytail was one of her keys to success and even told her that her pony would be in the Smithsonian Museum one day.
@arianagrande/instagram
Now, even as Grande experiments with other styles and colors more frequently, when someone dresses up as her—or even makes a living impersonating her—the ponytail always present. Like Ice Spice today, her ponytail in the 2010s was just as important as her music.
Of course, eventually everyone starts to experiment with their look, and marking new “eras” with a new hair style or color is practically expected of pop stars at this point. However, if you’re looking to get famous, you might want to start with your hair.