Gwen Stefani's Hair Transformation Is Hard To Ignore

No doubt about it, No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani became one of music's most recognizable stars after the band broke into the mainstream. Though the band had been together for a while, they didn't become a household name until the release of their third album, 1995's "Tragic Kingdom." In the music video for the album's lead single, "Just a Girl," Stefani rocked her go-to look at the time, which was a sporty, laid-back, cool girl aesthetic with a hint of pin-up glam. From that moment on, she was a bona fide style icon. "I've always been a girl who loves to dress up," the "Hollaback Girl" singer told Harper's Bazaar in 2012, adding that it was her grandmother who presented her with her first tube of red lipstick while she was still in high school. 

Much like her bold red lip, the Grammy-winning artist's platinum blonde hair is, without question, a key part of her signature style. As she said in Teen Vogue in 2014, "My mom started letting me do my hair in ninth grade with the frosting cap and all that, but it was a big moment for me when I did my whole head."

Over the years, Gwen Stefani's look has certainly changed, and she's tried different hair colors, styles, and lengths. But every time she mixes things up, it seems like it isn't long before she gets back to her classic blonde 'do. From shocking hue shifts to edgy and dramatic chops and everything in between, here is Gwen Stefani's hair transformation.

"Nothing here is me. Everything is fake," Gwen Stefani quipped to ET at a 2015 BeautyCon event where she was promoting her Harajuku Lovers fragrance collection and accessories. When pressed by the interviewer about her natural hair color, the singer replied, "Um, who knows? I haven't seen it since ninth grade." But thanks to throwback photos (like the one above) on her Instagram account, we do know Gwen Stefani's real hair color is brown. Yep, underneath it all, she's a really lovely brunette. Stefani started to stray from her roots in high school when she would use a frosting cap to add blonde highlights at home. Once she started, "The Voice" coach, who counts Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry as one of her rockin' roll models, couldn't stop.  

Although the tragic real life story of Debbie Harry was much darker than Stefani's sunny California life, the two share a common thread: they both established themselves as pop-rock powerhouses in a male-dominated industry. It was Harry's strong, sexy on-stage presence in Blondie that helped young Stefani find her power and, ultimately, her signature hair color.  "I never felt really strong growing up. ... until I discovered Blondie," she told Rolling Stone. "She was sexy, and she wasn't ashamed to be rocking out, and to me, that's having it all." 

California girl Gwen Stefani's connection to "The Happiest Place on Earth" shaped her aesthetic in a big way. "I grew up near Disneyland, and my brother's an animator, so I was always really inspired by bright, cartoony colors and that whole feeling of happiness," she told Teen Vogue in 2014. 

That was never more apparent than when Stefani showed up to the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards with blue hair that matched her fuzzy blue bikini top. The coordinating ensemble, which some unfavorably compared to a Smurfette, was put together on a whim. As Stefani told Entertainment Weekly, "I was laying in bed thinking I wanted to dye my hair blue, and I found that bikini top in my drawer.... It turned into a space-agey, Judy Jetson thing." 

In a video for Vogue, Stefani explained that she had just returned from touring prior to the VMAs and threw it together with items that she had been gifted, including the blue hair gel. "You would wear it too if it was free," she quipped. Not everyone loved Stefani's blue period, but the singer didn't let the critics' opinions wind her up. InAs she said in her 2012 interview with Harper's Bazaar, "None of that stuff matters. There's something in me, being this passive person, that those kinds of things don't upset me." 

Gwen Stefani may have been pretty in pink at the 1st Annual Artist Direct Online Music Awards in 1999, but the cheery color represented a not-so-happy time in the young singer's life. Reflecting on her pink hair era in a video for Vogue, she said, "If you go through a breakup or a really big change in your life, sometimes you go ahead and change your hair. You're trying to, I don't know, wash whatever those feelings are out of your hair." She also noted that she was trying to grapple with both her personal life and relatively new celebrity status. "I was really confused at this time. I was 29 years old.  I was really confused about my relationship," she said. "I'd come off a long, long tour. I'd gotten famous. I got to buy a house. I got to move out of my parents' house. So much had happened." Though she didn't name names, she was linked to former husband Gavin Rossdale when she dyed her hair pink.

Though No Doubt was one of the biggest bands on MTV at the time, Stefani still went the DIY route when she was ready to change up the color of her tresses and picked up some Manic Panic from a drugstore. Though Stefani is worth even more than you may realize today, she wasn't always a rich girl. "Ya' know at that time, too, I didn't have any budgets," she said. "I didn't have a stylist." 

By 2000, Gwen Stefani was ready to get back to her signature platinum style. Though it isn't her natural hair color, it's long been a part of her identity. In a 2014 chat with Teen Vogue, she waxed nostalgic about going totally blonde for the first time. "I remember my boyfriend and I had just broken up, and I was like 'I don't care how much it costs, I'm getting my hair bleached!' That's really when everything changed," she said. As she told Harper's Bazaar, the whole process took eight hours. "It was like I'd unlocked the key," she said. "I remember feeling like, 'I have arrived. This is me. Finally.'"

Today, stylist extraordinaire Danilo Dixon helps Gwen Stefani maintain her iconic blonde hair. With a client list that reads like a "who's who" of Hollywood, the Pantene global ambassador and Stefani met at a Vivienne Westwood show more than two decades ago, and the rest is "hairstory." "I am very devoted and I have a wonderful collaborator," the man who has created some of Stefani's most iconic styles, told E! News. "I have a theory and Gwen has a desire. We're really proud of that and we take it very seriously. The truth is Gwen's hair has a career too. It has to entertain, it has to perform."  That means maintenance. Taking a cue from Marilyn Monroe, who reportedly had her roots touched up every few weeks, Dixon tends to Stefani's roots weekly. 

It was a sweet escape from her blonde bombshell look when Gwen Stefani returned to something closer to the hair color she was born with for the music video for her 2004 single "Cool." "Gwen's an Italian girl with wavy brown hair," her longtime stylist Danilo Dixon told Refinery29. "if you look at the video for 'Cool,' we did her in her natural shade, maybe a little darker." 

It's unclear whether or not the brown, bouncy bob was a wig, but regardless, the question remains: How do you keep someone as naturally dark as Stefani in a permanent shade of platinum without destroying her hair? Dixon won't spill the tea, but he has admitted that he created a super secret formula just for Mrs. Blake Shelton. "We haven't used bleach since 2004," Dixon shared with E! News. "I developed a high-lift formula that achieves the same effect but saves the quality of her hair. I did a lot of research and really looked at places of origins for blond hair color like Germany and Scandinavia. I've spent years finding and testing new lines and technology." Since you can't get your hands on that super secret blonde formulation unless you're Stefani, commoners who want to take care of their bleached blonde hair can try one of Dixon's other fool-proof tricks: a leave-in conditioner. Dixon said he uses multiple conditioners on Stefani's hair and even uses it as a styling tool to keep her hair soft and manageable. 

Gwen Stefani has proved she is fearless when it comes to experimenting with hair color and style. One of her most daring looks was this double dipped bob that featured a black stripe and purple tips that she wore in 2015. It's a 'do that was created by her stylist Danilo Dixon using shade Ultra Violet by one of Stefani's favorite at home brands Manic Panic, along with basic black. The horizontal color concept is a technique the stylist to the stars told People he created in 1980, called "Limelight." "What it relates to in the now, really, is ombré — it's almost stacking of ombré," he described. "It's different, because the pattern actually adds up. I intentionally create the feathering of the black to make it look tie-dye." 

Stefani debuted this punky edgy at Chicago's Riot Fest. "It's funny because I suggested we kick it up because we were going to the Riot Fest — and it's such an interesting festival and the talent there is so cool — so I was like, 'Let's bring on the badass!'" said Dixon. Fortunately, his star client doesn't shy away from bold color, and always pulls it off beautifully.  Dixon said that's a feat not everyone can accomplish. "Gwen always wears it. It doesn't wear her," he said of her sometimes shocking shades. "And that's a big difference, too."

Gwen Stefani has rocked a lot of stages and a lot of ponytails. The length may change, and the bangs may come and go, but the 'do always hits the mark. "I think the special thing about my ponytails, 'cause there's a lot of different versions, is it's something I've always done," she shared in a 2019 video for Wired. "You know for me, it's all about just being on stage and feeling comfortable and being able to perform. So that's where the ponytail was born." Stefani's also been known to sport a ponytail at red carpet events. At the 2018 opening of her Las Vegas residency, for example, she strutted into the event wearing a voluminous ponytail that was wrapped with a second layer of hair.

Some of her best ponies over the years have been created by her longtime stylist Danilo Dixon, who offered a few tips and tricks for creating your own Stefani-esque pony. Things like product and placement matter. "It's really important with your ponytail to decide where you want that line to go," he told The Kit. "If you comb the hair up from the jaw, it's flattering on everyone's face." He also recommended sprays designed to create volume, along with elastic bands with hooks for holding your pony in place all night. The most important part of the pony process is playfulness. "Try everything," Dixon recommended. "Whenever you're in the bathroom just throw it up and see what it shows you." Go ahead, what you waiting for? 

On Season 20 of "The Voice," on-again, off-again judge Gwen Stefani returned to perform with Saweetie. While it was exciting to see her back on "The Voice," Stefani's two-toned ponytail was a little too Cruella de Vil coded for some viewers. Stefani shared her new look on Instagram prior to the show, and the reaction was divided, to say the least. While some fans dug the creativity of the icy blonde hair combined with the black bangs and black ponytail, others were not vibing with it. 

While this hairstyle was a very new look for the "Spiderwebs" singer, the color scheme was a tried-and-true combo for her. As she said in a 2014 interview with Glamour, "I've always been into black and white...that was my uniform. I've always accessorized with red, whether it's red nail polish or red lipstick. It's always this clash of feminine and masculine. Usually, from head up I'm really feminine, and from head down masculine." And as for the haters? Stefani doesn't let them influence her choices, and she  doesn't think anyone else should either. "I love seeing women that have style and don't water it down," she said." I'm always inspired by people who have style, who aren't afraid to stand out"

On Season 22 of "The Voice," Gwen Stefani was back in the judge's chair. For most of the season, she donned platinum blonde locks — but she shook things up quite a bit for the semifinals episode. She arrived at the elimination episode wearing a curtain of stick-straight, jet black hair with thick, blunt cut bangs. What made the look so unusual, other than the color, was the asymmetrical style that looked like a shoulder length bob on one side, but hung to her waist on the other. The drastic change made the "Baby Don't Lie" singer almost unrecognizable. Again, users took to Instagram to share their thoughts on Stefani's goth vibe. "The black wig is a NO for me," said one, while another suggested that she looked like a young Cher. 

The dark wig was just one more way Stefani found to have fun on a show that changed her life. After all, if it hadn't been for "The Voice," Stefani wouldn't have met her second husband, country crooner Blake Shelton. Chatting with Entertainment Tonight ahead of the aforementioned semifinals episode, the blonde bombshell opened up about how much "The Voice" has meant to her. "I never in my lifetime would've pictured me doing something like this, and it's been one of the most fun things I've ever done," she gushed. "I love being a coach, I love watching the contestants grow, I love having an impact, it's super inspiring for me. And then, on top of it, I meet my best friend here, that's gonna be forever mine."

If you tried to cut your own hair in fifth grade only to end up with layers you didn't want, then the jellyfish cut trend might be a bit of a sore spot for you. But leave it to Gwen Stefani, who loves to be on the cutting edge, to pull off the tiered look. The jellyfish cut typically involves at least two dramatic layers to create the look of "tentacles" flowing out from under a bob cut. It's not for everyone, but it definitely pushes the envelope.

In late 2024, the "Underneath It All" songstress showed up to Z100 in NYC wearing her hair in the fashion-forward style that shares its name with a sea creature. Stefani is not the only celeb who has been wrapped up in the trend's tentacles: Billie Eilish, Zendaya, Nicole Kidman, and Miley Cyrus have all rocked the blunt and extremely layered 'do. 

While Stefani embraced this particular trend with open arms, she's not one to feel beholden to fads. "I'm not good at style tips. I hate rules and trends," she told Who What Wear in 2016 (via E! News). "I hate giving advice. I don't get that. Whatever makes you feel good!" Evidently, sometimes that means wearing your hair like a jellyfish.

After sporting the harsh lines of the jellyfish cut, Gwen Stefani popped up in a golden blonde curve cut in late 2024. The cut is characterized by loads of long layers with a little "kick" on the ends. This softer and arguably more conventional 'do was a far cry from her feathered pink bob or her black and white-blonde ponytail. It's definitely a toned-down look for the former No Doubt frontwoman — and some folks have speculated that her toned-down look is a result of her current relationship.

In March 2024, fashion psychologist Professor Carolyn Mair told The Sun that she suspected Stefani's new style is in response to trying to be part of Shelton's world. "It seems that Gwen is working on fitting in with Blake and the country music scene," she said. "She looks wifey, which is possibly what Blake wants, and perhaps she wants it to."

For her part, Gwen Stefani has claimed that her looks have indeed changed over the course of her relationship with Shelton — but it's not about her fashion or her hair. Rather, it's because she feels different. She told the Daily Telegraph that she believes Shelton is the reason she looks better than ever before. "Blake is the greatest guy. I look back over the past few years and look at pictures of when I first started kissing Blake, and I look the best I've ever looked in my life in those photos," she enthused. "Love must look good on me. I feel like that does show through — it really does."