Tina Turner: What's Hair Got to Do with It?
Finding Inspiration and Identity
The Queen of Rock’ n’ Roll, Tina Turner, was more than a music icon. She was a survivor and a thriver who gave us so much through her music and attitude toward life- one of our era’s most resilient women. And her hair was a big part of that. Once again, Hair Tells a Story!
Tina Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock, had been abandoned by both parents by adolescence. Her older sister had become her role model but had “a curvier body and softer hair” that she idealized. In early pictures, Anna Mae’s hair was always in short, neat styles.
The Power of Wigs
As she moved forward in her music career and her devastating marriage to Ike Turner, she began imitating the hairstyles of other Motown stars. Photos from this era show Tina in glamorous up-dos, provided by wigs after a stylist ruined her natural hair by keeping straightening bleach on too long. Tina fell in love with a straight-haired wig that ‘held a style, no matter what I did,” describing it as “a life-saver,” allowing her to move freely and feel in control of this part of her life. She needed some control, as her life was full of hardship, violence, and uncertainty.
From then on, Tina wore her wigs both on stage and off. They gave her a feeling of safety, security, and confidence that her personal life could not provide. Her husband and musical partner, Ike Turner, was abusive and controlling.
Between the emotional manipulation and the beatings, Tina suffered numerous broken bones and even third-degree burns when he poured hot coffee directly on her face. Tina was broke and homeless when she left Ike in 1976, but somehow her spirit was not.
Reinvention and the Iconic Blonde Wig
This critical and frightening time in her life became an opportunity to reinvent herself. Again this step forward in her self-concept and personal evolution included hair, with the creation of her iconic blonde wig that we all know so well.
She wanted her wigs to look like natural hair, so she did a lot to personalize them, washing them and letting them air-dry multiple times, then back-combing them repeatedly and rubbing them with hair gel, like you might with your own hair. She was pleased that people thought this was her natural hair because she saw it as “an extension of myself. In a way, it is my hair.”
Confidence and Vulnerability
Despite loving her hair because of the confidence it gave her on stage, Tina admitted that she was always nervous about new romantic relationships, fearing men would be disappointed seeing her without a wig- once again, the unadorned Anna Mae.
One of Tina’s great gifts was her ability to be honest, and not hide behind a façade. She was so human.
Tina Turner’s Enduring Influence
According to Charlotte Mensah, a stylist in the UK and author of Good Hair: The Essential Guide to Afro, Textured and Curly Hair, women from across the globe and all ethnicities and races would come to her shop requesting a ‘Tina Turner’ updo.
This was less about the look and more “a testament to the feeling she gave all of us. One of freedom, one of confidence, one of swagger, and above all, one of resilience. Tina Turner is a true role model for womankind.”
That’s so true. Tina was an inspirational role model for women and shared so much of herself with us. Take time to listen to her music, sing her songs, and read her inspiring book: Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good.
A Spiritual Guide for Today
Tina Turner was more than the Queen of Rock’ n’ Roll; she may actually be an excellent spiritual guide for us today as we navigate the stressors of this era. I’ll leave you with this quote from her.
“If a negative thought arose, I’d repeat a positive one eight times in a row to counteract it. Soon, I began loving myself, imperfections and all. I stopped comparing myself to others, and at last I started to look good to myself.” Tina Turner
Like so many women, her hair was a significant theme in her life and told a story. Thank you, Tina, for sharing it with us.
