This Is the One Thing Zendaya Says She Will Never Do
Zendaya, the ultimate hair chameleon. (Photos: Getty Images)
Zendaya is notorious for switching up her hair. From bobs to faux locs to Afros, the teenage stunner has rocked it all. “It’s fun to see yourself in different hair,” she tells Yahoo Beauty during a rooftop event at the London Hotel in Los Angeles, while promoting her partnership with Chi. “I like to display different types of beauty. There are so many women that can look at my hair and just connect to it and be empowered by it. It’s become a lot more than just a wig.”
Although debuting her latest hairstyle is enough to create a headline, Zendaya doesn’t feel the need to succumb to the public’s critiques of her locks. “I don’t have any pressure now,” she says, noting that in her past she used to care more about what people thought but has since moved far beyond that. “Everybody has opinions but opinions are like buttholes. Everybody has one and everybody thinks everyone else’s stinks,” she jokes. “Some people like when I do my crazy wigs and other people don’t. And that’s OK. The whole point of fashion is to be thought about and to be discussed. There is no right or wrong. It’s supposed to be a conversation.”
So when the 19-year-old gets dressed in the morning, she tunes out the critics and creates her look merely for herself. “I’m really lucky to be in a position where I feel enough confidence to do what I want. I strictly dress and wear my hair for myself. If I feel confident, I feel comfortable and that’s the only thing that matters to me. It’s very liberating to know that you are just doing something for yourself.”
Though she is maturing into adulthood, Zendaya feels no urgency to leave behind her youthful style. In fact, she has even been campaigning to resurrect several fashion trends from her early childhood years — “Right now I’m into clear lip gloss. That was like early 2000s, ’90s/2000s. I think it’s time to bring that back!” she exclaims. But she also has fun dipping her toes into a more grown-up world. “I think I’ve always been kind of sophisticated in my style anyway,” Zendaya says. “And I don’t feel too much pressure to mature too quickly. My grown-woman sexy happens at a gradual pace. It’s step by step, whatever I’m comfortable with.”
Back in her “Shake It Up” days, Zendaya and the hair straightener were BFFs. (Photo: Getty Images)
After recovering from a period in her early teens where hair was severely damaged from constant heat styling on Shake It Up, Zendaya has learned to better care for her mane. Her daily routine consists of deep conditioning with argan oil to seal in extra moisture, especially during the drier months. “During the summer, I like to just rock my natural hair and try to keep it as hydrated as possible, she reveals. “The diffuser is my thing because of my curly hair. I like to do the scrunch and the diffuse to get it a good curl and lock pattern. I’m trying to keep it natural, trying to not do too much to it. It feels good sometimes just to wear your hair the way it is.” She’s also become somewhat of a guru for her mother’s locks as well. “The Chi Rejuvenating Mask, I told my mom to use it when she first dyed her hair,” she recalls. “My mom’s a brunette, but she bleaches her hair and it was starting to make it really dry and crispy. I was like, ‘Yo mom, try this stuff.’ And it worked for her.”
The actress, who is known for getting restless with her looks, has vowed to refrain from coloring her hair. I’ve never dyed it before and I don’t think I ever will,” she explains. “What’s the point in dyeing your hair? I can be blond if I want to. There are too many advancements in hair to actually permanently do anything. I even have wigs for shaving my head. I have wigs for everything!”
Her collection of fake hair is growing so fast that Zendaya jokes that she is desperately in need of a new organizational system. “They are all in little ziplock baggies so I need to organize a little better. They are usually all messed up. So I pull one out and it’s like, ‘At one point it used to be this, but I don’t know what it is now.’”
Zendaya’s ringlets couldn’t be any more perfect. (Photo: WireImage)
Her hair isn’t the only thing that Zendaya pampers. She’s also extremely protective of her face. Exfoliating is really important and a good thick moisturizer before you go to sleep,” she says. “It’s all about moderation. “I love to put makeup on so I’m going to do it. But it’s also about giving your skin the chance to breathe and also giving your skin the time to just be. So it’s just how you balance it.” But while she’ll proudly walk around barefaced, there is one beauty item that Zendaya can’t forgo. “Mascara is a must because it just does something. I don’t know why. It just does that affect. Even if you’ve got bags under your eyes, for some reason the eyelashes will distract from that.”
The young trendsetter, who recently launched her own line of shoes, is now setting her sights on clothing. She was mum on the details but assured us that a Zendaya clothing line is “in the works” and “it’s gonna look awesome.” She’s also gearing up to vote in her very first election this fall, something that she has mixed feelings about. “It’s not an exciting time in our political life. It’s very interesting,” she says, leaving us with her advice for those heading to the polls: “I don’t like to tell people what to do or who to vote for or tell you why you should or why you shouldn’t. I really think that’s something that everybody has to take on their own responsibility and find for themselves. All I have to say to anybody out there voting or voting for the first time is please do your research. Please look and take the time to know who you are voting for and why you are voting for them.”
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