Celebs Who Don't Hide The Fact That They Use Hair Extensions

Even though we know that the hair we see on a celebrity's head isn't necessarily the hair they were born with, it can come as a shock when someone famous admits they like to wear hair extensions. Especially since it wasn't that long ago that celebs wanted people to believe their hair was all natural. "Everyone was extremely secretive about getting extensions in the '90s," celebrity hair extension expert Priscilla Valles told Refinery29. "I'd have to sign confidentiality agreements before I even met the client," she said, emphasizing just how different of a time it was.

Though we love to see how celebs look without their extensions, long and luscious hair has been a staple in Hollywood for decades. There are many reasons celebs utilize extensions. Some like to change lengths frequently, others find wigs uncomfortable, and some just enjoy being able to experiment with different looks without committing to a haircut. Whatever the reason, these celebs are some of the few who aren't shy about their love of extensions.

Not only did thousands of young viewers covet her Hannah Montana wig, they also wanted Miley Cyrus' voluminous hair. During her "Can't Be Tamed" era, Cyrus graced several teen magazines rocking long, brown waves that skimmed her waist. It's safe to say that fans were inspired to copy the look themselves, but achieving the length naturally would prove nay impossible.

While her hair looked natural enough to fool her pre-teen fans, Cyrus' long locks were the result of extensions – and a lot of them. In a clip from Harper Bazaar's podcast, "The Good Buy," Cyrus shared how her mom, Tish Cyrus, was responsible for her hair's signature volume at the time. "If it was under 250, my mom wasn't having it," she said of the amount of individual extensions her mom would demand for her daughter's hair.

Now that she's returned to her "Hannah Montana" roots for the show's 20th anniversary, Cyrus has ditched both the wig and the extensions she wore during the original run of the series. Kenny Reed, Cyrus' colorist, told Glamour that her current long blond hair is all her own. Whether she chooses to continue to rock her natural length or hundreds of extensions, Cyrus' hair is sure to turn heads.

Ariana Grande has gone through several different hair colors and styles throughout the years, but none have achieved the same level of notoriety as her ponytail. Though she first got her start as the red-haired Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon show "Victorious," it's the high ponytail in her natural brown color that became her signature. And though the hair color was natural, Grande's hair length was not.

During the first four years of playing Cat, Grande would bleach and dye her hair biweekly to achieve the character's distinct shade. "As one would assume, that completely destroyed my hair," she wrote in a 2014 Facebook post. She also shared that she wore her extensions in a ponytail because her hair looked "absolutely ratchet and absurd when I let it down."

Since she wrote the post, Grande has switched up her hair more often, including showing off her naturally curly hair. She still stays loyal to the ponytail, though she no longer seems to wear extensions as frequently: "The pony has gone through an evolution, and I'm proud of that," she told The Fader in 2018.

Gabrielle Union regularly rocks both her natural hair and a straight blowout with confidence, but it hasn't always been that way. As a kid, her family moved to Pleasanton, California which she described as "99.9% white" in a conversation with Vogue. Union saw the attention her classmate's blond pigtails was getting and wanted a piece: "I associated [that attention] with the hair, and I definitely didn't have that hair," she shared in an essay for Glamour. She convinced her mom to allow her to try relaxing her hair not long after.

When she started using extensions as an adult, "the immediate difference in the amount of attention I got was palpable," she said. These experiences, both as an adult and as a child, led Union "to associate length with beauty," she told Bustle. Having long hair made her feel seen as more impressive during auditions and she became more driven to "reach a certain level of Hollywood fame" in order to access the best hair the industry had to offer.

Now, Union finally loves her natural hair after years of fighting it. But that doesn't mean she shies away from wearing other styles whenever she wants, including extensions. However she wears her hair, Union is defining beauty on her own terms.

Never one to shy away from a dramatic hair transformation, Drew Barrymore has been open about her use of hair extensions. When going over her favorite hair looks during a conversation with Popsugar, Barrymore said that her look in "50 First Dates" was a personal favorite. Describing her character Lucy's hair as "big, blond mermaid hair," she explained that the look required a lot of extensions to execute and was far too demanding to be a regular hairdo.

Barrymore does wear extensions on "The Drew Barrymore Show," though not nearly as many as she did on "50 First Dates." On an episode featuring Pamela Anderson, Barrymore and fellow guest Valerie Bertinelli joined her in wearing no makeup during the broadcast. Feeling especially inspired, Barrymore went one step further and removed her hair extensions on air.

"Another really awesome symptom of perimenopause is you start to lose your hair," she shared by way of explanation, as Bertinelli and Anderson praised her natural waves. The three talked about how having a great hairdo can make one feel more empowered to embrace their natural face. "You feel so good in your presentation that everything else sort of falls into place," Barrymore said.

Rihanna's ability to pull off any hairstyle or length is truly impressive. From the beginning of her career until now, the "Pon De Replay" singer has shown she looks good with short hair, long hair, and any length in between. Even more impressive is Rihanna's ability to go from a short bob to a longer hairstyle seemingly overnight.

It's no secret that Rihanna loves hair extensions. In music videos as well as at star-studded events as Fenty Beauty's founder, she frequently rocks long extensions — and she's not quiet about it. In a 2017 post on her Instagram stories (via Refinery29), she shared a pic of her fresh honey brown extensions with the caption, "New hurr who di$ ?" as she celebrated the launch of her beauty brand.

Though it seems like she's always been satisfied with her hair, Rihanna wants the world to know this hasn't always been the case. In a 2025 episode of the "Couch by Lena Situations" podcast, she talked about how she once wished her hair was different. "We've always been taught to love what you don't have, especially when it comes to hair ... That was a struggle, I think for me."

When you think of celebrities who wear extensions, Taylor Swift might not be the first one to come to mind. First breaking out as a teen country star with long curly hair until now, Swift has always exuded a girl-next-door charm. The untold truth is that Swift puts a lot of effort into her hair.

As she started to experiment with pop elements in her music, she also experimented with hair pieces. She's worn wigs, like that red one straight out of "Moulin Rouge" in music videos like "The Fate of Ophelia" and wears extensions regularly.

While promoting her "The Life of a Showgirl" album, Swift showed up to "Late Night with Seth Meyers" rocking long blonde extensions all the way to her waist. The extensions, much like the ones she's suspected of wearing on stage, blend in with her natural-looking hair color. Though Swift doesn't talk about the work she does to keep her hair looking so good, her hair does all the talking for her.

If there's one thing we know about Jennifer Lopez, it's that she wears long hair like nobody's business. Lopez's transformation from when she first started her career until now shows that she has always had an eye for a great hairdo, but nothing says J.Lo. like flowing, honey-colored locks.

Given how often she uses extensions, Lopez seems to agree. Lopez isn't afraid to experiment with her hair, but she tends to gravitate toward that look. The "Get Right" singer has used extensions to achieve waist-skimming straight hair, natural waves, and voluminous ponytails throughout the years.

Even though she's an expert at wearing extensions, accidents happen. During a performance on "Saturday Night Live," Lopez felt one of her extensions falling out while performing her song, "Can't Get Enough." She avoided disaster, however, and whipped the extension out while still doing choreo, as this X clip shows. Even though she lost one strand, the look was quintessential J.Lo.

While Vanessa Hudgens wears her natural hair with confidence these days, she admits that hasn't always been the case. In an interview with Elle, she shared that she started wearing extensions at 15 on the set of "High School Musical." The decision was born out of how much she disliked her natural hair at the time, Hudgens says, adding "I would always be so unhappy with my hair because it was extremely unhealthy and super dry and damaged" from using heat tools.

Even as she learned to love her natural hair, Hudgens has continued to rock extensions, sometimes switching between a bob and long waves within the span of a week. Hudgens has tried out different lengths throughout the years but frequently returns to long hair, both in sleek styles and mermaid-inspired waves. Now that she's a mom, Hudgens swears her long hair is completely natural and that her days of extensions are behind her.

"Once you start going natural, it feels weird having something on your head," she said of her reason for quitting extensions. But even though she's done with them for now, she was delighted to hear fans were copying her "Sneakernight" extensions on TikTok. "I love it, and I'm honored," she gushed.

In her book, "Why Not Me?," Mindy Kaling shared some of the Hollywood beauty secrets she's picked up throughout her career as an actor and writer. One thing she swears by is the power of extensions when it comes to screen-worthy hair, even going so far as to joke, "the hair on your head is worthless." According to Kaling, anyone who appears on film or TV gets extra help in the hair department to look that good.

Aside from giving her hair volume, extensions also allow Kaling to drastically transform her looks with added length. Kaling likes wearing her hair in a short bob, but can play with different lengths whenever she wants using extensions. Like on the Met Gala carpet in 2023, when she transformed her short hair into a long ponytail for some added glam.

"The real trick to having gorgeous hair is quantity," she wrote, adding that "everyone wears hair extensions." Kaling's well-documented love of extensions might just be the reason why she looks so different from her days on "The Office."

Selena Gomez has played with different hairstyles during her long career but loves to rock long, voluminous waves. Though her hair looks seamless, it is definitely not natural. In a YouTube video with Lily Singh, Gomez admitted her hair was "very fake" after she was impressed with Singh's naturally long hair.

Like many celebs, Gomez likes to alternate between shorter cuts and visibly-altered lengthy looks. Though a bob has become her signature look as of late, she still likes to rock extensions from time to time and add some volume and drama to her strands. Take, for example a look posted by hairstylist Marissa Marino on Instagram, which she created for Gomez for a Rare Beauty launch event.

Gomez doesn't always bring the extensions out when attending a big event. When she performed at the 2015 Victoria's Secret fashion show, her hairstylist Chris McMillan told Allure the look was entirely styled with Gomez's own hair. Describing Gomez's hair as "classic" and "healthy-looking," it's good to know that glamorous strands can be achieved with the right cut, the right products, and an expert stylist.

Say what you want about the changing looks of Kim Kardashian, but the reality star knows how to have fun with her hair. She regularly works with celeb hairstylist Chris Appleton for her varied red carpet looks. Appleton, who works with celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Drew Barrymore, and Christina Aguilera, is known for creating voluminous and sleek looks for his clients and Kardashian is no exception.

With Kardashian, Appleton likes to experiment with wigs and extensions to craft dramatic looks like the ones he shared in a YouTube video for Allure. Kardashian has tried different brands of hair extensions over the years, and once shouted out Christina Aguilera's hairstylist Priscilla Vales' Keratin Bond extensions on her Instagram story (via Cosmopolitan). "I've been using Priscilla for the last, like six months," she wrote. "And I'm obsessed."

Despite her access to the best wigs and extensions the industry has to offer, Kardashian still experiments with her natural hair. On a 2025 episode of "The Kardashians," she ripped off her brunette wig to reveal a bleached blond bun underneath. "I'm in the process of dying my hair for the Met [Gala]," she explained.

Camila Cabello, like many a fashionable star, loves to change up her look. She's rocked short cropped hair, long curls, and every length and texture in between. The "Havana" singer has used extensions in both her natural color and texture as well as for fun pops of color.

Notably, Cabello has worn pink braided extensions for a performance on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" and multi-colored pastel clip-ins during different tour stops as an opener for Taylor Swift. She also took her natural hair on a color journey when she went platinum blond in 2024 ahead of her album "C, XOXO." "I felt like I needed a big, physical change," Cabello told Alex Cooper on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast at the time.

Now, Cabello is going natural; at least, when it comes to her hair color. "It's taken a year but my hair has finally started to forgive me for bleachgate," she captioned an Instagram post in February. Time will tell how long she lets her hair breathe before she's back to experimenting, but we can't wait to see what's next.

Christina Aguilera often switches up her hair during different eras. But no look of hers is more iconic than the look she sported in the "Dirrrty" music video. With long platinum blonde hair and black streaks, the singer's iconic look continues to inspire copycats to this day, including Kylie Jenner, who asked their shared stylist Priscilla Valles to help her "go Christina platinum."

Valles, Aguilera's longtime hairstylist and close friend, told Refinery29 that the combination was born out of a mistake: "Christina washed her hair and the black began to bleed onto the blonde, and turned it gray," she shared. According to Valles, all was well as Aguilera still enjoys a look "if something doesn't really work and looks a little messed up."

In the years since, Aguilera has played with various hair colors and styles but has revisited the "Dirrrty" look recently. She posted a TikTok in 2024 where she wore an updated take on the look with some of her hair tied in a bow and her signature black extensions trailing down. Aguilera explained her thought process in a conversation with Harper's Bazaar: "It's always been really important to make expression first and foremost in my creative process, and taking risks."