‘It Was Just Easy’: Tammy Wynette’s Hairstylist Shares Secrets About Wigs
According to her former hairstylist, country music legend Tammy Wynette preferred wearing wigs over having anyone try to fix her “baby fine” hair during her shows.
Wynette was known for pulling off costume and hairstyle changes as part of her live performances, and her stylist revealed she kept a collection of hairpieces that made her job easy. All she needed to do was to style the wig, put it on the singer’s head, and watch her go.
Of course, she wasn’t the only country music icon who liked the ease of wigs. Dolly Parton has also confessed that she rarely leaves home without one on herself.
Tammy Wynette had ‘baby fine hair’ and always wore wigs, according to her former hairstylist
Wynette was among the pioneers of contemporary live performances to incorporate colorful costume changes into her stage shows (Telegram & Gazette). That’s something emulated by music stars far and wide, like “Fancy” singer Reba McEntire, who is famous for her clever costume changes.
So, part of Wynette’s reason for having a collection of wigs was for easy changes during her performances. Her former hairstylist Nanette England spoke about this preference in Erin Duvall’s book Country Music Hair, revealing the star’s natural hair was “baby fine.”
Tammy Wynette’s wigs made her hairstylist’s job easy
England gave some insight into what working with the “Stand By Your Man” singer was like in Country Music Hair. “I’d have about 10 or 15 wigs, [and] I’d fix them all,” she recalled (American Songwriter).
Wynette preferred the ease of artificial hair, and so did her hairstylist. “We’d go on the road, and then I would put a wig on her head. That was it. How hard was my job? It was just easy,” England revealed. “Tammy was so easy. She always had a wig on. It was never her hair. Never.”
Notably, Wynette once worked as a hairdresser and renewed her license yearly just in case her country music career fell through and she had to return to it. So, she probably understood the challenges of trying multiple elaborate hairstyle changes in a live show without utilizing wigs.
Tammy Wynette’s friend Dolly Parton is also a fan of wigs
This might go without saying, but Wynette wasn’t alone in country music as a fan of wearing wigs. Her friend Dolly Parton has also been candid about using them. “People always ask me how long it takes to do my hair. I don’t know. I’m never there,” she once joked about it (Country Living).
She explained how the damage from using bleach made her hair so brittle that she decided to go the artificial route. Now, she loves wearing wigs and has amassed a collection of hundreds.
However, when she’s home with her husband, she does her own hair. She told Elle, “When I’m around home, I wear my little scrunchies, but I always put on some makeup and fix my own hair as cute as I can fix it.”
Though Parton has seemingly seen and done it all, including a singing trio with Wynette and Loretta Lynn, she said she still aspires to have a fashion line someday. As if there was any doubt, she said it would feature some fantastic wigs.
“I’m going to do it. I’m going to get there,” she declared. “It’s one of my dreams — the makeup, hair, and wigs, clothes, all of that sort of thing.”
