HAIR EVOLUTION

A Complete Visual History of Justin Bieber’s Hair

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Justin Bieber wearing a botched take on dreadlocks
Justin Bieber wearing a botched take on dreadlocks in May of 2021. Courtesy of @justinbieber.

The beginning of Justin Bieber’s career can be summed up in two words: his hair. His locks have come a long way from since ultra-shiny helmet, though not exactly for the best. The 27-year-old singer has given buns and ponytails a not-so-successful go—occasionally calling to mind his so-called brother, Tony Bieber. He’s tried out bouffants and, most tragically, dreadlocks—on numerous occasions. At this point in his career, a clear pattern has emerged: Every few months or so, Bieber can’t seem to help himself from reverting to a dirty blond mane so scruffy that his doting wife, Hailey, has started staging haircut interventions. (And, according to Bieber, forcing him to shave off his dreaded mustache.) All had been quiet on the Bieber hair front amid lockdown, which he’s largely spent in a beanie. But May brought an abrupt change: His scroungiest dreadlocks yet. Rejoice in the return of his buzzcut with a look back at his most notable coifs.

May 2009

And I was like baby, baby, baby, oh…

December 2009

Aside from minor changes in its swoop, Bieber stayed notably consistent with his look between 2008 and 2010.

August 2011

For his appearance at the 2011 Video Music Awards, Bieber offered a long-awaited glimpse at his forehead, and accessorized with glasses and Selena Gomez.

January 2012

A sneak peek at Bieber’s future scruffiness.

June 2012

By 2012, Bieber seemed to have learned how to maintain his original locks: by simply slicking them back into a bouffant.

May 2013

The kickoff of Bieber’s Believe tour in South Africa brought his bouffant to the international level.

January 2014

Bieber’s cheery mug shot, taken shortly after he was charged with DUI, resisting arrest, and driving without a valid license, featured a magnificent bouffant—perhaps because he’d just spent the night racing.

March 2015

Fully embracing his roast on Comedy Central, Bieber matched his hair to his monkey’s. (To be clear, this is not OG Mally, Bieber’s pet monkey, who was infamously confiscated by the German authorities, and who is still a resident of a German zoo—and still having trouble communicating with other monkeys.)

April 2015

Posing with Nash Grier, Bieber later captioned this image simply “#Ponytails.”

September 2015

Behold: a bleached-blond Bieber.

October 2015

By the next month, though, he was back to his dirty-blond bouffant.

November 2015

Who knows what’s hiding under this beanie? The possibilities are endless.

January 2016

Bieber started off the new year with a bang—i.e., a man bun.

February 2016

By the next month, he’d already moved on to bleached blond, as he showcased at the Saint Laurent show.

March 2016

Naturally, his Purpose World Tour merited his third transformation in as many months. Lest it get in his way, he slicked it back into a bun on the tour’s opening night in Seattle.

April 2016

Yes, those are dreadlocks, and yes, Bieber wore them out in public—here at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, though regrettably on other occasions as well.

May 2016

By the next month, the dreads were fully gone, though that didn’t stop Bieber from making a statement while on his trip to Monaco. It was during this month that he also got a teeny face tattoo.

August 2017

A little over a year later, Bieber shifted his attention to his facial hair.

February 2018

The next year, his regrown hair didn’t exactly help him at the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.

May 2018

We’re still waiting with bated breath to find out if or when Bieber will deliver on this promise.

August 2018

Look at those luscious locks go!

August 2018

Alas, they weren’t that luscious for that long: Just two days later, reportedly at the behest of Hailey Baldwin, Bieber got a haircut—and a very on-trend one at that.

September 2018

The evidence of the haircut, though, was already gone by the next month.

September 2018

While in Michigan that September—a whirlwind month for Bieber’s hair—he returned to the forehead-less days of his youth.

October 2018

Yes, that bump under his hood is no doubt a bun or a ponytail, pulled up high on his head, Hailey Baldwin–style.

October 2018

Less than a week later, Bieber took care of the bump, using his Instagram Story to share his buzz cut, which quickly earned him the nickname Buzztin. It also put his tiny face tat of a cross more prominently on display—an act of faith perhaps as prominent as his and Hailey’s commitment to waiting until marriage before being intimate.

May 2019
Courtesy of @justinbieber

Save for the presence of Hailey and quite a few more tattoos, you’d be forgiven for thinking this photo dates several years back. In May 2019—yet another banner year of hair changes for Bieber—he threw things back to his original sleek, neatly combed, and naturally colored mop.

October 2019
Courtesy of @haileybieber

Periods of scruff soon followed, but Bieber once again managed to clean things up for his (second) wedding to Hailey in the following months.

January 2020
Courtesy of @justinbieber

It’s no surprise that Bieber kicked off the new year in a pair of Drew House pajamas, but his peroxide pixie was definitely an unexpected touch.

February 2020
Courtesy of @justinbieber

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Hailey. Even she (reportedly) “can’t stand” Bieber’s mustache, which unfortunately made a comeback. (Bieber even put it at the center of his “Intentions” art.) Hailey has yet to publicly condemn it, but according to Peoples mysterious source, that might be for the best: “The more people want him to shave it off, the more he wants to keep it. It’s staying for now. It’s making him feel like a rebel and he likes it!” Thankfully, Hailey has previously prevailed in getting him to shave it off.

February 2020
Photo by Pierre Suu via Getty Images

It was a big month for Bieber’s head. At least the Guy Fieri vibes (sort of) distract from the mustache.

September 2020
Photo by Rachpoot/Mega via Getty Images

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, Bieber’s hair looked healthier than it had in years. Perhaps he discovered biotin?

November 2020
Courtesy of @justinbieber

Unsurprisingly clad in head-to-toe Drew House, Bieber temporarily channeled Benji and Joel Madden brothers

February 2021
Photo by Rachpoot/MEGA via Getty Images

It feels like ages since Bieber has offered a glimpse at his hair beyond the wisps curling out from under his hat. Chances are it’s a beanie, topped off with a Drew House logo.

April 2021
Courtesy of @justinbieber

Bieber then started to channel “best fwend” (though it’s hard to imagine she’d ever try out that particular hairstyle).

May 2021
Courtesy of @justinbieber

Very unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Bieber transformed his long locks into what barely resembled dreads.

May 2021
Courtesy of @justinbieber

A word of caution: Things are about to get worse. Exhibit A: Bieber’s triple space buns.

May 2021
Photo by Rory Kramer via @justinbieber

From there came pigtails...

May 2021
Courtesy of @justinbieber

...and an up-close and personal view of his scalp.

June 2021
Courtesy of @justinbieber

And then, that glorious day arrived, no doubt to Hailey’s intense relief: Bieber shaved his head. (Perhaps in an attempt to clean up for his mysterious meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.)

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