Jay-Z’s Hairstylist Reveals the Scalp TLC and Secret Braid Out Behind His Surprising New Festival Look

At the Roots Picnic, Jay-Z had fans shook when he came out on stage not with the locs we were all used to but a full, voluminous afro. The surprising new look had fans dying to know how Jay-Z managed to switch from locs to fro. Now everyone’s questions have been cleared by his hairstylist. Let’s get into it.

In an interview with Loren LoRosa on her podcast “The Latest with Loren LoRosa,” Jay-Z’s hairstylist, Letisia Ravelo, took the time to explain the process of undoing his locs. But first, Ravelo made sure to clear up some internet conspiracy theories that the “4:44” rapper’s luscious locs were definitely not a lace front.

“They’re very much real. It was like a process of eight years that he’s been growing his hair,” she said.

Going into the method of combing out his locs, Ravelo said that it was a six-day collaboration between herself and Houston-based loctician Marie Munoz to comb out Jay-Z’s hair.

“She (Munoz) had used the Cécred conditioner combined with the detangling spray,” she said. Then noting how different styles of locs form together—freeform, sisterlocks and wick locs for example—Ravelo added that Jay-Z’s were easier to take down since he had more freeform, wick-style locs. “It was not so many blocks that you had to comb through so his were just bigger sections and you just let the product penetrate the hair. And the more it penetrates the hair it just gets softer and you just gently go through it and gradually get to the root of the hair.”

However, while the process was mainly between Ravelo and Munoz, Ravelo admitted that there was a whole team of hairstylists helping to properly take the hair out to get him festival-ready. While he did a preview show the night before the Roots Picnic in a hoodie, a braid-out was brewing underneath for the next day. Ravelo did add, though, that they let Jay-Z’s hair breathe for a week before braiding so they wouldn’t be doing too much styling ahead of the festival.

“This was not just a one-day thing. This was definitely anticipated, he definitely has a method to his madness,” she said. “It was definitely to give him a lot of TLC on his scalp, using the Cécred drops and just massaging that into his hair. And just making sure that his scalp, which is, you know, the most important part of your hair, just taking care of that before we braided him.”

Munoz also gave some haircare tips to anyone who might be thinking about combing out their locs: “The key point to it, which is really important, is taking your time and making sure the hair is properly hydrated. Because once you put moisture in the hair, it kind of just like helps that process to like dissolve it and soften it and makes the comb-out process easier.”

And if you’re wondering what Jay-Z’s next hairstyle might be, that’s a question not even his hairstylist can answer.