Jan 13, 2020

10 Looks That Prove Snoop Dogg Is a Hair Icon

Snoop Dogg may be known as one of the most legendary rappers in the game, but if you ask us, he's also a hair icon. Through his years in the spotlight, we've seen the man wear fluffed-out Afros, braids, perms, cornrows, locs — he's probably changed his hair as much as any influencer on YouTube.

It's no wonder, then, that he was invited to hold his own panel at Beautycon this year. During the event, he emphasized that hair is his favorite and best accessory, part of the uniform he wears — and his is very well taken care of.

1994: Hella Silky

On anyone else, this silky, short haircut would look like something your not-so-stylish auntie might wear, but for some reason, Snoop makes it impossibly cool. His blowouts are always shiny, smooth, and with not a hair out of place. Your auntie could never.

1994: Picked-Out Afro

Snoop has gone on record saying his Afro was his favorite of all of his hairstyles. At Beautycon, he credited his longtime stylist, Tasha, for helping him maintain his hair's health. These days, his hair is in locs (more on that later), so this throwback photo is a nice reminder of what his curl pattern looks like.

1996: Hair Flip

We told you the guy loves a good blowout. Snoop hit the 1996 VMAs with his hair blow-dried and full of body. The ends of his hair appear to have been flipped up with the help of a round brush, and man, do they look luxurious.

1999: Cornrows

The '90s and early aughts were prime cornrow season for Snoop. It was his go-to hairstyle for years, making an iconic appearance in his 1993 video for "Who Am I (What's My Name?)." He's gone on the record, talking about the importance of hair to his overall look: "My hair game is legendary and was always laid," he told The Fader in 2014. "There were always moments in the hair game that kept me wanting to be different. Even when I came with the Shirley Temple curl in the ‘Next Episode’ video — no one had rocked Shirley Temples in the rap game. For me to rock it in the pimping style that I did, I brought Shirley back to life again. You’re welcome, Shirley. Thanks to me, she was popping again."

2003: Shirley Temple

Snoop first unleashed this super curly, Shirley Temple style on us for the "Next Episode" music video, but he didn't retire it after that. He took the stage at the 2003 VMAs with a head full of those shiny, crisp curls, finished with a velvet top hat and a feather.

2005: Ponytail

We've got to give Snoop some credit because this is the same braided ponytail we wear when we're deep-conditioning our hair. How he's managed to make it a full-on look, the world may never know. However, it doesn't hurt that his edges are subtly polished here and his hair is slicked down smoothly.

2013: Locs

The 2010s marked a new era for Snoop Dogg. He started making the transition to becoming Snoop Lion and made sure his hair matched his evolving persona. Enter: the locs phase of Snoop's storied hair history.

2015: Longer Locs

By 2015, it was official: Snoop's locs weren't going anywhere. Here, they fall past his clavicles, are neatly styled, and flow free. Don't worry, they get longer from here — much longer.

2017: Twisted Locs

We've seen Snoop's locs at many lengths and styled in different ways, but we're partial to this twisted look. They're defined, smooth, and when separated, recall the Shirley Temple–style curls he wore in the '90s. We love an evolved throwback look.

2018: Grown Man Locs

This ponytail is a lot more detailed than its predecessor. His hairstylist started by weaving his locs together to create three cornrows that then feed into his pony. Then, starting at the middle of his head, his locs are wrapped around all the way down to the top of his back, while the rest hang free.