By Indigo Black and Renay Alize
Serena Williams has come a LONG way since her beads-and-braids wearing early tennis playing days. Seriously, when you think of young Venus and Serena, you think of tennis–then braids. But the tennis champ has left those things behind for a bevy of extensions that could take up a whole weave aisle in a beauty supply store (variety IS the spice of life). Some have been very chic and Hot looks, others have been very crazy and confusing. This gallery features some of her best and worst hair looks over the years. Hopefully you’ll get some inspiration of what to try out, and what Yaki to leave in the bag.
Barbie Gone Bad
Lord have mercy! Some people just aren’t meant to throw on the brightest Barbie blonde they can find. Serena is a gorgeous girl, but this stringy blonde look with the dark roots is killing me. Softly. It possibly could have worked maybe if the look wasn’t so straight down and flat, but like this, not so much. And paired with this orange dress!? Spell it out with me: H-O-T M-E-S-S.
Honey Blonde
If you’re going to go for a lighter hue, this is the way to do it, Serena. Here her hair is about the same length as the picture before it, yet this color translates so much better. Why? Because it’s not a shock to your system like the bleached blonde one. This hair is fuller. It looks more natural. And it’s swept a bit to the side so we can see Serena’s pretty smile. That’s how it’s done, boo.
Lacefront Follies
Okay, so this time around homegirl went for something a little darker. Matches her eyebrows, a good color for her skin, yada yada. But why is this lace front so apparent??? I’m guessing she was wearing a lace front before it was really popular, so maybe folks weren’t working their hardest to reach that invisible look. But I can see all that on her forehead. And the fact that her hair is doing a mix of crimps, curls and some straight strands makes it look like she went through a sauna before stepping out for this event. Nice try, but no thank you.
Bouncing Curls
Werk! In the coming pages you’ll start to notice that, in our opinion, Serena looks her best when she’s rocking a mid-neck length bob. Her face also gets the shine and attention it needs and deserves when her hair is pushed back. You need look no further than this picture for proof. She’s literally glowing.
A Big and Bountiful Bust (Not that bust)
I’m all about curly fun hair (I’m a big fan of Teyana Taylor’s big, curly signature ‘do), but something about Serena’s hair here is a little off. Could be that it’s so much hair that it’s shrouding her face, possibly that awkward part, and maybe the highlights at the bottom of her hair, but basically, I’m not feeling it because there’s just a bit too much going on altogether. I’ve come to the conclusion that Serena’s best looks are short and fun, not big and bountiful like this. Agree?
Classic Black
I’m nobody’s weavologist, so I could be wrong, but I’m inclined to believe that we’re seeing a lot of Serena’s real hair in this look. Maybe she has some pieces in there for fullness and length, but this looks super real, fashionable and chic. I know Serena used to go super hard for the blonde look but I prefer darker colors on her. You can’t go wrong with classic black.
Dried and Dyed
Do I need to really say anything about this weave? This brassy color wasn’t the best idea in the first place, but the dry scarecrow look on the left isn’t a good look for her (Oil, someone? Get this girl some oil!), and the straight and sticky look on the right doesn’t do anything for her face. But hey, we’ve all had to go through our share of misses to get a “hit” hair look right?
Cascade
And this right here is what we mean when we talk about a hit. Once you get over how sick Serena’s body looks in this shot, you’ll also notice that her hair is banging! With loose, cascading curls, again pulled away from her face Serena is giving us everything! Love it.
An ’80s Flashback
You might disagree with me and find this look as fabulous as fabulous can be; but once again, I think this is too much hair for Serena. The random spots with highlights are okay, but the curls are so big (they don’t go out, just down) that her face is shrouded yet again, and it looks like she is wearing a lion’s mane. Remember that episode of Martin where Gina got her head stuck in the bed and had to wear that HUGE curly weave to work? Yeah, this is the reincarnation of that look…
Fun and Fancy Free
I’m not gonna lie, I’m a sucker for the side-swept bang! It just takes an otherwise ordinary hairstyle to the next level. While this hair is fairly simple, (You could probably achieve this look on your own.) it is truly working for Ms. Williams. It’s shiny, it’s full and the perfect length for the shape of her face. Not to mention this is just an excellent picture of the tennis champ. If she stays on this track, Serena is guaranteed to have far more hits than misses in her hair future.
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