If you haven’t seen THAT photo of Kim Kardashian’s natural hair yet, where have you been? Probably working your way through a leftover box of Quality Street. Anyway, the snap in question is a grab taken from a recent North West’s (Kim’s eldest daughter) TikTok video, and it shows Kim sitting in PJs with wet hair.
However, despite being wet, Kim’s hair looks nothing like what we’re used to seeing. Instead of tumbling, glossy tresses, her blonde hair sits just below her shoulders. It’s also much thinner and appears to be fairly damaged. Clearly the TikTok was filmed at some point during the festive period as Kim appears to have just gone back to her trademark dark colour – and we have to wonder if the commotion caused by this snap of her real hair is the reason why she’s since ditched the blonde.
The video, and grabs from it, have been circulating Instagram and TikTok for the last week, with many people sharing it to show their surprise at Kim’s natural look. Hair extension specialist Andrew Thomas Jones, however, says that her damaged lengths should come as no surprise to anyone as this is the reality of bleaching hair.
In a recent Instagram Reel, Andrew says: “We’ve all seen this photo of Kim K’s natural hair, properly washed and natural. I actually really like this photo and I think it’s important people do see it because it’s the reality of bleaching your hair. You can use the most amazing products – and Kim has spoken about these products that she uses – but they can only go so far.”
He adds: “When bleaching, colouring and styling all the time, it does take its toll on the hair, and this is the perfect reality of it. Even with endless amounts of money, it does happen. This isn’t me harping on about ‘the transformation’. What they [Kim and her colourist] did in the timeframe is amazing, but I like this photo because it is the reality. This is what a normal person’s hair looks like when you bleach it. Hair breaks; it's fragile. You can't just miraculously fix it.”
Andrew is referring to the fact that Kim has previously spoken about her love of Olaplex – a popular hair brand with professional and home treatments promising to hydrate, repair and strengthen your hair during and post bleaching.
As Kim proves, even with the best products, going from dark hair to a bleach blonde will still cause damage. This is because the process of bleaching lifts your hair's outer cuticle to allow the substance to fully penetrate. With repeated bleaching sessions, you’re at risk of permanently raising your cuticle. This will, in turn, drastically dry hair out and cause breakage.
With the blonde colour resurgence from last summer still going strong, perhaps heed this as a warning to not assume that, even with incredible hair products available to us these days, that you won’t be above breakage.
And if you thought Kim did it while still maintaining perfectly thick and bouncy lengths, “The reality is it’s not all her hair,” Andrew concludes.
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