Beyoncé Knowles gave fans a rare look at her family life on Father’s Day, sharing a 7-minute video devoted to husband Jay-Z’s recent hair transformation.
After sporting locs for eight years, the rapper took the stage on May 30 in Philadelphia for the 2026 Roots Picnic concert rocking an afro.
Now, in footage shared to the YouTube channel for Knowles’ haircare line, Cécred, she explained why Jay started to grow out his hair around 2017. She also revealed why he switched it up in May, and detailed the painstaking process to comb it back out.
Why Jay-Z Grew Out His Hair
The video is titled “The Blueprint,” a nod to Jay-Z’s 2001 album of the same name. It begins with Knowles saying, “Everyone wants to know the details of Jay’s hair transformation.”
First, she explained why he grew out his hair and sported locs in the first place.
“I thought it was always beautiful that the real reason Jay grew out his hair was to show Blue that her hair was like his hair,” she shared, referring to the couple’s eldest child, daughter Blue Ivy Carter.
“Let me rewind and tell you some backstory,” Knowles continued. “Our daughter was about 5, and she wasn’t feeling very confident in her hair at that time. When she told her father that, it inspired Jay to grow out his hair. We really wanted her to love and embrace every inch of her gorgeous curls.”
While she said her daughter “had no idea that her father’s hair had texture like hers,” Beyoncé herself was surprised by his makeover, remarking, “Who would have thunk all this healthy hair could go beyond that low cut Caesar with the deep waves.”
Over time, she said he became one of Cécred’s “most loyal customers,” as home video showed both Blue and Beyoncé taking care of Jay’s hair through the years.
Why Jay-Z Combed Out His Locs
According to Beyoncé, Jay told her a few months ago that he wanted to comb out his locs. The reason? He was doing a show with The Roots in Philadelphia and wanted to “honor” his father, whose favorite sports team was from Philly.
“His dad used to rock a fro, so he wanted to rock a fro in his honor,” she explained. “I wasn’t all the way convinced he’d be able to comb out his locs, since he had such thick, long, wicks and his hair had been loc-ing for over 8 years.”
Beyoncé added that she was also “pretty obsessed” with his hair the way it was, admitting she “really didn’t want him to cut them.” Per Knowles, “a lot of memories” can be stored in locs, adding that a transformation as big as this one “can be emotional.”
As the video showed the detangling process, Beyoncé said that the key ingredients to a makeover like this are “patience and love.” In the footage, both Beyoncé and Blue helped remove his locs, with the help of Cécred products, as she called it a “family affair” to accomplish.
“It’s not for the faint of heart,” Jay himself admitted on the fifth day of the process. On Day 6, it was time for really deep conditioning, before his hair was blow-dried, trimmed, and put into cornrows.
The video ends with him taking the stage with his afro in Philadelphia, with his wife saying his hair that day “was beautiful from start to finish.”
