Lena Waithe's fab fade haircut, Beyoncé's 'On the Run Tour 2' braids, and more natural hair highlights

All eyes are on Lena Waithe, and it’s not just for her genius as an actress, screenwriter, and producer. The 34-year-old is making headlines (once again) for her transformative haircut.

The creator of The Chi gradually chopped off her locs and debuted a superlow cut back in July on Instagram with the caption “New tings.” On Thursday, she attended the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual grants banquet rocking a fade-design haircut by Barber Doll the Slayer, and she opened up about how her new look allowed her to break free from whatever box society wants to place her in.

“I felt like I was holding onto a piece of femininity that would make the world feel comfortable with who I am,” Waithe said. “I think I thought for a long time, ‘Oh, if I cut my hair, I’ll be a stud, I’ll be — in the gay world, there’s a lot of categories — I’ll be a stud or I’ll be a butch,’ and I’ve always thought, ‘Well, no, I’m not that, I’m still soft,’ and I said, ‘Oh, I gotta put that down ’cause that’s something that’s outside of me.'”

Now, that is an empowering message we all need on how to create your own definition of beauty. Check out Waithe’s fresh cut, Beyoncé’s “On the Run Tour 2” braids, and Yara Shahidi’s beautiful Bantu knots on our list of celebrity natural-hair highlights.

Read more on Yahoo Lifestyle:

? Serena Williams shops at Target for beauty products, just like you and me
? What the Navy’s new hair policy means to me as a black woman
? The Curly-Hair Celebrity Stylists Redefining Hollywood Beauty

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