Ireland Baldwin is interesting. She’s pretty forthcoming (though not about her father’s soccer team) and seems to have carved out a different, more offbeat path for herself than most nepo-babies (like her cousin). Anyway, she shaved off her long blonde hair and said “do things that scare you” and “do things that other people say you’ll never do.” She also called it a reset from the years of over-processing during her modeling career.
You know Ireland Baldwin.
She’s the daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, and a model who always keeps it real on IG.
From talking about her abortion experience to posting unedited pap pics, Ireland always shares with authenticity and honesty.
Anyway, on Saturday, the model — who normally rocks long blonde hair — revealed that she shaved her head in a new photo.
Ireland explained her reasoning on her Instagram story. “Do things that scare you,” she wrote. “Do things that other people say you’ll never do.”
“My hair was destroyed by years of bleach and modeling and bullshit since I was 17,” she continued.
“It’s long overdue for a restart/refresh. I’ve always wanted to do this, but I was always scared. Now that I don’t care about what other people think, I feel more beautiful than ever.”
“GI Jane/Evey Hammond level unlocked,” Ireland concluded.
At first the “do things that other people say you’ll never do” seemed a bit immature to me. Like do things just for the sake of proving people wrong, being a contrarian to be a contrarian, etc. But I get the sentiment behind it with her saying that she always wanted to do it, but she was scared, and now doesn’t care what others think. There’s power in that and she looks great. The shaved head makes her look young and fresh and otherworldly. And I definitely get the impulse to shave your head and just grow your hair from scratch without the heat damage, color damage, etc. My sister and I had a similar conversation last year: that if we’d known how long covid would last we would have shaved our heads in March 2020. Because it sounds like a great idea until the buzzcut reveals a giant egghead or a lumpy bumpy skull. I think I might have a big egghead so I couldn’t pull this off, but the women who can look really cool.
What a beautiful woman. I LOVE her smile in the second pic with her buzz cut. The platinum looks great too.
I’m getting over a foot of hair chopped off this weekend and I cannot wait. I’ve never had hair that short, and even just the anticipation is getting me through the week. It’s always been a security blanket for me, especially as I rarely wear makeup, don’t paint my nails, etc., so I feel like if I have my hair done, I’m ‘put together.’ I’m so looking forward to saying ‘eff it’ and do something that’s a big change for me =)
Pretty lady. She sorta looks like Amber Rose with the shaved head.
Looks good on her. But no, I’m never shaving my head unless there’s a reason. Like a medical condition. Who knows what my skull looks like! Who knows if my face can sell it. My hair is one of the very few things about my looks that I always loved, it stays. But if someone wants to try it, I say go for it. Just please don’t do it to be “unexpected”.
Absolutely! If you love your hair zero reason to chop it. I’ve had mine a huge variety of lengths etc but as I work in a cancer hospital I’m not getting the buzz unless sponsored to do so or it’d be insensitive as hell!
I shaved my head off after my 50th birthday. My skull is ugly, lopsided and with a big lump on the back.
I just don’t care what people think anymore, 5 months on it’s so practical and easy to maintain that if people don’t want to look at my ugly head, they can turn their attention elsewhere 🤣
HAH love this. That’s where I’m gravitating towards…comfort and ease rather than effort.
@Hedgehog I love that attitude as well- just because it’s seen as liberating for many, doesn’t mean the inverse isn’t also liberating <3 and bless you for working in a cancer hospital. I did that for a year, and it was tough (non skilled, basically an orderly). It was rewarding, but tough.
I can understand this. I’ve thought about doing a close cut, not quite shave off and on for a few years.
I have stopped perming and coloring my hair about 10 years ago. I wear it about chin length now.
Totally agree that years of coloring, etc. damages the hair and then it’s a constant struggle to repair it.
I did this when I was 19 and it was incredibly freeing. This is just old lady wisdom, but media has really done a number on the collective. It’s okay to be whatever feels right for you. If you’re healthy and you are happy with your appearance, go for it. People need to stop policing other people’s bodies!
Astounding the amount of folks out there that actually have to be told not to look at something they don’t like looking at.
I think it’s great that she shaved her head, but she’s a beautiful woman, she was always going to look great with a shaved head. To the ‘do things that scare you’. I think this is a little more aspirational when it’s things of substance that scare you. Applying for a new job, going back to school, starting a business, getting sober. etc. It reminds me of that meme I saw about self care. It’s not just taking a sudsy bath with candles; self-care is budgeting, putting together the materials to ask for a raise, saying no to the wine with a bath, starting to workout, letting go of truly toxic people and on and on. I must just be grumpy today, I know hair means a lot, but I don’t know why an aesthetic choice has to be dressed up as some life changing event.
ETA: I read through some other comments. I can see how shaving could be life changing for some, I guess.
I see what you’re saying. She’s young & pretty, so of course she looks good this way. But hair is very very important to a lot of people, particularly women. It can feel like a very brave thing indeed to shave one’s head.
I shaved my head in the pandemic because I had a pixie and couldn’t get to my hair dresser to cut it. Going from a pixie to a buzz isn’t all that much of a change I guess. I think people wayyyyy overthink the shape of their skulls or whatever. Like our other “flaws,” we care about it far more than anyone else. People are going to notice your shaved head, but they aren’t going to notice the bump you think is so obvious (it is not). It is freeing, easy to maintain, and if you’re considering it, I recommend it.
She looks great! But if she shaved it off due to dye damage, why did she bleach it platinum? Seems like that’s just starting the cycle all over again…
Between this and the Emma Watson post, I think my prediction of the post(?)-COVID pixie boom is coming true. I know that I grew my hair longer than I had had it in many years during 2020. A few months ago I took the plunge and chopped it shorter than I had in many years. It just feels so good to drop all that weight. Gives you a whole new outlook!
I can’t help but think of how different the reaction was when Britney Spears shaved her head.