Jessica Alba’s beauty evolution was a joy to watch, and she rocked many different hairstyles over the years. From blunt bangs to chunky highlights, the Sin City actress really did it all – but did any of her hairstyles involve extensions?

Yes, Jessica Albawears extensions, but it’s not uncommon forHollywood stars to do so. In order to stand out on the red carpet, they’re required to constantly try new things, and wearing extensions is one of the best ways to completely transform your hairstyle.

Jessica Alba’s Hair Evolution

Jessica Alba has been in the spotlight since the late ‘90s and went through more hair transformations than we can count. Some of them were a reflection of times, while others proved she’s a true trendsetter.

She used to have a lot of fun with hair and makeup during the early 2000s, and picked up a couple of tricks from her mother who went to cosmetology school. From edgy red dye to more subtle golden curls, she was always full of surprises when it came to hair.

After many hair experiments, Alba managed to switch back from blonde to brunette without significantly damaging her hair. She mostly stuck to this color and admitted using hair extensions to get more volume – especially when it came to straight hair.

“The straight hair was fun. I put, like, 70 tracks in my hair because I don’t want to look like a wet dog. When I do the straight hair, I put in many tracks so that it still has volume and doesn’t look like I just came out of the water,” the actress told Elle while looking back at one of her hairstyles from 2014.

Hair Tips and Secrets

Having beautiful and healthy hair like Alba’s doesn’t come easy, but she shared several tips and secrets to copy her look. She thinks it’s extremely important to let your hair rest, and often sleeps with leave-in conditioner to keep her hair in good shape.

Alba also believes it’s crucial to avoid exposing your hair to heat. She recommends using hair tools that won’t damage your hair or get too hot, and often lets her hair dry naturally, after using sea salt spray and conditioning milk, and twisting it into five sections. When it comes to dying her hair, the actress worked closely with colorist Robert Ramos over the years, and usually used three to four different colors in her highlights to accomplish her signature look.

“I like warmer honey colors, and instead of just two colors in your hair, ask for a blend of colors. Hair is multifaceted, and there are many different tones in there, and I think the more that you can keep it tonally mixed, the better,” Alba told Byrdie.

Despite her best attempts to take care of her hair, the Fantastic Four star revealed that she ended up at the emergency room after having an allergic reaction to some conventional hair products. This experience inspired her to launch her own hair care line with The Honest Company.

DIY Haircuts

In addition to enjoying taking care of her own hair, Jessica Alba also loves doing braids and she admitted giving her daughters haircuts a few times. She even did it while social distancing, and asked celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin for a couple of pointers. The actress did a pretty good job, but admitted it wasn’t easy, especially if your kids are impatient and don’t want to sit still.

Alba also told Refinery29 that she’ll let her kids dye their hair if they want to, but she’ll warn them of the dangers that come with it.

“If they are curious about dyeing their hair, then they need to understand that if they go lighter, it’s going to damage their hair, it’s not going to be the same texture, they’re probably going to have to cut it off. I’ll just have them understand what they’re getting themselves into.”