22 Portraits of Dolly Parton From the 1970s Proved the Higher the Hair, the Closer to Heaven

Dolly Parton is famous for her sky-high hairdo, usually in a bright shade of bleach blond. But despite it being one of her trademarks, her hair hasn’t always been that way, as she revealed: “I used to try to keep my own hair teased as big as I like it, and having the bleach and all of that, it just broke off. I thought, ‘Why am I going through all that? Why don’t I just wear wigs?’ That way, I never have a bad hair day! I have a big hair day, but not a bad hair day.”

Parton isn’t shy about the fact that she has worn wigs throughout her career. Parton has rocked lots of different wigs over the years and may be known for the high-style ones but she favors big hair.

“Well, the higher the hair, as they say…” she quipped. “But actually, I like the curls. I like the different ones. Gospel singers and country singers just have to have that big hair. It’s just a thing.”

Parton revealed that while she does sport wigs when she’s doing an appearance or performing these days, she doesn’t wear them at home all the time. “I don’t always wear [wigs] in my daily life, but I always still poof up my hair. I still like to have that flashy hair,” Parton explained.

“When I’m around home, I wear my little scrunchies,” she said. “I always put on some makeup and fix my own hair as cute as I can fix it. Wigs are just so handy. I’m so busy, and I have so many choices. I never have a bad hair day, and that’s a good thing.”