Dolly Parton Just Revealed Why She's Been Wearing Wigs Her Whole Career

Dolly Parton has never been shy when it comes to revealing her beauty secrets—that’s one of the (many many) reasons we love her so much. From discussing her insecurities to joking about her proclivity for plastic surgery, the 77-year-old is an open book when it comes to her signature look. And why shouldn’t she be? Everything she has going on is absolutely iconic.

With that being said, Dolly has always been open about the fact that her signature hairstyle—voluminous and platinum blonde, you know the one—is actually a wig. Now, she’s sharing why she started using faux hair in the first place. “I started wearing wigs because I quickly realized that bleaching and teasing my hair every day would cause breakage and not look good,” shared the songwriter in an interview to promote her new book, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones. "It was handy to have several looks that I could just choose from, and never have a bad hair day.”

While there are smart ways to go about it, bleach can wreak havoc on your strands. And if your signature style depends on peroxide as much as Dolly’s, it’s nice to have options. “[My first hairstylist] Colleen Owens introduced me to my first hairpiece—they used to be called falls—that you could add to your own hair and give you extra bulk. And it was through her that we found wigs,” Parton explained. “She was so creative. The wigs were wearing me—I wasn’t wearing the wig! But I loved all the intricate little things that Colleen used to do. It was always the bigger, the better.”

Parton also explained where she got her idea for the wig’s style: A woman in her hometown who wore her “peroxide blonde hair” piled up on top of her head. When I was little, I patterned the way I looked after the town tramp in our hometown,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer shared. “I thought she was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen.”