Not everyone loved And Just Like That..., but that's partly because Sex and the City was so iconic. From fashion to true friendship to love stories that had more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, Carrie Bradshaw's adventures were the most unique thing on TV at the time. It almost didn't even happen, either; Sarah Jessica had specific clauses in her contract regarding things she simply wouldn't do. While And Just Like That... couldn't really compare, it could be argued that toward its last few seasons, SATC was losing its mojo, too.
From the relationship between Carrie and Big to the fashion on the show, there's a lot to dissect, but one thing that seems to be overlooked often is Carrie's hair. It's a weird thing to focus on, but consider this: Carrie's hairstyle was iconic for its time, but over the seasons, the character lost some of her individuality as apparently, the hairstylists lost their energy. By the time AJLT rolled around, it became clear that Carrie's hair was always a lie.
Carrie Bradshaw's Hairstyle Took A Lot Of Effort On SATC
After six seasons of Sex and the City, fans finally got their big reveal: Sarah Jessica Parker doesn't actually have curly hair. While Carrie's hair was famous on its own, it took hairstylists quite a while to tame her mane into the style the character has on the show.
In one interview, a former stylist who worked with SJP explained some of Carrie's hairstyle progression by noting that her hair was heat damaged by the time Carrie landed her gig at Vogue. Rather than the haircut presenting itself in the plot, the stylists had to work with Sarah Jessica Parker's hair post-snip so it could get healthy again.
That stylist, however, claimed Parker's hair was curly, saying, "Sarah Jessica’s hair is naturally very curly so even when I’m curling it, I straighten out most of it first and then add in different kinds of textures."
Clearly, a lot of effort went into styling Carrie's hair at every stage and season, but for curly girls watching at home, it was heartening. In an era when straightening hair within an inch of its life was popular, Carrie wore an unapologetically frizzy mane, with messy buns and other styles that seemed super down-to-earth for someone who wound up working at Vogue.
It was mildly disappointing, sure, to watch her hair evolution, especially the bob. But assuming it was her natural hair (and afterward knowing that heat damage necessitated the short cut), fans didn't really mind.
Until it turned out that everything was "a lie."
Sarah Jessica Parker Confirmed Her Natural Hair Isn't Even Curly
A couple of years after the hairstylist's interview with Fashionista, Carrie herself gave an interview where she talked style, among other things.
Speaking to Refinery29, SJP discussed her hair experiences. The journalist questioned Parker about her curly hair struggles and asked whether she had trouble learning to style her textured hair.
Parker's response was enough to cause the publication to title its interview Stop Everything: Sarah Jessica Parker’s SATC Hair Is A Lie.
SJP answered, "I don’t have curly hair; I actually have very wavy hair. I think that people spend a lot of time trying to make it curly, but it’s actually very wavy."
She elaborated that she "doesn't know how" to blow out her hair, and often donned buns during her off hours. Because her hair took so much time to get done for work, Sarah Jessica explained, she would just wash it at night, sleep on it, and "whatever it is, it is" the next day.
She has also donned a wig during her time as Carrie; Sarah Jessica admitted she re-wore a SATC wig for her film Here and Now. The "bad perm" wig wasn't the only one she kept—and, obviously, wore—from Sex and the City, which adds even more mystery to the hair questions.
For example, it's still unclear whether Carrie Bradshaw's hairstyle was achieved with extensions, but it's assumed that they were sometimes used on Sarah Jessica.
Altogether, for dedicated SATC viewers, the news the Carrie's hair isn't really SJP's hair likely came as a shock. But it was less shocking to those in the know when And Just Like That... premiered.
SJP Changed Her Hair Drastically During The And Just Like That... Era
When And Just Like That... rumors began circulating, Sarah Jessica Parker was photographed often, and people began commenting on her hair. This time, of course, it was to gossip about the color.
SJP explained she had grown tired of coloring her hair blonde so often that she decided to let it go gray naturally. That meant when she appeared as Carrie once again, not only did she not have her signature curls, but she also had a bit different hair color.
Now that Parker is naturally (mostly) gray, her hairstylists had to apply color to get that buttery look that screams "Carrie Bradshaw." But they didn't try to trick her hair into being everything it's not; Carrie now has long, wavy hair instead of curls.
Sarah Jessica may have accepted a far lower paycheck for the revival of SATC, but she might be happy to at least be wearing more natural locks on set. Hopefully, all the wigs she saved from SATC can stay in their storage locker in Brooklyn, where the rest of the Carrie fashion is kept.
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