Zendaya Opens Up About Her Mullet, Zombie Nails, and Taking Risks

Zendaya’s done the impossible: She made a mullet look chic. Her secret involves risk-taking and a whole lot of confidence.

Holy cow, puberty in the public eye—you must still have nightmares.

“I had my rough patch—everyone has an awkward phase, but I don’t think it was extreme. It was just my dad and me in L.A. When I got my period, he was more stressed than I was, like, ‘My daughter’s becoming a woman!’ He didn’t know how to deal with the stuff that I [dealt] with as a young woman. Oh, I’ve had hair nightmares. When I was 14 or 15, a hairstylist on a show didn’t understand African American hair. She ended up burning a lot of it off. It was baaad. It took me a long time to grow it back, and now I’m like, ‘Don’t touch it!’ People don’t get to see my natural hair that often because I’m always wearing wigs.”

Like taking a mullet for a spin?

“That was one of my favorites. There are a gazillion different styles. Do whatever makes you feel good.”

---

More stories about Zendaya:

1. This Is Zendaya's Secret to Keeping Her Highlight Intact
2. Zendaya on Her Affordable Clothing Line for Sizes 0-22
3. 21 Times Zendaya's Hairstyles Absolutely Slayed

---

Still, it takes guts.

“I feel a responsibility to showcase different kinds of beauty through hair—every woman should be able to see herself in me in some way. I love when I get to wear my cornrows, because it’s surprising. So many people are like, ‘Wow! What a fresh, new, fun hairstyle!’ But no. It’s been around for a long time. I’m just whipping it out.”

What about makeup?

“If I’m in L.A. and there’s an event here, I do my own makeup. I just use a taupe shade on my eyes, thin cat-eye liner, and natural everything else. And I’ve been really into clear lip gloss, which I think is so underrated.”

I love your orange nail polish—what is it?

“We mixed 3,000 colors to get this color! It’s, like, four different pinks, a neon orange, and a yellow. Nails are my thing. I’ve had crazy, intricate, ridiculous stuff that I designed on a piece of paper. I’ve had Michael Jackson on my nails—Michael Jackson as a zombie, as a regular person.”

---

__ Curious to hear more from Zendaya? Check out five ways she'd change the world if she could:__