Talking Hair and More with the Great Chaka Khan

LifestyleApril 24, 2022

Would you believe that at 66 years old, Queen of Funk Chaka Khan is still very active in the music scene and the beauty scene today? Born Yvette Marie Stevens, the music legend’s career spans a whopping five decades, since it was in the 1970s when she rose to fame as part of the funk band, Rufus. As a solo artist, she’s known for the songs Through the Fire, I’m Every Woman, You Got the Love, and I Feel For You. Aside from her incredible voice, Chaka Khan is also notable for her iconic look, with her big hair that just does not seem to lose any volume after all these years. She said that when people see her, they call her ‘lips, hips, and hair’, the three things that set her apart from other music legends her age.

Many years ago, Chaka Khan would have preferred to keep her beauty secrets to herself, but she felt now is the right time to finally reveal and share them with everyone. She calls her secrets ‘tricks of the trade’, which can help artists like herself have some edge over others. Who knows, they can even help them rise to fame just like the iconic singer.

Chaka Khan revealed that she decided to partner with her long-time hair stylist George R. Fuller and Indique Hair to come up with Chaka by Indique, a hair collection inspired by her own style. After all, the singer’s signature mane did become the inspiration for two wig styles, the IKhanic Straight and the IKhanic Curl.

Although she relied on wigs most of her career, Chaka Khan said that at the beginning, she refused to get her hair styled by a hairdresser, and that she would wear her hair as it is, because she was proud of her big hair. But as time went on, with a booming music career, it took a long time for her hair to be styled, so Fuller recommended for her to try out something new. Chaka Khan started with hair extensions before going with a full coverage wig, but even with just extensions, she already wasn’t comfortable with. She eventually gave in and loved every wig, weave, extensions she had, especially when it freed up a lot of her time.