Simone Biles Loves Her Hair, Thank You Very Much: 'We Don't Have to Look Like Everybody Else' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Simone Bileshas landed a new hair partnership.

For Biles, the appointment is another step in her journey to embrace her hair — and let go of the hate from the outside world.

“When I was younger, I was in braids, beads, berets, all of that stuff,” Biles recalls.

However, there became a time when her thick, coarse hair began to feel “unmanageable” and she was in need of an easy solution.

It was then that Biles remembers feeling like she didn’t particularly like her hair, and compared it to others, including her sister’s. “She had fine, thin hair, so it took a lot less time to get pressed out. So I was like, ‘Why can’t I have hair like my sister?’” Biles says.

“So, I started [relaxing] it, because that’s how every girl’s hair looked, and I wanted to look like all the other girls. Everyone went through that phase where if it’s not relaxed, it’s not right.”

K18 ambassador Simone Biles.Courtesy of K18

Courtesy of K18

Eventually, Biles decided to quit relaxing her hair and go natural again. Her secret to success has been to love her hair first and foremost, and to treat it right using the correct products.

That’s where K18 comes in. “There’s so many different hair types and textures that you can use these products on, whether your hair is natural or you wear it in braids or weaves," she explains.

Her favorite,K18’s Molecular Hair Repair Oil, which she says is the secret to scoring a shiny, sleek look. (The oil also fortifies hair from the inside out thanks to the brand’s patented peptide technology.)

Wearing her hair in the aforementioned protective styles has allowed Biles to experiment more with colors and looks, which in turn has led to her strengthening her hair as well as her relationship with it.

“Now I’ve been natural for so many years and I don’t really care what people say,” Biles states.

K18 ambassador Simone Biles appears in an ad at Sephora Union Square in New York City.Courtesy of K18

During the Paris Olympics, Biles posted an Instagram Story documenting a 45-minute, air conditioner-less bus rideand captioned the pic, “Next time you want to comment on a Black girl’s hair, just don’t.”

She tells PEOPLE that she knew in posting the photo, certain people would focus on her edges — hence the comment.

“We were on the bus and it was 97 degrees and we were sweating bullets and I’d just freshly pressed out my edges and I was like, ‘Oh God, I just know they’re going to want to start with my hair, so I’m going to set the record straight.'"

Biles questions, “Who cares what my hair looks like?”

If it wasn’t already clear: it’s how she competes that matters.

K18 ambassador Simone Biles.Courtesy of K18

Courtesy of K18

“I feel like everyone not only has different hair textures, but [different ways] they like to wear their hair. Whenever I’m [competing], I know my hair is crazy. My gymnastics, clean; hair, messy.”

She continues, “[Even if] my hair is all over the place, I’m still performing because that’s not what I’m worried about when I’m on a world stage. And if you don’t like it, you don’t like it.”

Biles finds that it’s often other Black people who comment on her hair, which is especially disheartening.

“We know how hard and how annoying and irritating that is, so why would you go and comment on another girl? It’s beyond me, but it doesn’t really bother me like it did whenever I was younger because I know when I need to pop out and look right, then I’m going to look right.”

Biles has another message for the critics of her hair game: “We don’t have to look like everybody else.”

With her now-viral post, Biles also wanted to assure other natural girls “it’s okay that your hair is a little bit messy or all over the place.”

But when Biles does want to “pop out and look right” as she puts it, she turns to Johnson to work her magic.

What was supposed to be one 90-minute block wound up being four hours of laughing, crying and more. On the spot, Biles asked Johnson to style her for a shoot the next day. They’ve worked together ever since.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

The two have a close bond rooted in honesty. Johnson always keeps it real when it comes to Biles’ hair. That’s why when the two began using K18, Johnson says, the difference was palpable. “Her hair’s stronger than it’s ever been.”

Johnson says consistency is key, so the self-described “drill sergeant” constantly checks in with Biles when they’re not together. She also has Biles treat her hair with K18’smaskbetween appointments.

Joe Scarnici/Getty

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Johnson admires the “hard turn” Biles has taken on her appearance over the last couple of years, explaining, “She’s come into her own, she’s more confident now.”

The hair pro does her part to keep her client and friend looking and feeling good. “Oh my God, I am the biggest cheerleader,” she says.

“It doesn’t matter how she looked,” Johnson says. “You could tell she felt good if you looked at her face.”

source: people.com