‘The wig was a lifesaver

Tina Turner made sure all her wigs were “simply the best.”

The legend, who died on Wednesday at 83 after battling a long illness, was known for her wild and larger-than-life hairstyles, but it didn’t always start out like that.

Growing up, Turner, also known as Anna Mae Bullock, always compared her hair to her sister, who had a softer texture.

“Her hair was soft, while my hair was very full and thick,” Turner revealed in a 1986 Rolling Stone interview. 

In high school, she kept her hair very modest with a neat pin curl, blending in with the crowd.

When she started her career in the 1960s, the singer experimented with her natural curls.

Turner had the typical Motown updo hairstyle that many artists like Diana Ross, Tammi Terell and Kim Weston were rocking at that time.

However, after a horrific trip to the hair salon, her days of wearing natural hair were over.

“I was at a hair salon with the [band’s backing singers] the Ikettes and the beautician let the bleach stay on my head a little too long,” she shared in the 2018 biography “Tina Turner: My Love Story.”

The relaxer treatment left her hair brittle and unable to execute an updo look for a performance that evening.

The “Proud Mary” crooner’s next and only option was a wig.

“It took an accident, one that turned out to be a blessing in disguise, to prompt me to get my first wig,” she wrote.

Realizing the versatility wigs provided her, the “queen of rock ‘n’ roll” wore them off and on stage.

If she was going to commit to the look, she did not want her wigs to look like “a curtain of fake hair,” so she started to construct her own wigs to resemble a natural look.

Turner followed different hairstyle trends with her wigs, from short cuts to long hair.

The performer was all about having a good time on stage, so having a hairstyle that complimented her movement and still looked flawless after an intense performance was a bonus.

“The wig was a life-saver — but more than that, I loved the way it looked, how the hair moved when I moved, how it was straight and pretty and held a style, no matter what I did.”

However, once she split from her abusive ex-husband Ike Turner, she decided it was time to reinvent her image with the iconic blond mane.

In a 1985 Good Morning America interview, the “What’s Love Got to Do With It” singer revealed steps to achieve her staple hairstyle.

“First of all, you need to wash them and let them dry by themselves,” Turner said. “Then you need to ruffle them with a comb and rub them with hair gel and ruffle again. I repeat this about three times.”

She backcombed all her wigs, purchased from Africa and Italy, to ensure they maintained an identical appearance.

“I’m not surprised when people think my wig is my own hair, because I’ve always considered it an extension of myself. In a way, it is my hair,” the icon shared in her biography.

Wigs became a large part of Turner’s identity.

“I’ve been making them all my life, so they’ve never looked like they’ve been taken off a hanger,” she said in a 1996 Swiss TV interview. “That’s why I don’t have many of them, because it’s difficult.”

Turner eventually downsized from the massive mane to a smaller hairstyle with blonde and brown tips.

The legend did admit, “I loved the comfort [wigs] gave me and the ease with which they guaranteed a great look, but I always had some fears.”

“Don’t laugh, but I’ve always been a little nervous about starting a relationship with a new man because I didn’t know how my wig would be received,” she confessed in her memoir “My Love Story.”

“As much as I loved the convenience and easy beauty, I always ran the risk of meeting a man who might have a problem becoming romantically involved with Tina, with her bountiful hair and glamorous trimmings, but waking up with unadorned Anna Mae. What if he were disappointed by the real me?”

As she got older, Turner wore less outrageous and voluminous hairstyles, sticking to a simpler look.

In her final photo posted on Twitter in March 2021, the legendary performer is seen wearing a honey brown blunt cut bang wig with anticipation for her then-upcoming documentary “Tina” on HBO.