Earlier this week, a photograph of Michelle Obama embracing her natural hair went viral. And now, the former First Lady's hair stylist has spoken out.
Johnny Wright, who has worked with Michelle since 2007, confirmed to Refinery29 that the viral image is recent and was taken as she returned from her holiday.
He revealed: "She actually [had a blow dry] straight before she left for vacation. I guess she got in the water or something. People want a more sexy answer, but that's really what it is."
Since the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20th 2009, Michelle Obama has been under constant media surveillance. And over the course of eight years, the former First Lady quickly gained the status as a global style icon after helping to raise the profile of designers such as Peter Pilotto and Jason Wu.
Yet throughout her time spent at the White House, the 53-year-old straightened and blow-dried her hair prior to being photographed.
Johnny told Refinery29. "She's always embraced her natural hair. For the looks she was going for and the stories she wanted to tell, I styled her hair straight. There wasn't any lack of embracing her curls. It's just what she wanted to do."
The viral image of Michelle was celebrated with over 98,000 likes and 34,774 retweets since it was first shared by a fan.
Twitter users took to the social media platform to praise the former First Lady for debuting her natural locks. One fan said: ‘Seeing Michelle Obama's natural hair is life changing’. Another tweeted: ‘Beautiful woman and a role model to girls everywhere!'
And Michelle's hairstylist was not surprised by the overwhelming applaud as he told Refinery29: "I do think that a woman of her complexion, with her figure and her hair texture, has given a whole lot of other women a chance to look in the mirror and say, 'I am beautiful, too' because I have somebody representing me."
Yet the image also faced backlash, as some Twitter users quizzed why Michelle waited until she had left the White House to embrace her natural beauty:
Michelle is currently taking time out to focus on writing her memoirs.
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