Gina Rodriguez Gets Real About Shaving Her Head

We didn’t think it was possible to love Gina Rodriguez more, but her recent drastic hair change and the beauty mantra that’s accompanied her new shaved head and undercut has made our admiration skyrocket.

A major hair makeover is never easy. Even if you leave the salon in love with your fresh ‘do, it takes a little while to get used to looking at your new self in the mirror. After a month of rocking her new style, Rodriguez took to Instagram to reveal her thoughts about her haircut—including the reason behind the unexpected change—with a stunning black-and-white ‘gram of herself that she captioned with an empowering message.

It reads: “I cut my hair for a film and there is nothing more freeing then realizing your beauty exists from within. I am not my hair. I am not my weight. I am not my skin color. I am love, I want to be love with every interaction, with every decision I make for myself, with every failure and success. You should try it. I dare you. Let go of what you think would make you more beautiful and discover you have all you need already inside.”

Rodriguez first shared her new makeover on Instagram last month with a dramatic photo of her chopped-off ponytail which she donated to Locks of Love, a non-profit charity that donates hairpieces to children suffering from medical-related hair loss. The Jane the Virgin’s look-good-feel-good mindset comes from beauty advice she received from her mom growing up that she’s carried with her throughout the years. “If you're constantly working on being a better human being, growing, giving, being kind, and serviceful, that grows to an extent that it doesn't matter what you're wearing or if your hair has frizz today and maybe none tomorrow. You're doing the best you can, and inside it's always beautiful. That's where it starts for me, and I really love my mom for giving me that,” Rodriguez recently told InStyle.

Preach Gina. This is one beauty philosophy we definitely believe in.