Key Takeaways
- Rihanna says self-doubt still affects her creative process, from music to product development.
- She explained that her natural hair journey was a personal challenge that helped shape Fenty Hair.
- Her method for overcoming fear involves taking a break and returning with a fresh perspective.
Rihanna may be the queen of building empires in music, beauty and fashion, but even she isn’t immune to questioning herself along the way. While promoting her latest Fenty Beauty release in Paris, the global star made an appearance on the “Couch by Lena Situations” podcast and admitted that self-doubt still creeps in — whether she’s launching a new product or working in the studio.
“Oh, we all have our doubts,” Rihanna said when asked if she ever second-guesses herself during the creative process. “Anything that you're creating, you get to a point where you're like, ‘Okay, we're about to go for it. Is it good enough?’ And I even experience that with music. When I make my albums, I get to a point where I think, ‘Wow, I've lived with it for so long, I know it works, but now I'm about to give it to the world. Like, Is it right? Is it right yet?’”
She added, “I experience that with all of my product development. All of them… If you're creative, you're gonna have doubt.” So how does the Rihanna move through that uncertainty? “I usually try to step away from it for a little bit and then come back to it with fresh ears or fresh eyes and just reappreciate it for what it is,” she explained. A simple reset — even for someone who dominates every industry she touches.
Rihanna opens up about struggles embracing her natural hair
During the same interview, the business mogul also reflected on her personal hair journey and how it fueled one of her latest innovations, Fenty Hair. She said learning to love her natural texture was a “struggle” that took time. “We've always been taught to love what you don't have, especially when it comes to hair,” she shared. “If you have straight hair, you want it to be bigger. If you have big, curly hair, you want it to be straighter and thinner.”
“That was a struggle for me,” Rihanna continued. “Falling in love with my hair again was the biggest inspiration for me to create this brand. I wanted products that not just worked, but more importantly, I wanted them to repair your hair and replenish your hair every step of the way.”