Why Does Figure Skater Alysa Liu Have Striped Hair? Meaning Explained
Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu’s signature striped hairstyle may have brought Team USA good luck at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina.
Ever since Liu returned to figure skating in 2024 after a two-year retirement, she has dominated the rink while rocking alternating bleached and dark brunette horizontal bands in her hair.
“Every year, I add a stripe,” Liu told NBC News in January 2026. “It’s going to be like this for a year, then — next wintertime, end of December — I do another ring.”
Liu continued rocking her trademark hair style at Milan and Cortina in February 2026, where she won a gold medal in the Team Event alongside fellow Team USA members Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn, Ellie Kam, Daniel O’Shea, Madison Chock and Evan Bates. Her Olympic success comes on the heels of Liu clinching the 2025 World Figure Skating Championship and her triumph at this year’s Grand Prix of Figure Skating Finals.
Keep scrolling for more about Liu’s signature look.
What Is the Significance of Alysa Liu’s Hairstyle?
Alysa Liu started skating at age 5 and won her first intermediate gold medal at the 2016 U.S. Championships when she was only 10 years old. In those days, Liu was recognizable on the ice for her dark brunette locks.
Liu stunned the skating world in 2022 when she announced her retirement at age 16. At the time, the skater said she was “so satisfied with how my skating career has gone” and was ready to start “moving on with my life.”
“I honestly never thought I would’ve accomplished as much as I did,” she wrote via Instagram.
The athlete’s retirement lasted for two full figure skating seasons before Liu confirmed she was “back on the ice” in March 2024. Liu emerged from her retirement with her now-unmistakable bleached blonde and brunette bands in her hair.
Alysa Liu in February 2026. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
“I just wanted to be a tree,” Liu told Paralympian Haven Shepherd in a February 2026 interview. “Three years ago, I put my first [bleached band] and I thought, ‘Oh, next year, wintertime … I’m going to do the second one,’ so I did.”
By the time she stepped on the ice in Milan and Cortina, Liu had three bleached bands in her hair.
Alysa Liu Shook Up Her Style Prior to Her Skating Comeback
Speaking to NBC News ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympic Game, Alysa Liu broke down the three-year evolution of her signature hairstyle.
“So this [top band] I did at the end of 2023, then did another one in 2024 and 2025,” she confirmed in February 2026.
Liu further explained, “I bleached it, but I wanted it to be lighter. Because I usually do it like a gingery color, but I was like, ‘I want something different. I want it light.’ And so I made it lighter.”
How Alysa Liu Bleaches Her Hair
Paralympian Haven Shepherd jokingly referred to Alysa Liu as a “DIY girl” in their February 2026 interview because the skater originally handled the styling all by herself.
“I did do it myself,” she said of her first bleaching in 2023.
However, Alyssa confessed to Shepherd that she recently started going to colorist Kelsey Miller in St. Louis to take advantage of “salon-grade products.”
Alysa Liu in January 2026. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
“To get this light, I had to go to a salon,” she explained. “I couldn’t lift my hair like this. It lifted good, not good enough. So, I went to a salon and she redid the other stripes just so it would match.”
Shepherd assured Liu that her stripey style was “a slay” regardless of whether a professional stylist helped.
It Took 5 Hours to Color Alysa Liu’s Hair Correctly
Alysa Liu’s colorist Kelsey Miller revealed to Allure in February 2026 that it took five hours to balance Liu’s desired “milk tea” color with her naturally-darker brunette shade.
“I specialize in dimensional hair color, redheads, and extensions,” Miller told the publication. “It was fun to shake it up and do something I don’t typically do.”
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The exhaustive process started with Miller layering in the alternating colors “in the back of [Liu’s] head and took it all the way through.”
“Your hair is truly your identity,” Miller pointed out. “It can help you with your confidence … I love to see that this is brought into the sports world because I feel like [the confidence that comes from it] only makes her a better athlete.”
Miller walked her Instagram followers through the full process of lightening Liu’s hair in a January 2026 before-and-after video.
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Article source: https://www.usmagazine.com/stylish/news/why-does-team-usa-figure-skater-alysa-liu-rock-striped-hair-meaning-explained/