Shakira Reveals How She Gets Her Curly Hair Stage-Ready

If you’ve ever wondered how Shakira gets those stage-perfect curls, she’s finally revealed the answer. Here’s a hint: it includes a lot of clips. On Thursday, the singer uploaded a pH๏τo of herself in hair and makeup right before her Houston show, captioned, “I insist. ‘No one said it would be easy.'” In it, I count at least 22 hair clips. Now that’s dedication.

In fact, that’s so many that, as Us Weekly noticed, Shakira actually forgot to remove one and performed with it still in her hair a week ago. In a video posted to her Instagram last week, the singer pulls up her hair to reveal one pesky clip still hidden away in her curls while she does touch-ups backstage. “So, can you believe? I’ve done the whole show with this clip here in my hair,” she says. “Well, not the whole show, but I have to take it off in the middle of the show. We didn’t realize I had this clip the whole first half of the show. That only happens to me, I swear to God.” It looks like she then proceeded to put it back in her hair. “Clip slip! All female artists who perform with a clip in their hair please raise your hands!” she added in the caption.

Of course, it’s not just hair clips doing all the work. As Us Weekly reported, Shakira posted a video two weeks ago showing stylists Cynthia Alvarez and Mely wrapping some of her unclipped curls around a curling iron for maximum oomph. “Getting ready, no one said it would be easy,” Shakira says in the video, laughing. Looks like she’s found her curling mantra.