Conan O’Brien Explains Reason for His Divisive “Grease Ball” Hairstyle

“A day or two later, after the event, I feel like my skull is on fire,” he continued, “and then two days after that, my [scalp] is really itchy, and whenever I itch it, it looks like a snow globe. It looks like white freckled confetti is pouring off of my head. It’s disgusting.”

Eventually, O’Brien realized that the top of his head had been “roasted” by the sun and needed to be treated. 

“Someone said to treat this, you’ve got to rub oil into it,” he shared. “So this morning, I rubbed oil into it, not thinking about the podcast when we went on camera, and then I come in and I look like I’m in [the band] Sha Na Na. I’m a grease ball. I’m so greasy.”

Indeed, fans took notice of O’Brien’s slicked back hairstyle during the July 20 episode of his podcast, which was recorded less than two weeks after his visit to the presidential library opening.

But as he put it in the clip, the oil was preventing his classic poofy hairdo because it was “weighing my hair down and my hair can’t do its normal thing.”

Still, O’Brien had fun with his temporary appearance.

“I look like I want to fight one of you in the parking lot by swinging a chain at you in 1952, or a little switchblade,” he quipped. “I really feel different. I just want to fight people on the street. I want to get a hot rod and drive it around. I want to get Rizzo pregnant, so that Rizzo has a bun in the oven. You know what I mean?”

Lamenting that he’s learned his lesson to wear a hat in the future, O’Brien conceded, “I’m a grease ball now, and I’m just gonna keep rubbing oil into my head until my skull heals.”

For more stars who have made notable transformations to their hair over the years, keep reading…