Heavy/ABC Val Chmerkovskiy debuts a clean-shaven look.
“Dancing with the Stars” professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy gave fans something to buzz about when he debuted a fresh look on social media. Typically, the DWTS star has a fair amount of scruff on his face. Now, however, he is clean-shaven and the look generated a big response.
Here’s what you need to know:
Jenna Johnson Showed Val Chmerkovskiy’s New Look 1st
Chmerkovskiy’s new look first quietly debuted in a TikTok video shared by his wife, fellow “Dancing with the Stars” pro Jenna Johnson. She shared the fun, short clip on February 16 and noted that they had a flight delay, so it seems they were goofing around a bit to pass the time.
The “Dancing with the Stars” dancers did a quirky, short dance together while stuck at the airport. They both wore comfy black outfits and had sunglasses on as they performed with straight faces.
What caught everybody’s attention, though, was Chmerkovskiy’s clean-shaven face.
One of Johnson’s TikTok followers asked, “Why did this not look like Val at all at first?” That ended up being the top comment on the post and garnered over 7,500 likes.
Quite a few others admitted they did not recognize Chmerkovskiy at first either. Several others noted that they mistook him for his older brother, former “Dancing with the Stars” pro Maks Chmerkovskiy.
One fan wrote, “He looks so much like Maks now! Love you both!”
“I thought this was an old video! Val shocked me,” added someone else.
“I was so confuzzled & now I need to see more of what Val looks like [without] facial hair,” another follower declared.
A fan admitted on the “Dancing with the Stars” subreddit, “I watched this probably 20 times…trying to make my brain recognize him and it still doesn’t.”
TikTok followers saw Chmerkovskiy’s new look first. Johnson didn’t share that video to her Instagram feed, nor did he.
Val Chmerkovskiy’s New Look Was a Hit With DWTS Fans
It took several more days, until February 19, for Chmerkovskiy’s new vibe to hit Instagram. He attended the Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards with Johnson and showed off his clean-shaven look.
Chmerkovskiy hosted the red carpet for the MUAHS Awards and he also presented along with Johnson. The “Dancing with the Stars” pro noted in the caption of his Instagram post that this was a first for him.
“First time for everything. Led with curiosity. Thanks for trusting me with the carpet @muahs_awards I had a blast,” he gushed.
He also wrote that it was a “beautiful night of celebrating the unsung artists that bring so much of what we all enjoy in the world of performing arts to life.”
Xochitl Gomez, who was Chmerkovskiy’s partner for season 32 of “Dancing with the Stars,” teased, “I thought I was doin something crazy cutting my hair.”
A few commenters noted that Chmerkovskiy had cut his hair as well.
“The curls and the clean shaven face is a serve,” one Instagram follower declared.
“Dang Val, I had to do a double take 😭👀 but the no beard look is pretty fly 🤝,” another commented.
“Awesome job and could you be anymore handsome 🔥,” raved someone else.
A different comment read, “Sharp!!! thought you were Max at first. ❤🙌”
It appears it has been quite some time since Chmerkovskiy was clean-shaven for a significant amount of time. Some Instagram posts from mid-2021 show him looking somewhat similar.
The current haircut and clean-shaven look seems to be a big hit with “Dancing with the Stars” fans, and many will be eager to see how long he keeps it.