Conan O'Brien has cleared up confusion about his newly slicked-back hairstyle, revealing it was a result of treating a severe scalp sunburn.
The comedian addressed the topic during an episode of his podcast "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend," where he appeared with flattened hair and no prior explanation.
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O'Brien traced the injury to June 18, when he attended the outdoor grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, Chicago.
He applied sunscreen only to his face for the three-hour ceremony.
"It's three hours-plus, and when it's over, I'm so glad that I put the sunblock on, and I'm feeling really good about myself.
Like, smart move," O'Brien told cohosts Sona Movsesian and David Hopping.
He felt confident about avoiding facial burns compared to fellow attendees Stephen Colbert and David Letterman, whom he joked looked like they had "been playing in a sandbox with plutonium."
However, O'Brien neglected to protect his scalp under his voluminous hair, leading to painful flaking and irritation days later.
"A day or two later, after the event, I feel like my skull is on fire, and then two days after that, my [scalp] is really itchy, and whenever I itch it, it looks like a snow globe," he said.
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After learning his scalp was severely burned through his hair, someone recommended applying hair oil to relieve the damaged skin before filming his podcast.
