Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas shows off natural hair along with a heartfelt message

Gymnast Gabby Douglas, 24, has shown off several different hairstyles throughout the years, but she says her latest look is all-natural.

The Olympic gold medalist gave fans a look at her lengthy strands along with a heartfelt caption discussing how always having to put her hair in tight ponytails to do gymnastics left her hair completely damaged.

"I had bald spots on the back of my head," she wrote. "I was so embarrassed and self-conscious that I put a bunch of clips over the spots to try and cover them up, but it was still noticeable."

Douglas went on to say that when her hair previously grew a little, she had to cut it all off because it was so damaged.

"I cried and cried and cried," Douglas said. "Most days I didn't even want to go to the gym because I felt so embarrassed that all my hair was gone."

In 2012, Douglas' pulled-back ponytail was met with criticism from people on social media during a time when many would agree that more attention should have been put on the gold medals she was winning.

Regardless of her personal hair struggles and public scrutiny, Douglas also said in her caption that she kept going.

"Fast forward to the both Olympics and my hair was the topic of conversation," she said. "Now here I am today - no extensions - no clip-ins - no wigs - no chemicals - all me."

Since posting, Douglas' natural hair reveal and message have received more than 76,000 likes and loads of comments cheering her on.

One Instagrammer Ry Ybarra wrote "I remember how you made History!! And all the media did was criticize your hair.. Who has the last laugh now!! You are awesome Gabby!"

Prior to giving fans a look at her natural hair, Douglas excited fans with another vibrant blonde look several weeks earlier in August.

She captioned the photo, "Hey. Who's the blonde?"

Douglas seems to be having lots of fun with her hair, and we can't wait to see what she shares next.