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Taraji P. Henson is going back to her first love: hair. The Golden Globe winner has blessed us with iconic characters like Cookie Lyon in Empire, historical legends like Katherine Johnson in Hidden Figures, and Shug in Hustle & Flow. But since her youth, Henson's always had a keen interest in hair. Now, she's sharing her love with all of us, launching TPH Hair Care at Target, a super-affordable line of hair products that centers around what's most important to her: hair health. We chatted with the actor about her newest venture, her hair journey, and her commitment to amplifying the talent of Black stylists.
As told to Jihan Forbes.
Growing up in D.C., we took our hair very seriously. I was in a salon every week getting a different hairstyle. I understood hair, and I started doing my own at a really young age. I got my first Marcel curling iron and a hot stove when I was in ninth grade. I remember getting my hair done without my mother’s permission; up until then, she was doing my hair in the kitchen. But I went off one day and got it all chopped off.
I was very good at using hair tools and utensils. In college, I would do wet sets for $20 a pop. That was my little side hustle. Once I got into the acting business, I started wearing weaves because I wanted to protect my hair. I really didn't like them at first. I'd heard so many horror stories about people losing their edges and the wear and tear [weaves put] on their hair. When I had to wear my hair straight for movies, it became stressful to keep straightening and putting heat on it to match whatever scene I was in. So I started weaving my hair.
The first time I went to get the weave taken out, it smelled like mildew. I was so embarrassed. I was washing my hair, but what I wasn't doing was drying the weft. When you have a weave or an install, your hair is braided down and then sometimes they sew a [hair] net down on top of that and then they sew the hair tracks on top of that. So my dilemma was, how do I get to my scalp? How do I clean it? I didn't ever want that mildew smell again.
The first thing I used was Sea Breeze [a skin and scalp astringent]. I needed some relief! I found a little bottle, like the ones they put the dye in with the nozzle on top, and put the Sea Breeze in it. It helped, but it dries your hair out. It gets brittle. So I had to figure out how to get moisture down to my braids and clean my scalp. That’s what the TPH hair-care line is about. It’s about scalp care — and serving looks. TPH was born out of my "Master Cleanse" hair product I made for myself. For me, hair is nothing if you don’t have a clean scalp.
But I don’t want people to think that this is a line that is just targeted at natural hair. This line is also for wigs. It’s for installs, braids, locs, straight hair, curly hair — hair needs moisture. Anything I do, even if it’s with movies, I don’t want it to just be a Black movie, or the Black this or that. Yes, I’m a Black woman, and I’m always going to stick up for us first because we get left behind, but I want this to be all-inclusive. Why not?
At this point in my career, I don’t have to always show up to set with my hair already done. When nobody knew who I was, I had to take whatever [hairstylist] they gave me. I remember one time the stylist decided to put a root booster in my pressed hair. My roots looked like they were rising from the dead, honey. The rest of my head was bone-straight with a curl at the end, like a helmet head, and I had to do a whole photo shoot like that. I tried to explain it to him, and he tried to fix it, but he just didn’t know how to. And once you get that kink, man.... See, you did it. And I came in with it nice and straight.
Once I figured out [the hair thing] was an issue and I started rising in my career, I realized that I was just going to have to start fighting for the stylists I want. And that’s what I started doing. The bigger my name got, the more people were like, "Just give her what she wants."
But you’ve got to grow to that. A lot of times, we as Black women have to wear a mask, or swallow how we really feel, or take whatever is given to us. And it just drives me nuts because you can’t tell me or our culture what’s best for us. We live this stuff every day. I can never go home and take my Black off. This is my experience. How are you going to tell me about being Black? How are you going to tell me about Black hair?
TPH is all I use. I can’t use anything else. I tried to use other stuff, and I’m like, "No." I don’t put my name on things I don’t actually use. I did a campaign [in 2013] for Jergens Shea Butter Moisturizer lotion, and I’m still using it to this day. If you go to the store and can’t find it, it’s because I’m in the area and I bought it out. I buy three, four, five at a time because that’s how much I love it. I also have a cleanser I use every day from Bioré, the Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser.
The drugstore doesn’t sell the moisturizing cream I’ve been using for 20 years. It’s called Paul Scerri pH Balancing Cream. It’s from Switzerland. People say to me, "Oh, your skin — you look so young." This is what I do — Bioré, this moisturizer, and an occasional mask. I’m obsessed with the Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Mask and their Hydra-Gel Eye Patches. My makeup artist tells me I can’t use those eye patches every day. I’m like, "What do you mean? It’s part of my routine!" I just love the way they make my eyes feel. I also love to use pure cocoa butter. I use the one from Now Solutions. It’s brick-hard — you have to put it in the microwave to soften it.
For makeup, I love my Fenty line. Rihanna did her damn thing with this Fenty, honey. My favorite remover right now is Clinique Take the Day Off. I did a campaign with them. I used to use Clinique way back in the day too. I need this by the tub, especially with the stuff Ashunta [Sheriff, her makeup artist on Empire] puts on Cookie. I had glitter lips the other day; glitter lodged all in my throat. But this stuff got it off in one wipe.
Taraji's beauty faves
The actor’s routine is simple: Discover a product, use it for the rest of your life, receive manifold compliments.
1. Bioré Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser
2. Jergens Shea Butter Moisturizer
3. TPH Never Salty Hair Scrub
4. Milani Ludicrous Lip Gloss in Fishnet Tights
Read more stories from our March 2020 issue:
- Lili Reinhart Never Had a Backup Plan
- Inside the Unchecked World of the Spas Lining the Las Vegas Strip
- Huda Kattan Shares Exclusive Details on Her New Skin-Care Brand
Now, watch Lili Reinhart give a fan a makeover in 60 seconds:
