Jessica Alba is a good example of what "having it all" looks like. She's running a business, raising a family, acting, and still making time for vacations with her besties (who also happen to be a part of her glam squad). And, as of yesterday, Honest Beauty just about has it all, too: makeup, skin care, and now, an 11-piece hair care line.
Naturally, Alba's company's entry into this category had a mission. She tells us it's the craziest thing she's requested from her team thus far: to seek out hair products that don't have synthetic fragrances ("they're so hard to find," says Alba).
For more details on what to expect from the launch (and discussion of all things hair, skin, and makeup), we got on the phone with the beauty boss. Find the highlights from our chat — from hairstyling tips to when kids should be allowed to wear makeup to the most luxurious spa treatments Alba has indulged in — below.
What does a good hair day look like for you?
"My natural texture. I go to work with my hair wet every day, and I put sea salt spray in my roots. Then, I put conditioning milk on my ends, and I twist my hair into five sections, like a corkscrew, and that’s just what my hair does after. That’s my everyday — it takes about five minutes." If you could have anyone else's hair, whose would it be?
"Does Princess Jasmine count?" What's your dream beauty product that hasn’t been invented yet?
"Theres so many! Something that could decrease your pores and even out your skin in a week without burning your face off would be nice." Will you let your kids dye their hair or wear makeup?
"Of course I will! I think that those aren’t big-deal things. You just have to teach them how to do it, so they can do it the right way and not look ridiculous. But yeah, I think you do everything in moderation and slowly introduce makeup or skin care to their lives when it’s time. And if they are curious about dyeing their hair, then they need to understand that if they go lighter, it's going to damage their hair, it's not going to be the same texture, they're probably going to have to cut it off — and are they willing to do that? I'll just have them understand what they’re getting themselves into." Do your daughters wear makeup now?
"No, they don’t wear makeup. They definitely like to put my lip gloss on, but they immediately wipe it off. Well, Haven doesn’t, Haven can keep it on longer, but Honor wipes it off right away. They play with makeup at home when they're dressing up and playing characters, but it really is just more pretend play."
What are some of your favorite beauty accounts to follow on Instagram?
"There’s so many. Byrdie, Mane Addicts, Refinery29, Marianna Hewitt, Pam Hetlinger, Something Navy…"
What has been your biggest beauty splurge?
"Usually the most expensive treatments are when I'm on vacation, and it’s some kind of body treatment, like a massage/scrub/mask thing. And those are usually in other countries. I did a Turkish bath in Istanbul and that was amazing. It was like a two-hour treatment with a steam room. Recently, I got a massage and the table was a warm water bed, and they wrapped me in some seaweed situation. If I'm in another country and the spa offers something crazy, I'll usually go for it." What's your secret beauty habit? Anything you wouldn't let your husband see?
"We’re past that. After you birth two of their kids, game’s over. Cat’s out of the bag. But I don’t know. I don’t do anything weird. I don’t spend hours clipping my split ends, I don’t bite my toes, I don’t do weird stuff like that." What's the best thing you did in your 20s for your skin?
"I always took care of my skin. I always had a cleansing regime at night, and I stuck to it; I can probably count on one hand the amount of times in my life that I went to bed with makeup on my face. I always paid attention to that." What's the best hair tip you got from your hairstylist, Jennifer Yepez?
"Probably how to layer styling products without getting overly stiff hair. She's like, 'Go for it!' Just make sure you dry the product in with a brush so it doesn’t get gunky and stuck; you really have to work the product through your hair. Start out with a volumizing spray, put a heat-protecting spray in, and blow that through your hair; then, after, if you do waves, you can then finish them off with a serum or a sea salt spray if you want more texture. I always thought you can only do one thing, maybe two. So she showed me how to layer. And she's really great with a ponytail." What's your hidden beauty talent?
"I can braid, I can do makeup, I can do hair, I've given my kids their haircuts a few times. I'm really good at putting on mascara, too. I always close my eyelashes on the wand several times to work the product from the roots of my lashes to the ends, and it keeps it from clumping."
"My natural texture. I go to work with my hair wet every day, and I put sea salt spray in my roots. Then, I put conditioning milk on my ends, and I twist my hair into five sections, like a corkscrew, and that’s just what my hair does after. That’s my everyday — it takes about five minutes." If you could have anyone else's hair, whose would it be?
"Does Princess Jasmine count?" What's your dream beauty product that hasn’t been invented yet?
"Theres so many! Something that could decrease your pores and even out your skin in a week without burning your face off would be nice." Will you let your kids dye their hair or wear makeup?
"Of course I will! I think that those aren’t big-deal things. You just have to teach them how to do it, so they can do it the right way and not look ridiculous. But yeah, I think you do everything in moderation and slowly introduce makeup or skin care to their lives when it’s time. And if they are curious about dyeing their hair, then they need to understand that if they go lighter, it's going to damage their hair, it's not going to be the same texture, they're probably going to have to cut it off — and are they willing to do that? I'll just have them understand what they’re getting themselves into." Do your daughters wear makeup now?
"No, they don’t wear makeup. They definitely like to put my lip gloss on, but they immediately wipe it off. Well, Haven doesn’t, Haven can keep it on longer, but Honor wipes it off right away. They play with makeup at home when they're dressing up and playing characters, but it really is just more pretend play."
What are some of your favorite beauty accounts to follow on Instagram?
"There’s so many. Byrdie, Mane Addicts, Refinery29, Marianna Hewitt, Pam Hetlinger, Something Navy…"
What has been your biggest beauty splurge?
"Usually the most expensive treatments are when I'm on vacation, and it’s some kind of body treatment, like a massage/scrub/mask thing. And those are usually in other countries. I did a Turkish bath in Istanbul and that was amazing. It was like a two-hour treatment with a steam room. Recently, I got a massage and the table was a warm water bed, and they wrapped me in some seaweed situation. If I'm in another country and the spa offers something crazy, I'll usually go for it." What's your secret beauty habit? Anything you wouldn't let your husband see?
"We’re past that. After you birth two of their kids, game’s over. Cat’s out of the bag. But I don’t know. I don’t do anything weird. I don’t spend hours clipping my split ends, I don’t bite my toes, I don’t do weird stuff like that." What's the best thing you did in your 20s for your skin?
"I always took care of my skin. I always had a cleansing regime at night, and I stuck to it; I can probably count on one hand the amount of times in my life that I went to bed with makeup on my face. I always paid attention to that." What's the best hair tip you got from your hairstylist, Jennifer Yepez?
"Probably how to layer styling products without getting overly stiff hair. She's like, 'Go for it!' Just make sure you dry the product in with a brush so it doesn’t get gunky and stuck; you really have to work the product through your hair. Start out with a volumizing spray, put a heat-protecting spray in, and blow that through your hair; then, after, if you do waves, you can then finish them off with a serum or a sea salt spray if you want more texture. I always thought you can only do one thing, maybe two. So she showed me how to layer. And she's really great with a ponytail." What's your hidden beauty talent?
"I can braid, I can do makeup, I can do hair, I've given my kids their haircuts a few times. I'm really good at putting on mascara, too. I always close my eyelashes on the wand several times to work the product from the roots of my lashes to the ends, and it keeps it from clumping."