'Eternals' actress Lauren Ridloff breaks down her hair routine, how she keeps confident and her thoughts on inclusivity in Hollywood
Last year, Lauren Ridloff made history as Marvel's first deaf superhero, and now she's taking on another first as the first-ever beauty ambassador for Prose.
The "Eternals" actress, who often sports a head full of styled curls, has partnered with the custom hair care brand in a big, beautiful way.
Starring as the face of the Brooklyn-based, direct-to-consumer beauty-tech company's "Curl Outside the Lines" national campaign, Ridloff is the perfect person to further underscore the brand's commitment to inclusivity and personalization.
"We stand by very similar principles, so partnering together felt like a natural fit," Ridloff told "Good Morning America." "The brand celebrates individuality, unique personalities, hair types and expressive freedom."
She continued, "When I let my hair be natural, I feel most comfortable and since that is now my baseline, I have the freedom to play with my hair. Whether I want to go big, go slicked back, go braided, go crazy, Prose embraces that. I honor my hair and that is how I style it. My hair doesn't understand rules, doesn't understand rigidity. It isn't wild or crazy or difficult -- my hair is natural, and to be natural is revolutionary. I am honored to work alongside a brand that supports and vocalizes this same belief."
Prose's latest campaign starring Ridloff was created to celebrate the launch of the brand's new Custom Styling Gel that's been specifically formulated for curls and coils -- and was co-developed in Paris through four phases, as well as alongside industry leaders including curl experts Giovanni Ferrer; the Quann Sisters, Cipriana Quann and TK Wonder; Michelle Breyer, founder of Naturally Curly, and hairstylist and curl expert Ona Diaz-Santin.
Ridloff confirmed that she's implemented the new styling gel into her hair routine by using it after washing, conditioning, detangling, spritzing on leave-in conditioner and some curl cream, as well as hair oil.
Once she's applied the soft-hold styling gel, she lets her hair air dry if she chooses to do a "wash-and-go situation." She also sometimes uses the gel to edge her baby hair around the perimeter of the hairline.
"I like to wear my hair up in a loose ponytail with a silk scrunchie on my days off and when I want to revive my curls, I just spritz it with some water, some leave-in conditioner, a little hair oil and I'm ready to go," Ridloff said. "The gel holds my curls like nothing else without flakiness or crunchiness. The thing I love the most about my Prose products is that even though there are a lot of layers, my hair feels light and clean yet moisturized and soft. Healthy. Yaaas!"
While Ridloff is proud to be a diverse ambassador for curly hair, she also said that the beauty and Hollywood industries still have a "need for more practice" when it comes to inclusivity.
"I think we're at this point where we are figuring out how to do it right, how true collaboration looks like and how to make this practice stick."
Ridloff also spoke to finding her own confidence throughout her life and recalled playing a game with her mother as a kid where it was questioned, "What is the nicest, truest thing you could say to someone?"
In high school, she went on to play this game with her best friend, and they made it a point to always be kind and compliment others.
"Not too long ago I realized that I should play that game with myself, and as soon as I treated myself with kindness, I felt good," Ridloff said. "That's how I found my confidence. It's a lot easier to celebrate yourself when you're nice to yourself. I won't lie -- it is a practice that takes many tries and time, but it works."
Ridloff ended with a few words of wisdom: "Never apologize for being you and for what makes you unique."
