Time may have sprung forward last weekend but our good sis Taraji P. Henson hasn't missed a beat. Friday, the Empire actress was spotted at the American Express ExpressThanks Popup Cafe rocking a mane of red tresses that were impossible to miss and now we're ready to add a pop of color to our look ASAP.
The actress first debuted her fire red curls in an Instagram post last month with the hashtag #HairChamelon and recently let Allure in on the secret that keeps her everchanging fro on-go at all times, and according to Taraji, it's all about the product, baby (TPH, to be specific). In an As Told To exclusive, the 49-year-old actress explained that while cosmetology had piqued her interest long before she started in the entertainment industry, it took a while before sew-ins became her style of choice.
"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."
Taraji said in an attempt to protect her hair from heat damage, she soon hopped on the bundles bandwagon and gave the style a chance, but before long, she ran into a pretty stinky inconvenience:
"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."
Because Taraji lacked both the products and the know-how to properly care for her style, she was left feeling both embarrassed and ashamed. She explained:
"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."
It is for this reason that Taraji says her line of Target-exclusive products caters to women whether they're rocking a twist out, silk press, or even a fresh set of Meek Mill braids. The TPH Master Cleanse, for example, comes with braid-friendly prongs that are guaranteed to keep any scalp clean:
"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. It's all I use at home."
One thing's for sure, Taraji is serving us major hair envy with her latest style switch-up, giving us all the inspiration we need to get our look all the way together for spring.
Featured image by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images