Issa Rae’s Approach to Aging Is a Breath of Fresh Air for Hollywood

The co-founder dishes about her hair care brand, Sienna Naturals.

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Sienna Naturals founders Issa Rae and Hannah Diop holding shampoo bottles
(Image credit: Sienna Naturals)
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Ask me to guess what a morning in the life of Issa Rae looks like, and I'd venture to say there's an early alarm and a booked and busy schedule from the second she steps out of bed. While that's mostly true, the Insecure actress and executive producer assures me I'm missing a key ingredient of her daily routine: a morning mantra. “B*tch, you got it. That’s [my mantra]," she matter-of-factly tells me.

Such profound words of wisdom (putting it on a post-it, for the record) are often accompanied by
Rae's NSFW playlist and affirmations that every day spent getting older on Earth is a privilege. "I want to age gracefully. I don't mind getting old, and I'm looking forward to the wisdom, the confidence, the 'no-fucks given-ness' that comes with aging gracefully and beautifully," she says. "Plus, I really like gray hair."

Sienna Naturals product lineup

(Image credit: Sienna Naturals)

While gray hair may have to wait (Rae is currently rocking a pretty auburn hue), healthy hair is easily attainable—with a little help from Rae's brand Sienna Naturals, which officially secured in-store placement in Sephora across the nation on Feb. 10. "I’m someone who wears my hair in braids a lot, and admittedly, they can damage my hair sometimes,” she explains. “It’s been great to have a product, specifically the d.n.a. serum, that actively helps to fortify and strengthen the hair at the crown of my head and stimulate those stubborn spots that refuse to grow."

According to Rae, the results "speak for themselves." Every product in the line, which was initially launched by Rae's sister-in-law Hannah Diop in 2012, is formulated with a heaping handful of TLC for curly hair. Case in point: the fan-favorite co-wash detangles and removes product buildup, while Diop's go-to leave-in conditioner features vegan, natural ingredients. Bonus: each item is committed to fostering a healthy, (very) hydrated scalp.

Want to get a slice of Rae's morning routine for yourself? Test out my personal favorite products from the line, below

Shop Sienna Naturals

Ariel Baker
Ariel Baker
Beauty Writer

Ariel Baker is the Beauty Writer at Marie Claire. Previously the associate beauty editor at PS and briefly freelance, she has bylines in InStyle, Forbes Vetted, Women's Health, and more.

Since she started out in the non-profit sector, Ariel enjoys looking at beauty from a sociocultural lens, looking to avenues like politics, music, and the arts, to inform her views on the space. That being said, as a true beauty-product obsessive, testing the latest items to hit the market, keeping up with trends, and meeting industry icons, will always be her favorite part of working in the beauty space.

When she's not working, Ariel can be found hanging out with her fiancé and loving on their two cat daughters: Cow and Chicken.

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