Emilia Clarke Wants You to Stop Bleaching Your Hair

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

There are few hairstyles more instantly recognizable than that of Queen Daenerys Targaryen, played by Emilia Clarke, in Game of Thrones. The long, wavy, and sometimes braided ice-blonde hair has cemented their place in TV beauty history. But it was Clarke who took the blunt of the noteworthy style.

“My advice to anyone who wants to bleach their hair is don't do it; it ruins your hair, so just stop bleaching it,” Clarke tells BAZAAR.com. “If you want to have the blonde hair, just get a wig or pimp up hair with some highlights because it completely ruined my hair.”

Luckily, Clarke is no novice when it comes to beauty, as she's been a Clinique ambassador for years. So she had an arsenal of experts to help get her hair back to healthy—just in time for another transformation for her first Marvel Cinematic Universe role.

Ahead, the actress gives us a small sneak peek into her upcoming Marvel project, shares life as a dog mom, and the one product her friends always steal from her stash.

How do you practice self-care?

Everything I do is my form of self-care, from doing yoga every morning to writing in a journal at night, to meditating, to daily affirmations. All these things make a huge difference on the wellness side of my life, and are things I can easily do on my own. I also spend as much time as I can with my friends and family, because that always helps to keep me leveled.

What’s your thought process while journaling?

I start by writing down exactly what happened during the day, who I met, how I felt, how they made me feel, what was going, both good or bad, and funny things. That way, when I’m an old granny, I can look back and be like, "Oh, my god, I remember that." The rest of my journaling reads more like a roundup of things that make me feel good or affirmations.

You're also a dog mom.

He’s at my feet right now being just adorable.

What does your morning routine look like, especially as a dog mom?

Yeah, it’s different during the weekdays and weekend. Since I never know what I'm doing with my day, I have a dog walker who takes him weekdays in the mornings to do like a proper, hardcore walk. He’s got his girlfriend, obviously, she's amazing. If I'm going to be an event that goes really late, my dogwalker will keep him later so that he's not on his own. But the weekends are our time. On weekend mornings, I take my time; I get up, wash my face, put on a face mask. Then, I go downstairs and feed him, take him outside, and later on, we indulge in lots of cuddles. He’s a very mellow, chill dog. There have been times when I've put him to bed at two in the morning.

I feel like having a dog is almost like a form of self-care.

It so is! And my dog is so soulful. He knows all my secrets.

Going into the warmer months, how will your routine change?

Honestly, my routine in the summer is all about the SPF, but I try and wear an SPF every day irrespective of the season. But as the sun starts coming out, my sunscreen application definitely escalates and I'm reapplying SPF throughout the day. As it gets really hot, I just wear less makeup. Bare skin always looks best. My makeup and routine is toned down daily, but then when I go out, I’ll opt for something fun like a great eye look or a really bold lip. It’s less about the skin and more about extenuating certain features.

Summer is definitely the time for a five-minute face and low maintenance beauty. Speaking of, you had to bleach your hair for your role as Daenerys. What advice do you have for keeping blonde or bleached hair healthy?

My hair felt like straw and was falling out. Then I cut it all off. The thing I'm most proud of getting my hair back to a good place. I do nothing crazy to it now and use really beautiful products. I get a bit of lighter color put through my hair sometimes and I love that. I love Virtue; I swear by their shampoo, hair mask, and root-lifting product. I also have a Dyson hairdryer. I really try and take care of it. But after bleaching my hair, I am learning to embrace my natural hair.

Do you have a favorite hairstyle that you've had over the years?

I have a hairdresser in England and he’s amazing and I have Jenny Cho in America, who's is also fantastic. My favorite kind of look is when they add clip-in extensions, especially for a red carpet. It looks so sleek and beautiful. I love doing a really high ponytail with lots of extensions. It feels very drama.

You are making you Marvel debut soon. Is there anything that you can tell us about your character hair or makeup wise?

Honestly, no, because if I start saying anything I'm going to get stopped by the Marvel police. But we definitely had some specific ideas and influences for the looks. I can't talk about it until it comes out, but it’s very good.

I understand. Who would you say is your biggest beauty influence?

All the women who embrace who they are, completely. I know that sounds really silly, but all the women who make brave, bold choices when it comes to fashion or makeup. That's what I aspire to aspire to look like: me and only me.

When would you say you feel like your most confident self?

With my friends, because you’ve got back up. I feel safe to be the loudest, silliest, happiest version of myself. I can say something dumb, and they are not going to judge me. They will just think, that’s Emilia saying the dumbest thing in the world and it’s cute. I just feel supported by my tribe. That's what gives me the most amount of confidence.

Is there a product that your friends are always stealing from you?

One of my friends told me that she needed a moisturizer and I sold the crap out of the Clinique Moisture Surge. She tried it and became obsessed and asked me to give her another one when Clinique sends me more. My mom is always raiding my Clinique product, but it’s the Moisture Surge that everyone goes for. And mascara, but I hold the mascara for myself.

Everyone loves a good mascara. You know the art of a good hashtag – what’s one that describes your 2023 so far?

#LifeisSweet. That would be my hashtag for 2023. It’s been a good year so far.

You Might Also Like

• 4 Investment-Worthy Skincare Finds From Sephora

• The 17 Best Retinol Creams Worth Adding to Your Skin Care Routine