Kyla Pratt Swears By This Brand for Healthy, Moisturized Hair
When Kyla Pratt wasn't giving voice to one of TV's favorite animated girl bosses, Penny Proud, the actor who grew up on our screens delivered a catalog of timeless one-liners as the stylish, wise-cracking Breanna Barnes on One on One. Pratt, who spent more than two decades showcasing the incredibly exciting, complex, and emotional journey of growing up as a young Black woman, isn't done yet.
This year the actor will be starring in Fox's upcoming comedy Call Me Kat as well as reprising her lead role as Penny Proud in the The Proud Family return series, airing on Disney+. When she's not creating work that makes you laugh, Pratt is working on being the best version of herself for her two young daughters.
“You have to take care of you in order to be the best that you can for your baby,” she tells Glamour. “I learned that a little while ago because, of course, everything changes and you focus more on the baby, but you don't take care of you the best. You aren't there to parent them. So that's what I'm trying to do now: I'm trying to get better with me so I can be the best for them.”
One of the ways Pratt creates time for self-care when she's juggling a busy work schedule and mom duties is through a deep-cleansing wash-day routine. “Wash day for me is really random,” she admits. “It's kind of when I feel like I need to cleanse myself completely. And usually that's weekly or a week and a half because, you know, I'm the mom of two girls and I can't do a wash day just for myself—it has to be the whole household.”
Growing up, Pratt didn't know that wash day was a “thing.” She always just stayed in tune with her feelings, and when she needed a recharge, she turned to nurturing her hair. “What's crazy about this is that I never really realized that there was a specific day for this,” she says. “Like, I just knew that I'm really big on energy and I'm really big on how I feel. Sometimes, not all the time, I could be in a bad mood, so I'll go take a shower, wash my hair, just wash all of this off of me, and it'll completely change my energy.”
Pratt has a low pain tolerance when it comes to her hair, so her routine is all about cleansing and conditioning with minimal tugging during the detangling process. “I've always been really tender-headed—like, getting my hair done can be torture for me.”
After giving it some thought, the actor recently decided to switch up her look and shaved the side of her head. “Right now I have the side shaved in the back, shaved cute.” While her thick, full hair was “very beautiful,” Pratt felt like it was starting to become a distraction. “I kind of got to the point where I realized that I was hiding behind my hair. I would, like, add hair to cover my arms and I was like, you know what? If I cut my hair, my face is going to be the main focus.” An added bonus: Less hair means less room for tugging.
For this edition of Wash Day Diaries, Pratt walks us through her favorite products for the tender-headed gals who want to get a deep clean and walk away with healthy, moisturized hair for days.
Shampoo
I combine Taraji's shampoo and conditioner that come in the blue bottle. And then I get a little extra and do a deep cleanse with her Master Cleanse treatment. Being a young woman who has had to wear a lot of weaves in my day, working in the industry, I make sure I get to the root. These little prongs get that minty, peppermint feeling to the scalp and it feels amazing.
TPH by Taraji Honey Fresh Clarifying Shampoo with Moisture
$9.99.00, Target
TPH by Taraji Master Cleanse Scalp Treatment Wash
$14.99.00, Target
Scrub
Taraji has this sugar scrub that I apply after sectioning my hair. Oh my goodness, I absolutely love it.
TPH by Taraji Never Salty Sugar Hair & Scalp Scrub
$13.99.00, Target
Mask
When I was younger and working on a show, they colored my hair blond, and I didn't realize that they were actually bleaching my hair because it was my first time. I just knew that they were doing something crazy. So I was like, Okay, after every episode we shoot, I'm going to go to the house and wash my hair thoroughly, then I'm going to sleep with a hair mask on. And it's something I continue to do.
I like to switch between TPH's Mother Earth clay mask and a natural one I make at home. After I use Mother Earth, my hair just feels so moisturized and rich and healthy the next morning, and that's all you want. As a woman, when your hair is not feeling right, you just don't feel good.
For the natural mask, I follow a recipe I got from a friend. I mix up some avocado, mayonnaise, castor oil, olive oil, and an egg. This one I don't leave on overnight. I'll leave it in for maybe, like, an hour, then wash it out. You do want to make sure you get all the food out, because, you know, that's a little scary.
TPH by Taraji Mother Earth Moisturizing Clay Mask
$14.99.00, TPH By Taraji
Leave-In Conditioner
I love the company Pretty Strands. I actually saw them on a friend's page. I had never heard about them before, but my friend's daughter has very long and beautiful hair, so I'm always like, What are you using? Oh, let me see, you know.
I sleep with my leave-in conditioner even though some will tell you to leave it out. But it helps protect my hair, which is being touched and tampered with so much.
Pretty Strands Hair Oil Moisturizer Moisture-In Leave-In
$16.99.00, Pretty Strands
Heat Protectant
There's only one that I use, and it's this one by Tresemmé. I didn't really learn about heat protectant until I got older and had kids. People would say, “Oh, now that you're blow-drying their hair, make sure that you protect it from the heat.” I wasn't doing that for myself, but this spray is now a staple.
Tresemmé Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray
$5.49.00, Ulta
Styling Tools
I use the Yellowbird blow-dryer that I stole from my friend's Instagram. Then I go in with my flatiron, the baby blue BaBylissPro. I've had it for a while, and it straightens the hell out of everything.
Conair Pro Yellow Bird Hair Dryer
$42.77.00, Walmart
BaBylissPro Nano Titanium Digital Straightening Iron
$99.99.00, Ulta
Originally Appeared on Glamour
