Laurie Hernandez, Olympic gymnast, gold medalist and member of the iconic “Final Five,” may have retired from competing in gymnastics, but she hasn’t strayed far from the sport. You can catch the 24-year-old at the 2024 Paris Olympics, lending her expert insight as an NBC correspondent. We caught up with her between her corresponding duties.
What are some must-have products you brought with you to Paris?
“Olay Cleansing Melts ($10) and the Vitamin C Moisturizer ($30) are must-haves. Yesterday was the first day for women’s competition in terms of artistic gymnastics, and it was such a long day—it started in the wee hours of the morn’ and ended at 11 PM Paris time. So it was a long day of just having television makeup completely caked on the entire day, and it was nice to know that I had those two products that are reliable and work for me, and they’re super light, so that’s really important.
Also, soundproof headphones. I’m pretty close to an arena here in Paris, and it can get pretty loud, so making sure that I can cancel that out is very important.”
We love your curly hair. Do you have any tips or products to help keep your curls at their best?
“Curly hair has definitely been something that’s tough to manage overseas because whether the water makes my hair a little bit coarser or if it’s a humid day, we’re looking at completely different products. But something that has been a staple for me for years is the Ouidad anti-humidity gel ($26). It’s light and doesn’t put my hair into a cast or make it hard or crunchy, but it still holds the form with as minimal frizz as possible. So that’s definitely something that I would recommend to anyone with curly hair.”
Do you do anything for your mental health to help ground yourself before competing or commentating or any other big events?
“Scheduling therapy sessions is really good, especially before competitions, and now that I’m retired that hasn’t changed. I had a therapy session last week, and it’s just really important to have someone who knows the history and knows things that you’ve been through, and that just helps you figure out a toolbox and get ready for the week and discuss how we can best protect ourselves if something comes up. Because this is a sport that I’ve done since I was a little kid, and sometimes I’ll be watching something and all of a sudden I’m like, ‘Why am I anxious? Where did that come from?’ So being able to have someone to talk to is one of the most important things.”
