When I think of Shay Mitchell, a few things immediately come to mind—incredible hair, girl’s girl through and through, and iconic Architectural Digest tour (trust me, check it out). The actress, mother and two-time brand founder was just announced as the new face of OGX Beauty. She stars in a new campaign as a “Bond-like” character who helps women fix their hair woes with her arsenal of OGX Beauty solutions. We caught up with the star ahead of the campaign launch to chat about hair health, gatekeeping and female friendship.
I feel like one of your calling cards is that you have insanely glossy, healthy, long hair all the time, so this feels like a perfect collaboration. What are some of your hair health tips?
“The products from the bond protein repair collection, of course, but I would say, honestly, for me, because of the schedule that I have, not just being a mom, but being on set and photo shoots all the time, I feel like using these products really does take the guesswork out of hair repair, which is super important to me because I’m always getting hot tools put on my hair. I love the outcome of it, but now I can be a lot more relaxed because I know the products to give the stylists and what I can use at home so that it takes the stress away about anything damaging my hair.
This fixer campaign concept was super fun because I got to play, in my mind, it was like this almost Bond character. It was a really fun way to kind of embody what a lot of people feel. We’re all trying to find solutions that work, and with all of the different women that were in this commercial, you’d see them in their before state, and then I would come in with my briefcase of solutions, and whether it was like the shampoo ($7) and conditioner ($7) or the oil serum ($11) or the oil mist ($11), it was really fun to be able to be like ‘here, this is the product you’re missing, and this is how your hair will look after.’ Then they all came out looking amazing, of course. So I love to do that. I have two little girls who are eventually going to grow up and need advice on what products to use for their hair. Now I truly am the fixer, but I’ll be the expert fixer by that time.”
So because you’re a mom and you’re so busy working as well—what’s your quick running out of the house hair routine?
“Honestly? I kind of don’t really have a choice but to go for the effortless style but still kind of feel polished. So I would say that’s either a sleek bun or loose waves or if I have a blowout from a few days before, I’ll try and hold it for as long as possible. But I mean, for me, I feel like healthy hair is the goal no matter what the vibe is.”
How do you feel self-care has changed from your 20s to your 30s?
“I would say I obviously don’t have as much time as I used to, whereas back in the day, I could have a whole self-care day or weekend or week if I wasn’t on set for something. Now, obviously, my schedule has changed, so I kind of have my whole setup, and it’s nice that I’m able to know that these products in this collection do exactly what I need them to do, which cuts so much time.
In the commercial that we shot, I played the fixer, and in life, in my set bag, I literally have the exact same thing—it’s just not a briefcase. So I have my entire OGX bond repair system with heat protectant spray ($11) and everything, so anytime somebody is doing my hair before a hot tool touches it, I’m like, ‘Here you go. Please spray this.’ Then I can relax.”
Have you been using OGX Beauty for a while?
“I have. It was a hairstylist that was on a movie I was working on that showed me. When I tried the serum, and then she had the keratin shampoo ($11) and conditioner ($11), I was like, ‘Whoa.’ In literally one wash of using the shampoo and conditioner, I noticeably felt and saw a difference. For me, I’m not going to lie, my hair has been stressed throughout the years. I’ve had a lot of different tools touch it and different styles and all of that. Honestly, that was kind of the most surprising thing. I was like, ‘Whoa. I haven’t even been using this for a week. It was one wash, and I noticed a difference.’ So that’s sort of what hooked me.”
Are there any treatments that you’re liking at the moment? I saw you recently got fresh veneers and a vibrating treatment on your abs.
“I always am really honest with what I use. Like, there’s no gatekeeping here, and that’s why, especially with this campaign, and being able to share as much as I can about these incredible products, it’s great, and that’s what I love to do. I think that’s what social media is for. That’s why I spoke about my teeth and all of that. So this is just like an extension of that. I’m not gatekeeping any of these products, which is why I’m literally trying to shout it and be like, ‘these are the products that I use that are tried and tested.’”
Re: not gatekeeping. I feel like the industry kind of pits women against each other, but you’ve always seemed to be such a girl’s girl.
“Yeah, I don’t have that in my life. It’s kind of crazy, like, even being on the shows that I have been on, they’ve been mostly female lead characters, and there’s not been any drama, knock on wood. And I honestly just feel like when women work together, that should be celebrated, and, like you said, not be pitted against each other.”
