We’re not ashamed to admit we can’t get enough of Tracee Ellis Ross. Aside from being Diana Ross’ second eldest daughter, she’s the epitome of self love, independence, and style– so effortlessly. Thankfully for us, Ross isn’t stingy at all when it comes to what and how she keeps her curls moisturized, her skin supple and perfect, and even how she manages to avoid good ole’ jet leg. Now, you can know her secrets, too!
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Check out these next-level genius lifestyle hacks, tips, and tricks the “Girlfriends” actress incorporates in her everyday life that may have you wishing you would have done so sooner.
Say Bye Bye to Jet Lag!
Ross doesn’t believe in jet lag because simply put, “its mind over matter.” In a TikTok feature with “Travel + Leisure,” Ross says her secret is she “never tells herself the time it was where she left.”
She reminds herself constantly of the time where it is she’s going and she sleeps based on that alone, not where she’s leaving from. Upon landing, if she can’t face her body towards the sun to “tell” her body of the time, she takes a hot bath to “anchor her body” to remind it she’s not on the plane anymore.
Styling Your “Dirty” Hair Just Got This Much Easier
In a TikTok, Ross demonstrated how she styles her hair in four different styles when its dirty. First, she recommends combing your hair all back, apply serum, take a little section at the top then start to braid down. For those pesky ends, she uses leave-in conditioner and thicker hair ties because it gives the braid “weight.” She also uses water and a bit more leave-in conditioner to sleek it back. Fab!
How to Wake Up… Minus the Coffee
Ross shares she doesn’t drink coffee, rarely eats sugar, and passes on alcohol when she’s going to be on camera which is “all the time.” Instead of the coffee, she “dry brushes her body” or “vibrates her face” to “wake it up.”
Staying Grounded, Unlearning, and Growing
“Sometimes what I think of myself is none of my business,” Ross said in a conversation with Oprah Winfrey. “Not only what other people think of me but sometimes my own ideas of myself like, ‘Enough! Thank you so much, goodbye,’” she imitated telling herself. “‘You had five minutes now, you need to stop.’” To stop that, she “unpacks these ideas that I often don’t even know I’ve adopted– ideas about what I should be… to be this quiet, demure, gentle woman who would listen and smile… [because] its all over the movies.” She’s learned to embrace all those “different pieces of me.”
Her Favorite Beauty Wellness Supplement… H2O!
“I drink so much water,” the 52-year-old said. “I am a Mountain Valley girl. I try before I leave the house in the morning to drink at least one liter but usually do about six liters a day, maybe eight.”
Inexpensive Beauty Brands She Swears By
She admits she happily “spends money on beauty products,” but “there’s also stuff that doesn’t have to be expensive.” She loves Aquaphor [healing ointment] and Egyptian Magic [all purpose skin cream]. Her also named Epicurean as her favorite SPF.
The Beauty of Maderotherapy (Don’t Worry, We’ll Explain)
Ross is a major supporter of Maderotherapy, or “wood therapy,” a massage technique that uses various wooden tools to aid cellulite reduction, improve circulation, and promote lymphatic drainage.
In a video, she’s seen using a “pimple” which she repeatedly ran over her thighs and butt. She detailed how the tools “seem to lift and smooth this 50 year old kit” in a tweet.
How to Handle Your Most Delicate Delicates While on Vacay
Ross sparked discourse online after admitting she only brings two underwear in her carry-on and hand washes them in the sink. After clarifying what she meant, she provided a step-by-step process of how she washes her delicates.
1.) Lay them out on a clean towel
2.) Roll the towel
3.) Stand on the towel
4.) Dry them
5.) Hang them over a towel rack
In the fancy hotel she was currently staying at, her towel rack was heated. Flex.
DIY Foot Massage
“Take your fingers and put it between your toes,” she began in a video. Admitting doing so “may hurt– press your fingers down into the webbing of your toes and let that in and of itself be a massage.” She added, while demonstrating, “Move your foot around. All of the bones in your feet should be able to move. They should all have play, and bounce and dance in them. Once you’ve loosened it up, pull [your hand] out. Pull the energy out. Take the energy out of your toes.”
When it’s Time to Say “No”
“If you don’t advocate for yourself and your own self care, no one else is going to do it,” she said. “No is a complete sentence and figuring out how to do that is very important.” She added how she has a “major toolbox of self care [because] as much as I want to, I have learned from experience for myself that I have to say ‘No’ when I’m at enough, not when I’m depleted. I give big, so I have to restore big.”
Hack for Crusty Hands
On Instagram, Ross described how she uses Bag Balm, a dry skin salve to salvage dry hands.
“We have all been told to wash our hands and to practice really good hand health, which means not touching our faces… and washing our hands regularly and vigorously for a good 20 seconds, if not more,” Ross says in the Instagram clip. “As many times as you think to wash your hands, do it more than that. That’s what we’ve been told and that’s what I’ve been doing. And I think that’s what most of us have been doing.”
Secret Behind Her Radiant Energy Is… (drumroll please!)
A thoughtfully balanced diet. She consumes around 1880 calories daily, focusing on whole, nutrient dense foods that keep her energized and glowing. And no dairy, except for holiday indulgence: cheese.
Her Wash Day Routine…
Wash day steps first starts with washing her mane with Pattern, her hair care line’s hydration shampoo or cleansing shampoo, then condition with a shower brush, then leave-in condition. Afterwards, depending on the style, she uses her Pattern blow dryer to diffuse or let her hair dry naturally.
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