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“Baby, this is Keke Palmer,” the actor says, showing Vogue the results of her 29-step skin-care, hair-care, and makeup routine. “The hair is done, the ‘fro is ‘fro’d!” Herewith, Palmer reveals the three-step process behind her natural curls—and how she learned to embrace them.
“When I started doing my natural hair, I wasn’t sure how to wear it,” the Nope star says. “A lot of people do wash-and-goes, a lot of people do twist-outs. But I wanted to figure out what was the style for me, and I realized that I really loved the Flexi Rod sets.” At this post-skin-care step in her routine, the Master of Me author still has at least a dozen rods wound up in her curls. As she starts to carefully unwind her hair from the curling contraptions, Palmer says: “I am a girl that likes to do protective styles, which for me usually means a wig. It took me a long time to get to the place of being able to appreciate my hair in all its uniqueness and what it can do and only it can do. Now when I wear a wig, it’s not because I feel like I have to, but it’s because I want to do something different that I don’t want to do with my natural hair.” Rods out and Shirley Temple–style ringlets intact, Palmer is ready to move on to the next step of her curl-loving regimen. But first she takes a moment to admire her work. “Come on, honey,” she says appreciatively, smoothing her hands over her gleaming hair.
After spraying her hands with Creme of Nature Argan Oil, the 31-year-old uses her fingers to give each curl an extra twirl, separating the strands as she goes. “Now I’m just going to just pick it out a little bit before I get into my makeup,” she says. With her curls artfully styled, Palmer lets time take its course: “As much as I love how this looks, I really love it when it’s like a day in,” she says.
While her curls are all-natural, the fringe around Palmers’ eyes has a little boost from something faux. “I have on falsies, but they are on their last leg, sweetie,” she says. “Nice little tip that I know many of us use—with the lashes on their last leg, put on mascara. It gives them a little more life.”
Shop Keke Palmer’s routine, below.
Director: Gabrielle Reich
DP: Esteban Veras
Editor: Michael Suyeda
Associate producer: Lea Donenberg
Production manager: Natasha Soto-Albors
Production coordinator: Ava Kashar
Associate talent manager: Phoebe Feinberg
Postproduction supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Postproduction coordinator: Scout Alter
Supervising editor: Erica DeLeo
Assistant editor: Billy Ward
Associate director, postproduction: Nicholas Ascanio
Filmed at The William Vale