photos courtesy of Living Proof

Earlier this month, Living Proof flew me out to Los Angeles to meet with Jennifer Aniston.

Okay, let’s take a beat. I can’t even pretend like that’s a normal sentence. 

Sometimes, I have to pinch myself. 

As you all know, I’ve been working closely with Living Proof, using their products (the Full line is my saving grace) and Chris McMillan’s tips to get my closer to my dream of having bigger hair. When they asked me to hop on a plane and meet Jen — yeah, we’re totally on a first name basis (jk) — I played it cool. Them’s the rules, when you live in New York.

To be honest, it didn’t fully hit me until she greeted me at the door; all smiles and warmth that made me feel immediately familiar. But then I thought to myself, “I have been watching you on screen for more than half my life,” and all of a sudden, I got kind of nervous. I’m not the type of person to get starstruck — although it is my assumption that I will pass out if I ever meet Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen, preferably together — but then again, I’m not usually sitting down and doing a one on one interview with them, either. I was painfully aware of the slight shaking of the paper I held in my hand, so I started talking a little too fast, a little too much. With every fidget and shift in my seat, I could feel my NYC “I-see-that-celebrity-but-I’m-pretending-I-don’t-care” farce crumbling (it’s just what we do, okay?), but that subsided as quickly as it came. Because luckily, Jennifer Aniston was exactly what I hoped she would be: charming, humble, and gracious, with a stunning head of hair. I felt like I was sitting next to my old friend Rachel, and we had so much catching up to do. We talked about the Rachel cut (which I swore I wouldn’t bring up), hoarding, musical theater aspirations, and our mutual love of Living Proof. Also, I told her that she’s my step-dad’s and brother-in-law’s celebrity crush. Basically, I’m the utmost professional. I omitted some of my ramblings (there were many), but will leave you with excerpts from our one on one, so that when I become the next Oprah (or Jerry Springer? Steve Brule?), we will all remember where I started. The future is promising. 

Of all the characters you’ve played, whom do you relate to most, and why? 

What if I said Dr. Julia?! No… I’m going to say Polly… it was just who I was, growing up, that sort of free-spirited… didn’t care what people thought kind of person that just kind of did my own thing. I would say Polly meets Rachel, somewhere in the middle of them.

What is your dream role, and what would the dream cast be?

It wouldn’t be fair if I said Hamilton, which I just saw in New York. [It was] amazing…I want to be Alexander Hamilton and I want the cast to be Hamilton. That’s my wildest dream… I feel like I could pull it off. I can’t quite sing and move like that, but it’s fine.

What would you do if you weren’t an actress? 

Interior design. (Note: somehow we started on her love of binge-watching HGTV and went to my fear of becoming a hoarder. Never let me interview anyone, ever again.)

Who gives you hair envy? 

Gisele [Bundchen] has beautiful hair. Great hair, great genetics. 

Philanthropy is a big part of your life – what cause are you most passionate about? 

St. Jude [Children’s Research Hospital], for 15 years now, has been the closest thing to my heart. The best thing you can do is donate money. Donate, donate, donate.

What was your best and worst hair moment? 

The 80s were the worst. The whole 80s. I had a shaved head; it was purple, shaved right above the ear. I thought I was the coolest thing, though. I don’t have great hair moments. I don’t remember them, I don’t think about… I couldn’t name a great hair moment.

Really? Because every magazine has a timeline of all your great hair moments. You have great hair decades, is what it is. I’ll just answer it for you. 

That’s super sad. I’m long and normal and just like, girly hair.

I think it’s great that you have a signature style. I’m still looking for that.

You seem to have a gorgeous one. I was just about to say that you have the face for a pixie…it’s pretty damn cute right now. I think a little shag, you could do bangs. Don’t you think?

I’m going to be like, Jennifer Aniston told me that I should do this with my hair. I want big, giant hair. Chris (McMillan, Jennifer’s stylist) taught me how to [properly] tease it, so that’s what I did today. Teased the hell out of it. 

So…how do you feel about the “Rachel” cut?

You know, I’m sure at the time, it was great. I just think it was such a moment in time, like a six-month moment that somehow has had legs forever, that I don’t understand quite, but I think it’s kind of funny. But I get it. It was a pain in the ass, I’ll say that. We basically made the Carol Brady with the flip at the end, we kind of modified that a bit, shagged it out. I just remember trying to get that horrible flip, that we now desperately try to get rid of. 

What sets Living Proof apart from other hair care brands? 

I love that you have a “yay!” tattoo. That’s the best. What sets it apart? Everything. The science behind it. The molecule [OFPMA] they created to replace silicone. There’s results that are actually proven true, that prove their product… and it doesn’t fizzle out on you in a few months, like so many products do. 

What is it like to work with your longtime friend and hair stylist, Chris McMillan, and how has he influenced you, when it comes to your hair?

He’s the only reason I’m aware of hair. I was not a hair person, I didn’t think about it. It was always a pain. It was curly and wavy, kind of inconsistent. So he just taught me how to take care of it, really, and he’s one of my best friends. We’ve been through 20 some odd years together of all sorts of wonderful life lessons.

You can’t ever piss him off, because he would ruin your hair.

You can’t piss him off. He’s such a sweet person. Brother from another mother.

Is he lurking? I see a shadow.

(Chris pops in) 

Chris: I’m trying to listen your conversation. Look at your fancy hairdo! 

And just like that, we were a group of friends swapping hair tips (which I’ll show you in the next post) and talking about tattoos. Just another day, you know?