By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Lindsay Lohan wields nostalgia to her full advantage in a new Nexxus Style Swap hair campaign, channeling familiar looks (and a British accent) from her hit 1998 film The Parent Trap.
Before the campaign launch, we caught up with the actor to chat about all things hair care, her role in the upcoming Freakier Friday, and her biggest beauty regret.
This campaign is centered around nostalgia. What is one beauty product or trend you miss or remember fondly from your teen years?
For me, products that I always think of and remember are perfumes from my teen years. Like, Dior Hypnotic Poison.
Nexxus is all about healthy hair and repair, and you’ve experimented with your hair color and styles over the years. So, how do you keep your hair healthy these days?
I love using Nexxus hair oil. I think that’s important. Whenever you’re on the go and have lots of products going into your hair, you want to make sure you’re reapplying something to nourish it. That’s currently what I’m using. I try not to blow-dry my hair so often if I don’t have to. I feel like washing my hair daily can dry it out, so I try to avoid doing that.
Do you use the hair oil while you’re styling or overnight?
I never really do overnight, because I usually have to get up and go. I’m always on the move, so it’s usually something I put in while I’m styling.
Who is someone whose hair you’ve always admired or look to for hair inspiration?
I think that it was always Julia Roberts growing up, because I could relate to her with my red hair. And Julianne Moore. I think it’s the redhead thing. I’ve always liked my own hair color—I looked up to them and admired them. When you’re young and in school and you’re freckled, especially when I was growing up, people would make fun of me sometimes, so I needed to emulate other people who were older and had gotten through that phase.
Hair accessories were such a big part of your look in The Parent Trap, from headbands to cute sunglasses propped on your head. Do you still like a hair accessory? Or do you keep things simple?
No, I like hair accessories. I love a bow or a headband if it works, right? The other day, I tried wearing a headband because I felt very Clueless, like Alicia Silverstone. But I need to find a way to make it work. Because I do love headbands.
I love headbands, too. They make you feel like you have a hairstyle, even if the rest of your hair is unwashed.
I mean, I love throwing on a headband sometimes, but then I always worry that my hair will get flat.
A little dry shampoo will fix that! What advice do you have for Gen Z or Gen Alpha about chasing beauty trends? They seem to take things so seriously, when, in reality, side bangs were never out.
I think to each his own and her own. I think everybody should just do whatever they’re comfortable with. So, if you want to chase the trend you’re feeling at the moment, I think you just always go with what makes you happy. Do you!
Do you ever regret chasing a beauty trend in the past?
Yeah, when I said, “Oh, I want my lips to be bigger.”
I think we all went through that. And Freaky Friday is coming back. What can you tell us about the beauty moments in the new film?
There’s a lot of fashion in the movie, and it’s a lot of fun. I’m really excited to share it with the world—it’s just such a great movie. We have a lot of fun with the fashion in the movie.
I’m so excited to see it. And I mean, your hair in that film—specifically the hair color—but also the cut—is so iconic. Do you look back on that style fondly?
I may, but my colorist, Tracey Cunningham, doesn’t. She’s like, “Remember when you made me put those white stripes in your hair?”
Was it your idea for the character?
Yeah, I wanted her to be a little more punk rock, like Avril Lavigne, at the time. That’s where I was going with Anna in her rocker vibes. So I wanted to do something that would change up hair-wise. I think, you know, when you make movies, hair is a big part of the character you play, and that goes with the costuming and everything. I think hair says a lot about what your character has to look like and say and how you portray them.
And it’s memorable—like, when people dress up for Halloween, they have that hair. So, I have a two-year-old, and I know how much becoming a mom can change your entire outlook on beauty. How has becoming a mom changed your hair, makeup, and skin routine?
It changed a lot. Your hormones and everything changes, so you really need to find clean products. And a big thing for me was that wake-up call: I was like, Why am I using products that I shouldn’t be using when I’m pregnant when I’m not pregnant? I don’t want to put anything on my skin that I shouldn’t use while I’m pregnant. If I shouldn’t be using it then, I shouldn’t be using it now. So I keep things very basic. I use zinc creams and skin and wash. I’m big on cryo facials. I wouldn’t say I like to do the whole facial—I like to get the cold. I’m big on under-eye patches, just taking that time in the morning to kind of put those on. Take time for me, and have some tea. I think just having a ritual with your skin just gives you that mom “me” time, which is important. So I think that’s where it’s changed the most: making that an important ritual for myself.
And doing it quickly, because we never have enough time…
I feel like as I’ve grown into myself and with age and everything, I feel like, just, less is more, and I’ve embraced my skin more.
Hair can often be a reflection of the stage of life that we’re in. How do you think your current hairstyle reflects who you are today?
Fresh and free.
You’re blonder!
I was doing my hair earlier and I was like, “It’s really clean today.” So it looks a lot lighter.
You’ve gone between red and blonde and red and blonde. How do you choose when you want to change your color?
I just have that switch. And sometimes, I just want my natural, deeper red. And over the years, my hair has gotten darker red. It’s not as, like, orangey red as it used to be. So I kind of go deeper, and then I go for fresh. I just want it to be lighter and brighter. And this—I think the problem is, when you start to go light, like a little blonde, you get that itch, and you’re like, “Okay, I want to be blonde blonde.”
Healthy hair often goes beyond the products that we’re using to cleanse and style. So what other wellness practices do you do in your day-to-day life that have made the biggest impact on your hair and skin health?
I think biotin always helps. Taking biotin and vitamins—I don’t take a lot of hair vitamins because I don’t like to overdo stuff. I think just putting masks on when you can and giving your hair a break is the most important thing. I try not to color it too much—like, if I’m going to go light blonde, then I try to really make up for that and give it, keep it the way it is, and let it grow back in naturally for a while.
What did you love most about making the new Style Swap video campaign, and what was your favorite part of stepping into these characters again?
The most different and fun part for me was adding the British accent. It was a last-minute decision, and I was kind of on a whim: Should I just do a British accent?
I think it worked great. I mean, it sold the character. I was like, “Oh, we’re so back.”
Jenna Rosenstein is the Beauty Director at Harper’s BAZAAR across both print and digital. While attending NYU, she held internships at Women’s Wear Daily, Bloomingdale’s, Harper’s BAZAAR, and Allure, the latter of which she parlayed into her first job as the Beauty Assistant. She left Allure three years later as the Senior Beauty Editor. She spent a few months at Refinery29 overseeing branded content in the same title, before finally landing back at BAZAAR to manage all beauty content. When she’s not testing every lipstick known to mankind, getting zapped by new lasers, or interviewing experts and celebrities, you can find Rosenstein at home in New Jersey with her son, husband, and black cat named Maddie.
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