This post is part of an ongoing series called Fur We Love, where we focus on women's relationship to their hair and the routines they've built around haircare. We talked to Janelle Mayo, a model and business marketing student, about her iconic brows, Audrey Hepburn bangs, and how to get a snatched ponytail.
What are some of your haircare and grooming routines for hair allover?
My hair routine is typically plain sailing. My hair tends to get pretty greasy after one or two days, so on average I wash my hair 3-4x a week. The tips of my hair, however, are so tragically dry from a purple balayage I did over a year or two ago. It has taken me ages to grow out the bleach and alas, I still have some of the remaining bleach left to deal with. As a result, I have incorporated deep conditioning masks 2x a week into my routine and try to schedule monthly trims. The only thing that I use almost on a daily basis is the Bumble and Bumble Prep spray to detangle the ends of my hair.
For my brows, I keep them as they are. I discovered the use of got2b glued gel for my brows at a shoot once and ever since then I’ve been doing just that. They stay in place all day unlike any other brow product I’ve ever used. It was truly a mind-blowing hack for me. I apply the gel with one of those free spoolie brushes you can get at Sephora; those things are so nice to have in hand!
What hairstyles make you feel the most confident?
I tried out the slicked back pony tail over the summer and man oh man, I felt so powerful and snatched! There’s a lot of time and product that goes into it though (I have really stubborn flyaway hairs!), so I only do it up occasionally. I also like to braid my hair loosely before bed to give it more volume and to get the look of messy waves.
I don’t mind when my hair is au naturale either, my hair isn’t the most exhilarating but it’s what I prefer most of my days.
What's one haircare trick that always works for you?
My hair tends to fall flat at times but the one thing that I do to combat that problem is to bounce it up with some dry shampoo on my roots and tussle it around to my desired shape. It’s one of the most classic hair hacks and works all of the time. That hair gel trick on my brows is also something that works every time!
How has your relationship to your hair changed over time?
My relationship with my hair has been a real trip! As like everyone else, I had my phases. From hot pink highlights, heavy bangs and layers, to owning some wretched baby bangs. Having to feel the need to overly pluck my eye brows and shave every single day just to live up to society beauty standards. I can go on forever. Now constantly finding a new hair style or removing the hair from my body is one of the things I could care less about. I like how my natural hair looks on me. I think that as I grew older, I started shift away from society beauty standards and embrace my natural hair / body hair more because It’s what I think looks the best on me.
What's one hair or grooming style you had to try but are happy to have left behind?
I had itty bitty baby bangs midway through high school up until my first year in college. I was inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s bangs circa 1950’s and they just never turned out as I wanted them to. They naturally stuck straight out so every morning I had to straighten them down, and since my hair is straight they would never sweep to the side the way hers does. It was too much of a hassle and I never enjoyed them. I accepted the fact that I’ll never achieve the iconic Audrey bangs.
Do you have a hair icon / someone in your life you look to for inspiration?
I admire Alexa Chung’s beautifully effortless locks. Her curtain fringe is something that I’ve been considering attempting for a while now. I’d be an idiot if I didn’t mention Frida Kahlo and Sophia Hadjipanteli under this question too. They’re both my brow inspirations!
What do you love the most about your hair?
My brows are my most favorite out of everything. I love it because it's the first thing that people notice! The hair on my head is straight but not pin straight, it has some movement. Even though my hair isn’t that exciting, I still love it because it’s very low maintenance!
