Shakira Doesn't Want to Cry About Her Hair Anymore

Elle

a day ago

To know Shakira is to know her hair. The Colombian singer is almost synonymous with her cascading, hip-grazing curls, which she often incorporates into her dance moves on stage like a fifth limb. But until now, her curly hair-care routine was largely a mystery. With the launch of Isima, the star's new line of hair products, the secret is finally out (Shakira has been using it behind the scenes for the past two years). 'This line is all for me, but I'm happy to share it now,' she told ELLE.
I sat down with Shakira on the first warm Friday afternoon in May at the New York City Edition hotel. She was doused in baby pink from head to toe—trousers, turtleneck, even her makeup—but I barely noticed, thanks to her hair, which is distractingly good. Seeing it in photos is one thing, but seeing it in person is another. Her spiral curls were defined but still soft (I can confirm, since she hugged me), long enough that she could sit down on them if she wanted to (she showed me), and laced with honey-toned highlights that didn't have the faintest whisper of brass (though she swears that she struggles with her hair leaning orange).
Many celebrities have founded beauty brands, and I've talked to a majority of them. But few seem as excited about their beauty lines as Shakira, who speaks about Isima almost as pridefully as she talks about her two sons. It makes sense, though, as these products are very much her babies. At one point during our conversation, she pumped some of the Delicia Reparative Hair Oil into my hand and instructed me to rake my fingers through my hair. 'See if you like it,' she said, looking at me nervously. (I did.) Below, Shakira shares why this line is so important for the Latin community, how she takes care of her strands after performing, and why her hair is always causing drama.
'It's been a love-hate relationship. I love it. I need it. But sometimes, it makes me suffer so much. It's made me shed so many tears [because it can be so difficult]. I've been brunette, blonde, red. I've had straight, wavy, curly hair. I've been under the hair dryer, the flat irons, the curling irons, every kind of iron. I use my hair on stage. Right now, I'm touring in the U.S., and it's my first stadium tour. You see how much I use my hair in the choreography. I end up literally sweeping the floor with my hair like a mop.'
'I don't imagine [myself] with super-short hair. I did that once, and it was the worst mistake of my life. I need hair. There are a lot of women out there who rely on their hair to feel sexy and confident. A lot of those women can't find products that help them wear their natural waves or curls organically. They [are] constantly getting keratin treatments that are so damaging. I also can't be [doing] those treatments anymore. My hair cannot take it.'
'We've been working on this for [a long time], steadily, carefully, [and] very methodically, developing these products. I've been the first guinea pig to test, and I am the right person to test these products, because my hair is so complex.
I've had so many different looks in my life and in my career. My hair needs real solutions [because] it's the kind that has been through [it] all—a lot of drama. It's so demanding and challenging. I'm one of those women who leaves their salon crying. [I have] porous, damaged hair, [and it's] under a lot of stress and stressors. If you've ever been blonde, it's hard maintenance. Sometimes people overdo [their blonde], and I've overdone it in the past. You know that American phrase 'less is more'? For my hair, more is more. I need more. Give me more.
For years, I was doing my own concoctions, going to the pharmacist and asking him, 'Can you make this shampoo for me? Can you make this conditioner for me? Can you put these ingredients in it?' That's how I survived, just by making my own shampoo and conditioners in a cheap pharmacy. [Then] I was like, No, this is not the approach. Let's get a professional team. With my input and feedback, [we went] back and forth, perfecting every formulation until I was completely happy.'
'These products have been inspired by many Latin people who, like me, are in desperate need of products that meet their hair's complex needs. I belong to a group of women [who] have been underserved for so long. Within the Latin community, there's a lot of diversity. We're a mix of different heritages and cultures. You see many different types of hair, from straight to wavy to curly to really tight curls to a combination of all of it. This line is inspired [by] that diversity, and the needs and the challenges that women like me face every day to try to find health for their hair. For Latinas, our hair is very important. It's part of our identity.'
'After a show, I need a good shampoo. Then I need to nourish it. That's why we came up with a product like Super Bomba [a hair mask]. It tends to all different needs. You need a healthy scalp, because that's where it all begins. Then, you need to restore the ionic and hydrogen bonds, and that's why we included this ingredient GluconaBond, which is our special formulation to repair [hair] bonds from the inside to the outside.'
'Right after I get out of the shower, I do Curls Don't Lie [a curl cream]. I could not live without it. I love the name of it. I've spent my entire life looking for a product that helps me wear my curls naturally and define [them] without it feeling hard. It needs to feel bouncy and soft, not wiry. This curl defining cream gives me all of that, smells good, and also repairs my hair as I wear it. It's not just a cosmetic styling product, [although it also] smooths and gives shine. I [also] put [in] a little bit of the [Delicia Reparative Hair Oil], which is the most amazing oil I've ever tried. I let my hair dry naturally, and then I do four braids. I braid my own hair, and then let it out, and then put this oil again as a final touch to keep the frizz down. If I need to, my stylist does a little bit more shaping with a curling iron. [The oil] protects it, because it has heat protection.'
'I like smells that you want to eat, but at the same time, remind the other person that you're a woman, that you feel feminine and confident in your own skin. The scent [in Isima products] is just perfection to me. It has peonies and freesias, and also vanilla and musk—which is very sensual—and a little bit of kumquat and apple blossom. I've never had so many compliments on how good I smell. You can be very pretty, but if you don't smell good, that's bad. There's no way around it.'
'Isima is a superlative. It means more. It seemed to me like the perfect, simple way to show that this is a line that tries to offer all of those solutions to real people. Isima. It's [at] the end of words, like lindisima [very pretty] or guapisima [gorgeous] or empoderadicima [empowering]. So that's why, for example, the hydrating shampoo is called Riquísima [rich]. Then [the hydrating conditioner] says Suavisima, which means suave. Rico Suave. Each one of them has a very cute little name.'
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.