Garcelle Beauvais is the cover of Hype Hair’s March 2020 issue highlighting her ageless beauty and we are eager to know her route to the fountain of youth.

Photographed by D’Andre Michael, the famed actress looked radiant as she chatted with the magazine about the evolution of hair in the entertainment industry along with embracing her natural hair after her hairstylist Kimberly Kimble told her “stop relaxing.”

Like most Black women, Garcelle remembers the days when processed hair was equivalent to having “good hair,” but listening to her celebrity hairstylist’s suggestion to cease the unnatural pattern of her upbringing proved to be one of the best decisions she made for her natural tresses. 

“I didn’t realize that I had ‘good hair’ until I was in my 40s!” Garcelle revealed to the magazine before admitting she had her doubts about separating from her hair routine.

“At first, I thought, ‘Oh, my god, what am I gonna do?’ We come out of the womb and they’re already putting relaxers and all kinds of stuff in our hair and you don’t know your hair,” she said half-jokingly. 

She continued, “But, then I discovered that I liked my curl pattern. It’s what helps when I say to my kids that you get your curls from me—because they’re mixed. It redefined what I think of my hair.”

The 53-year-old mother of three went on to share how she witnessed the evolution of Black beauty in the entertainment industry. 

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“Before it almost felt like we were forced into extensions and longer hair and really covering up our natural hair,” she shared. “What is really interesting to see is the evolution of hair, in the sense of texture versus non-texture, wigs versus extensions. Now, we can do twists, we can do a ’fro, we can do braids. Now, you could see a beautiful woman with natural hair on the cover of a magazine.”

According to Garcelle, hair is her accessory. This explains why the famed actress opted for a variety of different hairstyles in her cover shoot.  

The first Black woman on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills went on to reveal how self-love overall plays a big part in acceptance. 

“I can’t speak for all Black women, but I think many thought negatively [about our hair],” she shares. “We can’t just jump into the pool and shake our hair like the white girls do, so we had a stigma about it. So, learning to love our hair is a big deal. That’s who we are. That’s self-love."

As far as her route to the fountain of youth, besides ditching sugar and dairy to help with her eczema, her directions were clear—working out, drinking water, and moisturizing. “I’m trying to stay at it as much as I can.” 

While she may seem Fancy, she wants fans to know that although “people see the glamour” she’s “just a regular girl who gets to do really cool stuff every now and then,” adding, “That’s how I see myself.”

As for her thoughts about joining the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, she says, “It’s a huge platform. Also, being the first African American [cast member], I get to put my stamp on it. And who I am, I am a hands-on mom, that’s the most important thing to me. I’m an actor, I’m a friend.”

And in case you were wondering if she'll ever make an appearance on RHOA, Garcelle revealed, “I would never do Atlanta cause they would eat my alive. I know and love those women, but I wouldn’t last a day.”

Hype Hair’s spring “Color Issue” drops March 6.