Lion Babe's Jillian Hervey Is the New Face of Pantene: 'It's Really Exciting to be a Voice for Girls with Curls'

The 26-year-old songstress shares her hair care routine

You may know recording artist Jillian Hervey as the tremendous voice — and hair — of musical duo Lion Babe. And now the 26-year-old and her out-of-this world curls have landed a huge beauty gig as the face of Pantene! To celebrate, the singer photographed a day in the life of her hair exclusively for PeopleStyle and answered all our questions about her colossal curls.

Courtesy Pantene Pro-V

“It’s really exciting to be a voice for girls with curls,” Hervey, who joins fellow songstress Selena Gomez as a brand spokeswoman, told PeopleStyle. “I feel honored to be [working with a] company that I’ve really seen my whole life. My dad (Ramon Hervey, and her mom is Vanessa Williams) has had Pantene in his shower since I was a little kid.”

But when Hervey was a kid, embracing her curls didn’t come naturally. “When I was a young girl, I wasn’t always trying to have curly hair,” she admits. “And I just didn’t know how to do it. It was overwhelming and it kind of freaked me out especially since most people around me had super long, straight hair. I didn’t really know where that fit in.”

Then a move to New York City for college around at 18 completely re-shaped her curl outlook. “That’s when I started seeing so many people expressing themselves in different ways, and I realized the best way for me to take care of my hair and achieve longer, fuller hair was go natural instead of relaxing it or overheating it or adding weaves.”

Now, Hervey can’t get enough of her curls, and mane plan is to keep it healthy so she can whip it around stage during Lion Babe’s first headlining tour this summer — and beyond. Below, more scoop on her fabulous do.

Courtesy of Lion Babe’s Jillian Hervey

“This is a day in the lift of my hair. It was a pretty packed day,” says Hervey, who kicked things off with a selfie (above, left). Next up a walk with her dog Dewey (above, right) before heading off to sound check for a set at Vandal restaurant for Rémy Martin’s National Cognac Day celebration later that evening. “You know I’m always on my phone,” says the star, who copped to using the device “maybe five” (!) times a day to check up on her curls before letting us in on her hair routine.

When I wake up, my hair is… “Flawless! No, it’s curly and a little crazy. It’s pretty much like [how you see it here] and anything there is a dent or two just from sleeping on one side or rolling on my back. My older sister told me to wrap it up at night — but sometimes I’m too tired, but you gotta protect it.”

My get ready routine is… “About 20 minutes. If I wash my hair in the morning, then I usually air-dry it. In warmer weather, if I walk walk my dog, by the time I am back in, it is usually nice and dry! I love using the Pantene Pro-V Daily Moisture Renewal Shampoo and Conditioner because my hair can get super dry. I also use Daily Moisture Renewal 3 Minute Miracle Deep Conditioner, but I might cheat and do more than three minutes. A hairspray to lock this all hair in place!”

I wash my hair… “Two to three times a week, at most. If I have a bunch of shows or have taken a hot yoga class, I am definitely going to wash my hair afterwards!”

My go-to tools are… “A wide toothed comb, and I definitely use kind of a small wand if I want to tighten up curls. And then whatever extra hair I want to use for my actual performances. I will do that but only for shows. It would be too crazy to do it every day.”

Courtesy of Lion Babe’s Jillian Hervey

The last time I flat-ironed my hair was… “For our single called Where Do We Go [a few months ago]. We were playing around with a bunch of different looks and I felt very much like my mom [Vanessa Williams] and it scared me. I was like, ‘this is weird.’”

Growing up with Vanessa Williams as your mom must have made you a bona fide beauty pro. Tell us: the best beauty tip she taught you was… “Don’t over-do anything! You don’t need too much hairspray or any products that are really gonna eat at your hair. But she also definitely made sure I understood the process of washing my hair, using detangling products and blowdrying my hair do it in sections. She taught me tons of things. I think my beauty regimen and my beauty knowledge just comes from watching her. Sometimes it’s not verbally it’s just kind of how she preps her hair.”

Your performances are always so action packed. So dish: the first thing you do when you get off stage is… “Stand right in front of a fan! I think the main thing is to get it off my face. I love to move my hair on stage so I try to, if it’s hot, I’ll just move it!”

The best compliment I’ve ever gotten about my hair is… “I’ve gotten some pretty great compliments about it. I’m very spoiled. But yeah the best compliments have come from hairstylists. I love when someone will run their hands through my hair and be like, ‘oh my god it’s so soft!’ or ‘It’s stronger than I thought it was gonna be!’ That’s the greatest compliment.”

The last time I thought about making a drastic change to my hair was… “I haven’t. I’m pretty into my look right now. I’ve come a long way to get this look. When I was little my hair was super super long and once I went to one hair appointment without my mom and the stylist was supposed to give me a trim and she cut off more and I was devastated! I’ve always thought that more than length, I was looking for volume, but I think I’m gonna stay with it as long as I can.”

Are you excited for Jillian to be the face of Pantene?

–Jackie Fields