Paris Jackson's Everyday Routine: Curls, a Short Skincare Ritual, and Music at the Center
Vogue
In this Vogue "Beauty Secrets" session, Paris Jackson walks through their daily hair care, skincare, and makeup. The routine is short and low-maintenance on purpose, and Jackson explains why that suits them. Along the way they talk about the activities that helped during hard periods, the role music played in getting sober, how a new single was written, and the scents that remind them of their father.
Working With Natural Texture Instead of Against It
Jackson starts with hair and says up front that they don't wash it every day. They acknowledge some people might find that gross, but their hair doesn't get greasy, and skipping daily washing helps keep the shape and curls intact. For the video they had already shampooed and conditioned.
The approach came from experience. Jackson buzzed their hair a little over ten years ago. In the last few years they realized that constantly bleaching and straightening it was keeping it from growing, and they eventually needed extensions. Now the day-to-day goal is to care for the natural texture and "let it do its thing," and Jackson says the hair has actually been growing a bit as a result.
The current look combines both. The length is extensions and the texture is natural. Jackson credits their stylists, Breanna and Nikki at 901, with finding Great Lengths extensions that match their curl pattern, which added about four inches.
The Styling Steps
After spraying the hair, Jackson puts one pump each of two products into the same palm, mixes them, and spreads the mixture through the hair as evenly as possible. Then they scrunch, which they say helps the curls hold their shape.
Jackson sometimes uses heat protectant, especially when air-drying in the sun. The product they call the "saving grace" is a salt spray, which helps the pieces cling together so the hair doesn't frizz. The last hair step is a hair oil.
The final hair step happens off-camera: two protection braids, one on each side. Jackson recommends protection braids for leaving the house and suggests infusing them with essential oils. They name peppermint as one that would work well.
Leaving an Offering
In a brief aside, Jackson says they pick things up wherever they travel. On a recent island trip they collected sea glass. Whenever they take something from nature, they always leave an offering behind, because otherwise it feels like stealing. They describe the practice as the best way to "stay clean" in their energy.
Fixing Breakouts: The Water, Then the Oils
Jackson started caring for their skin a few years ago and says they had been doing it wrong, which caused serious breakouts. They have since settled on a simple process that works for their skin in the climate where they live.
The biggest culprit, in Jackson's account, was their plumbing. They live in a very old house, and after some bad breakouts they realized the water was the cause. Filters on the shower head and the sink faucet helped with the large cystic breakouts. The smaller bumps went away once they stopped using oil-based products.
The routine is a cleansing serum, then a water-based water cream, which Jackson considers ideal for their skin type, then sunscreen. They say it's the one sunscreen that doesn't leave their skin clogged.
Why the Routine Stays Short
Jackson has tried longer skincare routines. Whenever a routine demands a big commitment, they end up not doing it. They say that keeping pressure to a minimum works better for them in general, including in their personal life.
Journaling is their example. They used to apologize to their diary for not having written in weeks, and they wonder whether anyone else does that. They came to see daily journaling as a source of pressure, and now they write when they feel called to. The same logic applies to their face. In the morning they wash, apply the products, and are out the door in about ten minutes, which they like.
Five Products for the Face
Jackson uses five makeup products. The first is a creamy Chanel eyeshadow that they use as contour. They draw a small dot and rub it in. They note it blends easily while the sunscreen and moisturizer are still fresh, but it's harder to work with later in the day.
Jackson says they don't experiment much with makeup anymore. As a teenager they went through what they call an emo phase, with dark eyeliner, colored mascara, and "just everything." Now they prefer simple and easy.
Next is a lip stain, which they let dry for a moment. They say it's almost used up because they wear it constantly. Then come the brows. Jackson also keeps a mini version of their face sunscreen on hand.
After deciding the lip looks too subtle, Jackson goes back in with the contour eyeshadow, adding a little to the bottom and top of the lip to shape it. Over that goes a chocolate lip product that they say tastes like a Tootsie Roll. It's technically a lip sleeping mask, but they wear it during the day for a slight darkening effect.
The last face product is a highlighter. Jackson learned about it from Lisa Potter Dixon, who does their makeup when they're overseas. They apply a small amount to the high points of the face.
What Helped During Hard Times
While doing their brows, Jackson says they went through some rough patches. At some point they realized they needed to do things that made them happy. They took up rock climbing and spend much of their free time with friends. Their best friend recently got them into photography. They describe music as "just like the air I breathe."
Overcoming the Fear of Doing Music
Jackson says they were scared to start making music seriously. They had played guitar since about age 13 or 14 but kept it suppressed as a hobby. In their early twenties they decided they couldn't hold back anymore, because music was what made them happy.
The timing mattered, Jackson explains. This was before they had found the other things that made them happy. Before getting sober, music was essentially the only thing that got them through hard times. After getting sober, they came to see that music "really is everything." Other than service, they call it their primary purpose. They add that they're heading to the studio right after the shoot.
Writing the Next Single in Under an Hour
Jackson describes the origin of a song they call the next single. They were in the studio with their friend Jason, who was comping vocals on another song. Jason asked whether they were old enough for their view of love to have changed. Jackson answered that every love they'd had was "deep, but different."
They then told Jason about the relationship their first album was about, saying it felt like their souls had been "stitched together." Jackson realized the phrase could be a lyric. They went into another room and wrote the song in under 60 minutes.
Jackson says they sometimes get in their head and feel they need co-writers. This song, they say, is a body of work they did 100% by themselves.
Scents and Memories of Their Father
Fragrance comes last. Jackson has a perfume that smells like a bonfire, bought about four years ago and rarely used, and they apply one or two sprays.
They also use a few oils. One is made with saffron, and Jackson loves it because it reminds them of their father. The family lived in the Middle East for a while, and their father wore many perfumes from the region. Another is a temple oil from Lake Shrine. Jackson likes the smell but finds it very strong, so they put only a little on their wrists. They are generous with the saffron oil, putting it almost everywhere and, when they aren't wearing white, on their clothes too.
The Deodorant Question
Jackson says friends have teased them for years about not wearing deodorant. They eventually started using one. Crystal deodorants didn't work for them, and a 100% natural deodorant scented like nag champa or palo santo lasted about an hour. The one they use now is "the closest I can get."
To finish, Jackson keeps scrunching their hair so it dries in the sun, says that's pretty much their day-to-day, and leaves for the studio.
Hi Vogue. My name's Paris and we are going to walk through my hair care, skin care, and daily makeup situation.
First up, I always start with the hair. I don't wash my hair every day, which some people might find gross, but my hair doesn't get greasy and it's good for me to just maintain the shape and curls of everything. So, I did shampoo and conditioner for this and then the first thing I do, I spray.
I buzzed my hair just over 10 years ago and I realized in the last few years that constantly bleaching and straightening it was not helping it get longer and I've had to do like an extension situation. So, on my day-to-days, I just try and take care of the natural texture and let it do its thing. And it actually has been growing a little bit because of that.
So, after this, I'll do one pump of this in one hand and then another pump of this in that same hand. And I mix them together. And I kind of just try and spread it out as much as possible.
The length is extensions and the texture is natural and my girls, Breanna and Nikki at 901, were able to find textures from Great Lengths that match mine. They were able to add like 4 in with extensions that match, which is really cool.
So, I'll do this little scrunchy thing with it and the scrunching kind of allows it to keep its shape as much as possible. Sometimes I do a little bit of heat protectant, especially if I'm air drying in the sun. You kind of lessen that. The saving grace, though, has been like a salt spray. It helps those pieces cling together so that it doesn't get like frizzy. And then the last thing for hair is I do just like a hair oil.
I do pick up things from kind of everywhere that I go. I was just on an island and I collected sea glass. But if I'm ever going to take something from Mother Earth or like mama-ish, I do make sure to always leave an offering behind. Otherwise, it feels like stealing. I feel like that's the best way for me to stay clean in my energy.
And then the final thing, which I'm going to stop the video for, is I do two protection braids on either side. Protection braids are really great when you're leaving the house. And you can infuse it with essential oils if you want. There's some really nice oils like peppermint that would work great.
Okay, so braids are done. On the skin, I wash my face with a cleansing serum. I started taking care of my skin a few years ago. I was just doing it wrong. So I was having all these crazy breakouts. And then now I learned like a pretty simple process that works well for my skin in the climate that I live in.
I think the biggest thing that affected my skin, especially cuz I live in a really old house, was the pipes. I had like some really bad breakouts and I realized, "Oh, it's the water." And so I have a filter on my shower head and my faucet sink that has been a saving grace. That has helped with the really big cystic ones. And then the small bumps that I would get, I was able to get rid of by not using any oil-based products. I use a water cream. It's water-based, which is kind of like the ideal for my kind of skin.
Then I put on sunscreen. This is the one sunscreen that doesn't make me kind of clogged.
I've tried the longer routines and anytime there's like a big commitment like that, I find myself not doing it and I think the least amount of pressure for anything is better for me and like my personal life. So like even when it comes to like journaling, you know, I don't know if other people would ever like apologize to their diary like, "Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't written in weeks." But like I used to do that and it's just like this pressure to journal every day and I'm just like I'm going to do it when I feel called to do it. And I think having a shorter routine for my face has been better, especially cuz like, you know, in the morning when I wake up, I wash my face, I put these things on and I'm out the door in 10 minutes, which is really nice.
And then I start makeup. I use five products for my face. I think this is actually like an eye shadow. It's a Chanel eye shadow, but it's creamy so I use it for contour. And I just draw a little dot. Then I rub it in. It's easy to rub in when the sunscreen and moisturizer are fresh. It's harder to do throughout the day.
I don't really play around with makeup so much anymore. I think I used to, especially in my teen years when I had a bit of an emo phase and I loved dark eyeliner and the different colored mascara and just everything. And now it's just I like to keep it simple and easy.
I use a lip stain that I let dry for a second. This is almost so out cuz I use it like crazy.
We're going to go on with brows. I went through some rough patches and just realized that, you know, when I'm like, "Oh, I need to do things that make me happy." I got into like rock climbing and just hanging out with friends. A lot of my free time is spent hanging out with friends. Recently, my best friend got me a little bit into photography. And, you know, my music is kind of just like the air I breathe.
Take that off. I also have a mini sunscreen that I use. Literally just a miniature version of what I put on my face.
Okay. This seems super subtle. I'll go back in with the eyeshadow. I'll just do a little bit on the bottom and top, which help shape the lip a little more. And then this, which is a chocolate, tastes like a Tootsie Roll. It's technically a lip sleeping mask, but I wear it in the daytime. And it gives just a very slight darkness to it.
I was pretty like scared to start doing music cuz I've kind of been playing guitar for like, I don't know, since I was 13 or 14. And I just like suppressed it as a hobby. And then in my like early 20s was like, "I can't do this anymore. That's what makes me happy, and I just have to do that." Especially cuz this was before I figured out all the other things that made me happy. That was kind of the only thing that like got me through the hard times before I got sober was music. And then, you know, when I got sober, it helped me to be like, "Oh, wow, music really is everything. It really is like the air I breathe." Other than service, that's my primary purpose. This is my day-to-day. Like I'm going to the studio after this and doing more music.
This is my highlighter that my girl Lisa, who does my makeup when I'm overseas, Lisa Potter-Dixon, got me on this. It's just a little highlight I put here.
Something that's very exciting is I was in studio with my friend Jason and he was comping vocals for a song that we were doing. He was like, "Are you old enough to the point where, you know, your perception on love has changed yet?" And I'm like, "Every love I've had has been deep, but different." And I was kind of telling him about the relationship that I wrote my first album about. I was telling him, I'm like, "Yeah, it just felt like our souls have been stitched together." And I was like, "Huh, you know, that's actually a vision lyric." I went into the other room and in under 60 minutes wrote the song. It started coming together so quickly and I was so excited about it. Sometimes I get in my head and feel like I need co-writers and this is a body of work that I did 100% by myself. That is the next single.
I got this forever ago. And I don't use it too often, as you can see. I got it like maybe 4 years ago. But it smells like a bonfire. So, I'll do like one spray or two sprays of that.
And then I have these little oils that I really like. This is made with saffron and I love this scent cuz it reminds me of my dad. We lived in the Middle East for a time and he used a lot of their perfumes and stuff. And then this one I also have, which I got from Lake Shrine, which is just like a temple oil. And I like how it smells. It's very strong, so I'll leave a little bit on my wrists. And then I'll do the saffron one, which this one I'm very generous with because I really just love saffron so much. So, that I'll put kind of everywhere and if I'm not wearing white, I'll also put a little bit on my clothes.
A lot of my friends have given me a hard time over the years about not wearing deodorant. Cuz I am, if you can't tell, one of those. So, I just started using one and, you know, it's because the ones that are like the crystal deodorants, those don't work. I had a deodorant that was 100% natural and it was like nag champa or like palo santo scented. It works for an hour. So, this is the closest I can get.
This is it. I'll keep scrunching, especially in the sunlight, so that it finishes drying, but this is my day-to-day pretty much. If you made it this far, thanks for watching. Vogue, thanks for having me. I'm going to go to the studio now.
Article published