Gabrielle Union’s Latest Beauty Project Will Have You Feeling Flawless

Gabrielle Union is one of those stars whose hair game is always on point, so when her new haircare line, Flawless by Gabrielle Union, dropped earlier this month, we knew it was going to be something special. Over the course of her hugely successful and decades long acting career, Union has emerged as a hair chameleon, rocking every look from sleek, bone straight tresses to intricate plaits. As such, a foray into haircare certainly feels like a natural transition. "I was inspired by my trials and tribulations in Hollywood," Union exclusively told InStyle when we visited her on the set of her Flawless photo shoot at Milk Studios in Los Angeles, Calif. "Having a lot of products used on me that were super damaging to my hair, really going on the textured hair journey, and realizing that not all products are created equal."

Even though from the outside looking in it appears that Union's got this whole hair thing on lock, the 44-year-old Being Mary Jane star admits that it's not all smiles and perfect styles. "My girlfriends in Miami are from all over the world, a lot of us with textured hair, and quite frankly we’ve looked nuts. A lot of pictures of us in high humidity have not been our finest," Union shared. "I wanted to create a product line that no matter what the weather, no matter what the humidity, every woman looks fly and put together, and not like you were frazzled and just ran to the store like, ugh! Which is how I sometimes look even after spending hours and hundreds of dollars on fifty products, trying to achieve a look that I saw in the magazine."

Now, if you're thinking Union is just the face of this brand, like many celebrity ambassadors before her, you'd be wrong. She actually has ownership in the company and remains actively involved in the creative process. "My mom is going to kill me, but it feels f---ing amazing," the actress quipped on her boss status. "I don’t know how to put that feeling into appropriate language. It feels great. It feels like hashtag goals. And I wish more women—female celebrities, businesswomen—would take more of an active role and gamble on themselves."

The line itself, which Union teamed up with the company behind haircare brand Macadamia Natural Oil to create, consists of a selection of shampoos, conditioners and styling products, ranging in price from $19-$29 that are infused with avocado, marula and argan oils for ultimate hydration. "I want to feel flawless 24 hours a day. I want to feel dope with my natural hair, I want to feel dope when I take my wig off," the Bring it On star asserted. "I want to know that my hair underneath is equally as protected and nourished and loved on."

And for Union, even being done up by professionals on set couldn't distract her from the baseline mission of her brand. "I feel a responsibility for everyone who’s had a meltdown in the bathroom where they’re like, 'I cannot face the day looking like this and feeling like this'," Union tells InStyle. "Your hair is an extension of what you feel inside and there’s no point in going to therapy and reading self help books if your hair is not cooperating. I just want that extension of the inner work that a lot of us have been doing to just match in every area of our life, from the crown of our head to the bottom of our feet." Amen, sister!