Antonia Gentry Talks Wash-Day Heroes, Her Curly Hair Journey, and Self-Acceptance

Curly- and coily-haired beauty lovers, it's time to fall in love with a haircare line specifically designed with tighter textures in mind. Aveda's Be Curly Advanced collection launched on April 24, and we couldn't be more excited to try the high-performing products that are rewriting the rules on what we can expect from professional haircare you can use in the comfort of your own home. We're already making room in our haircare routines for these new additions.

To celebrate this major launch, we connected with Ginny Georgia actor and Aveda partner Antonia Gentry as well as Christine Hall, the brand's vice president of research and development, and Renée Gadar, the brand's global artistic director of texture, for a closer look at what this line has to offer.

Below, hear directly from the talented team behind the launch about their personal hair journeys, the design process for these curl-loving products, and what inspired them to collaborate on the creation of the Be Curly Advanced collection.

Meet Antonia Gentry, Actor and Aveda Partner

What does your partnership with Aveda for the launch of the Be Curly Advanced collection mean to you?

I am very excited to be working with Aveda—not just because they are a company that truly cares about the impact they have and the products that they make but [also] for the Be Curly Advanced line because it's something I've used and learned all about what went into its creation and how to use to products. I normally wouldn't jump on hair partnerships because hair is very important to me, especially in relation to the textured-hair community, but they knew what they really were doing with this line!

I'm also super excited to do this because I know that a lot of people look up to me through my character in Ginny Georgia to see curly hair represented on TV, which is an ever-evolving thing that I feel so privileged and grateful to be a part of. To join Aveda and work on this is just an extension of that authenticity and representation.

Did you have the opportunity to work one-on-one with Christine Hall and Renée Gadar on the development of the collection?

I was able to meet with Renée, where she introduced the products to me from start to finish while the products were still in lab. I got to try every single product in the line, and she showed me how to use them together and gave me advice and tips on what each product was for. For my hair, I learned how to edit the collection to fit my specific needs, and I was really grateful to have them take the time to do that with me. I also got to speak with Christine Hall and the team about the science behind the it.

I'm no scientist, but hearing about all about the testing and care that went into creating these products was super eye-opening. Aveda being so transparent about how these products were made is something I think a lot of companies don't do, so it was definitely a green flag for me. Ultimately, just trying them and being my own guinea pig to make sure these products work for my hair is just the cherry on top!

Can you tell us about about your hair journey, and is it reflected in Ginny Georgia?

For season one in particular, we threw in some experiences for Ginny where she was dealing with people that didn't know how to properly style or take care of it, especially the scene where someone tried to brush out her ponytail! There was also a phase where she tried to straighten her hair because she wanted to fit in a bit more. There's even [negative] comments and people touching her hair because they think it's some unnatural spectacle.

Those experiences in season one for Ginny's character arc were very important because they are based on things that a lot of Black girls with curly hair experience on the daily, especially as a teenager. I also experienced them, so I was very happy we did that. It paid off because I had fans DM'ing me about how those scenes helped validate their experiences. It's really important to bring them to light.

How do you keep your strands healthy on and off set? Are there any tips and tricks you can share for curl upkeep?

Over the past few years since I've started working as an actor and I've been on different sets, I've learned that not everyone knows how to do curly hair. It's really hard to trust people with touching your hair, so there's a lot of heat damage, breakage, and more that it goes through. Curly hair is not as universally understood as it should be.

I'm also using products that I love in between styles to let my hair be in its natural state as much as possible so that it doesn't lose its curl. It's really easy to damage curly hair when you don't know how to do it, and unfortunately, it's something that still needs to change on a lot of sets. When I'm off set, I'm making sure I'm also using my hair masks and making sure my hair can breathe and be itself.

Let's talk about wash day. What's your go-to product lineup for cleansing and moisturizing your hair?

My favorite product from the line is the Be Curly Advanced hair mask when I'm actually in the shower. The shampoo is also fantastic—it doesn't strip my hair or make it feel dry and brittle or anything like that. My hair feels clean, nourished, and moisturized. The mask is just incredible because it melts in my hair like butter! It's not too heavy, it doesn't dry my hair out at all, and it makes detangling so much easier, so I'm not adding extra breakage.

It literally only takes me five minutes to shampoo, condition, put the mask in my hair, and detangle, which is amazing. I've had masks that say I should let them sit on my hair for 30 minutes, and I'm like, "I don't have 30 minutes!" When I get out of the shower and start styling, my favorite product from this line is the Curl Enhancer Cream. After I use the Curl Perfecting Primer, I put a little bit of the cream in my hair. I like it because it's light and doesn't weight my very, very fine hair down.

The primer also doesn't dry my hair out because I don't need so much of it, and it keeps my hair softly defined, shiny, and moisturized. It stays that way for multiple days! I used to have to fully drench my hair every single day to get the curls that I wanted, but now, I don't have to do that because my hair really loves the cream.

What is the best advice you would give to anyone getting to know their hair type and curl pattern?

Patience and acceptance! Because we're so used to the language around having curly and textured hair as aggressive, something you need to tame and fight against, you're subconsciously approaching your own hair with a sense of dread, which is absolutely wrong. Curly hair is incredibly versatile and beautiful. It just takes patience, understanding, and trial and error to find out what works specifically for you.

It's also about learning how you like your curls to look. If you want more of a textured, voluminous Afro or something closer to the frame of your face—whether it's big or small—you can do it according to what you want! You just need to give yourself the grace to unlearn all of the noise we hear about our own hair to discover what you love and how you would like to feel when you wear your natural hair.

A Conversation With Christine Hall and Renée Gadar

What was the research and development process like for Aveda's Be Curly Advanced collection?

Christine Hall: There's the science of what makes curly and coily hair different—how it behaves and what it needs. Then there's incredible collaboration with Renée and the Texture Team. The third piece is, How do we test it? From a technology standpoint, we understood that the more texture your hair has, the more delicate it is. We knew we had to bolster textured hair and make it more resilient.

When hair is textured, sebum travels down the hair slower, and we knew we had to address moisture. From a styling standpoint, for hair to look as shiny as possible, we also needed to focus on definition. We ended up with pea peptides for strength, kokum butter for moisture/conditioning, and styling formulas for definition. We worked with Renée and the Texture Team to come up with base prototypes.

Renée, could you tell us about your role as head of Aveda's Global Texture Team and your role in the development of these products?

Renée Gadar: My role leads the group of people that focus on texture, but it also helps the company stay focused on texture. It means being constantly in the room advocating for that kind of acknowledgement and thinking. I build curriculum and then train the Texture Team on that curriculum. We're providing you products that really work, but you have to know your own hair and how to use them to get their maximum benefit.

The Global Texture Team helps Aveda as a brand to focus in and share that same message. When textured girls try to find the answers for themselves, there's a lot of conflicting messages, so it's helpful as a team to be aligned. It's a team effort to get a much wider scope of testing and feedback to make a product even better.

Can these products work for all curl types and textures? How can consumers determine which ones will best serve their strands?

RG: The best thing to do is lock in with a stylist that uses the products and help you navigate because it's not one-size-fits-all. You need to be washing and can co-wash in between your washes because your hair needs both emollients and water to be hydrated and moisturized. The conditioner functions as a leave-in conditioner so that there's some slip in the hair. The mask can also be used in the shower. You can get maximum benefits from two to five minutes.

When you get out of the shower, always use the primer because it's a helpful tool for you to use less of your styling product. It's also about understanding what your hair is to determine if you want to reach for something with more slip or grip. Antonia is coming from a place with a lot of heat damage, so she likes something lighter because she's dealing with two textures and is getting the best balance out of a cream.

CH: I would say also try stuff. If you asked me before we were developing this, I would have said, "I'm cream all the way." But when I tried the Coil Definer toward my ends for more definition, I realized I liked the way it looks, so experiment!

What are you most excited about for the launch of this collection?

RG: I really want it to be a safe space for Black women, to be quite honest. And something I want to hear back is that these products are providing that for women of color. I want them to find ease in the shower, that the products are dependable, and that it gives them the finish they want. I also hope that it helps them accept their natural hair.

CH: I'm very excited because I feel like it's been a labor of love. We had a training session in Minnesota, and just the sheer excitement of all the stylists and educators was amazing to see. I'm hoping that all translates to everything we're doing. I want people to get curly and coily with me!

Discover the Be Curly Advanced Collection