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The actress, singer, and Frenshe founder gets real about alopecia.
Ashley Tisdale’s pop-up salon in NYC was exactly what you’d expect. If you follow her on TikTok or Instagram—where she has 24.8 million followers—you know she’s the queen of earthy, minimal-toned, well, everything. From her baby’s natural wood crib to her plant-filled home and cream-toned Frenshe Interiors rugs, everything is perfectly chic. So, it’s no surprise that the Being Frenshe salon, celebrating the launch of her hair wellness line, was equally stylish.
The Brooklyn pop-up smelled just like her viral Cashmere Vanilla scent, the signature fragrance of her hair collection. Flowers and eucalyptus filled the space, and the blowout booths, crafted in the same natural wood finish as her home, added to the cozy, cohesive, Cashmere Vanilla-scented vibe.
But Being Frenshe’s cult following isn’t just driven by its aesthetic and viral scents—it’s also Tisdale’s personal connection to hair wellness that resonates. Diagnosed with alopecia in her 20s, the red-carpet style fixture developed not only a passion but a need for hair products that work. She shares how her autoimmune disease sparked a focus on scalp care and a “less is more” approach, prioritizing hair vitamins, scrubs, and natural hair over bleaching and extensions.
While her hair journey has included experimenting with going blonde, cutting bangs, and trying new updos, her routines have become more intentional since becoming a mother, especially as postpartum hair loss has impacted her alopecia.
Below, Tisdale shares her hair health tips, how her experiences with alopecia inspired the creation of Being Frenshe’s new collection, and reveals her beauty must-haves—plus her biggest hair-care "ick."
Her Hair Growth Secret:
"My secret to hair growth and hair health is that I just feel like less is more. I was diagnosed with alopecia in my 20s, and there really isn't any treatment for it and the dermatologist just gives you a piece of paper saying what it is, which is an autoimmune disease. So, I started to really think of everything and how I treated my hair, and there are so many times when we expect our hair to do so much for us; I was bleaching it so blonde, I was using extensions nonstops, and I finally was just like 'I need to kinda do less and just give love back to my hair.' I created around my scalp and hair health, and, to me, that's really where this hair wellness line came from."
How Motherhood Impacts Her Beauty and Wellness Routines:
"I have really no routine with kids, haha, no I do. It's one of those things where you truly have to, and I am such an advocate for other moms, we tend to wake up right away, and you're like, 'Okay, let me wake the baby up,' and now that I have two kid's, it's a lot. So, definitely, my makeup routine has been cut in half; it's now a 5-minute get-ready with me. But it's so important to keep your rituals as a part of your routine, so for me, my husband wakes up at 5:30 in the morning and does a meditation, for me, I wake up at 6:30 because I know the kids will wake up at 7, and I do my meditation for 20 minutes, right before they wake up. It really is a humungous difference of if I do one or if i don't, because if i don't do one I just get overwhelmed throughout the day. But also, when I put the kids to sleep, I still will do my bath ritual or a shower, so I think it's like very important to take care of yourself as a mom, especially because we are obviously taking care of everybody else. We need to feel good as well."
How Postpartum Affected Her Hair-Care Routine:
"I definitely lost a lot of hair recently postpartum. It's very interesting. I have very thick hair, so people ask, 'Do you have alopecia?' Yes, alopecia can hit people in different ways; for me, when I am super stressed, it's like a bald spot that is usually on the scalp somewhere, and I hide it very well. But I have very thick hair, so I don't get scared of postpartum hair because I have enough to lose. But, I was prepping this time for postpartum hair stuff because I was like, 'You know what, I am going to go back to the dark;' that's my whole 'do less' thing because if I am continuously bleaching, it's just not going to be good, especially with postpartum hair loss. Obviously, I love to do hair vitamins. Truly, my favorite hair vitamin is Wellbel, I've tried all of them over years, and that one is one that really works. It's just one of those not-so-fun things you go through postpartum, but everybody does.
The Importance of Scalp Care:
"Scalp care is so important because, if you think about it, it all starts with the scalp. I tend to spend more on skin care than makeup because your skin is like the canvas, so your scalp is the canvas for your hair. There are so many products that we pile on that we don't think about as just building up. So, I love to do a good scalp scrub once a week because it detoxifies that buildup. That is just something that is a huge ritual of mine, especially because you color, you build up with product, and it all affects you."
Her Hair Care "Ick":
"I would say a big hair care ick is if I've gone to an event and it was like an updo; I will not go to sleep in the updo. It has to come down because it is pulling at your scalp in so many ways. I am the same way with my daughter, who's three. She goes to Disney to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and they cement that hair up, and it's like, 'I don't care what time it is, girl, we are washing your hair because it literally will stick up straight.' If there is a ton of product, I definitely am someone who loves a good shower to wash that stuff out before I go to bed."
The Beauty Products She Always Has on Her:
“I would say Summer Fridays lip gloss, definitely a Being Frenshe Hair Body & Linen mist, or we just came out with a mini mist, so that is really exciting because it’s really easy to travel with. Or, one of our Eau De Parfums. I always love to smell good. Then, probably, I would say, something for my kids like wet wipes because we all need a wipe sometimes.”