She’s about to turn 50, and Ali Landry has zero qualms about sharing all the skin-care, hair-care and everything-else treatments that have worked for her. “I could talk about beauty forever,” she says over Zoom on the heels of her new wellness-meets-every-other-aspect-of-life book, Reshape Your Life, an offshoot of her popular RE/SHAPE lifestyle platform. “I have been a beauty junky since I was a teenager. My mom had a salon on the side of our home since I was a child—it was like Steel Magnolias. I was always around women, who were really taking care of themselves and wanting to look nice. I even sold skin care and cosmetics to them to put myself through college!”
I’ll try it all…but I don’t want to look enhanced in any way, shape, or form.
So much of the book is about beauty. What are some of the holy grail beauty items you’ve used forever?
I always have my eye out for game-changers, and then I also have staples that I’ve used for all these years. One of them is a derma-roller. I started using a derma-roller, gosh, in the ’90s. Nowadays, the needle length is a little longer than it was when I started! I love that tool; I always will.
There’s also a skin-care line called Auro Skincare, which my friend, who is a chemist, created—it’s the only absorbable glutathione on the market. He also has a product called Gluterol. This one is a staple; I will add other things into that glutathione routine, but this is always around.
I was introduced to the Biography face oils about a year or two ago. I have all of them. The line just fits right into my current skin-care routine. For me, this is a product that goes past just “doing good” for your skin. Using the oils is like an emotional connection. [laughs] For me, it’s honestly like transporting. It makes me feel good! It makes me feel like I’m doing something good for myself! It’s a self-love product, I guess. I will always use Biography. It doesn’t even matter which one, there are several. I always keep those in the mix.
What about treatments?
I pretty much do it all! I’ll try it all! But my approach is this: I want everything to look as natural as possible. I don’t want to look enhanced in any way, shape, or form. I’m hyper-aware of that. I have a very detailed eye. I do really enjoy the results I get from radio-frequency microneedling. It is painful, but they have Pronox that they let you suck on.
I did Ultherapy twice and noticed such a great difference—especially under the neck area, under the chin. I also injected some stem cells into my face. Funny story is that they wanted to do it for the Doctors television show. I just thought, “You guys, I’m not a great example. I don’t think I’ll be a good before-and-after. I take good care of my skin…I don’t think you’re going to see the biggest result.” But they insisted! I worked with Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center and when I saw my before-and-after image, I nearly fell out of my seat.
My mom is a hairstylist, and she pointed out to me about two years ago that my part was getting bigger. Of course, only your mother would tell you that!
It’s that good?
I could not believe the difference that it made. Those stem cells! All I can say is WOW. Everything was lifted, and my lines were definitely not as deep. It was a pretty big deal.
Lately, I’ve really been fully focusing on my hair…like I said, my mom is a hairstylist, and she pointed out to me about two years ago that my part was getting bigger. Of course, only your mother would tell you that! I had never noticed it, but then I became obsessed with fixing it.
What I’ve done—and I feel like I’ve seen pretty great results with not that much effort—is a PRP treatment to the scalp. I did it at Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center, and then I did a microdermabrasion treatment for the scalp, and followed it with a spray peptide that I did for a month all-over my scalp, every day. I just started using a new product on the market called Armra, which is a colostrum. I use the blood orange, which almost tastes like an orange creamsicle. I tell you, it works!
My daughter even said, “Mommy, what is going on with your hair? It’s sticking up all over the place. You look like Tweety bird.” I told her, “It’s hair growth!” Now, I have little hairs growing all over the top of my head in the temple area. I didn’t do anything crazy or super invasive. I didn’t put in that much effort! I just started experimenting. I’m not doing the red light–therapy cap yet, but I will…I know doing those little things make a really big difference in my scalp health and my hair growth.
That’s amazing. I know that your book discusses wellness. Was there anything you learned about wellness while you were writing it?
I pretty much wrote it because of what I learned. [laughs] I was on a couple of television shows and I started to get brain fog. I was thinking one thing…but, when I opened my mouth, it would come out in a totally different way. It got to the point where I was worried I could lose my job.
My day was just too much; I was absolutely exhausted. It was like I was in a fight with Mike Tyson every day and all I wanted to do was get into bed and eat Brownie Brittle. I looked at everything—the brain fog, the hair loss, the mild depression at times, the super low energy, the mood swings, the low sex drive….
I asked my girlfriends, “Are you guys experiencing this…” And everyone just kept saying, “That’s what happens when we age.” That didn’t sit well with me. I’m not that old! I had to figure it out.
Because I had so much access, the first thing I did was go to a naturopathic doctor. So many women will relate to this: I felt off, but I didn’t feel sick enough to go to a traditional doctor. I just had to see what was happening. When I did that blood panel, it was such a huge moment because I realized I wasn’t crazy—I could see it right there on the paper. The levels were so off…so I started supplementing based on those numbers and experience that next level of health. I became friendly with Dave Asprey of Bulletproof and that whole bio-hacking world, Peter Diamandis, who is in the longevity space, Jim Kwick, who’s focused on brain health, and Dr. Michael Breus, who’s focused on sleep.
I was able to really do a deep dive across the board. And, at the same time, I feel like I changed my life. It changed my life! I came out better than I was before I started, and that was so exciting. I felt like I needed to share what I learned not just with my friends, but with all women—and that’s what started the platform and that’s the information that’s translated into the book. It was exciting for me at my age that I could successfully reverse things a bit.
That’s amazing, and you will turn 50 this year. Is it something that you’re thinking about?
I’ve always reflected, and the book is a giant reflection. I journal, I really go deeper into my thoughts, my emotions, why I’m where I am, where I want to go. I always told my husband, “You better look out because I’m going to age a fine wine—so you better keep up!” I’m excited about 50. I feel like the best is honestly yet to come. I feel great. I feel I’ve looked better than, I don’t know, I did in my 30s, that’s for sure.
There are just so many things I want to tackle! I’m starting this list where I’m doing the 50 things I want to do before I’m 50. And I’m going to check off everyone on that list. I’m planning a wellness retreat with my girlfriends, I want to do a big old party and, again, this book is an opportunity for me to share this information and that philosophy with all women out there. It’s really never too late to create a life you love.
