People Magazine has a new interview with Laverne Cox to promote her partnership with high end hair care brand Matrix, which is for color-treated hair. I haven’t used that brand except at the hairstylist and I don’t buy high end hair products. I know I should! I think of that whenever I watch Queer Eye. The quotes they have from her are presented without a lot of context, so it’s possible that some were emailed and some are direct quotes. I mention that because she talks about herself in the third person, but I think that could be an editorial decision by People based on something Matrix emailed them. You may remember that I saw a talk by Laverne several years ago. My son still brings that up occasionally, she made such a big impression on us.

Cox… tells PEOPLE. “For me, the idea of living your color is about embracing every single aspect of who I am.”

“Every shade and every color of Laverne is acceptable. It’s been such a journey for me to not orphan parts of myself, but to embrace every single color of the rainbow that is Laverne and I like to encourage everybody to do that, to bring all of you to the table,” [Cox] says. “Live your color.”

“When someone partners with Laverne Cox, they are alining themselves with a message of diversity, inclusion and welcoming everyone to the table… There is something for everyone in the Matrix Total Results line. I wouldn’t be aligned with the brand if there wasn’t. In 2019, we have to have beauty products that work for every hair type and every skin type.”

Although she loves a good wig — and happily admits to wearing one every day! — Cox’s natural hair health has drastically improved, thanks to coconut oil and the Length Goals line by Matrix Total Results (which includes a sulfate-free shampoo, a restoring conditioner and a multi-benefit styling spray).

“I stopped relaxing my hair in 2011 because I had so much damage. Now, I’m committing to oiling my scalp everyday and it actually lengthens and hydrates my hair,” says Cox, who also attributes her healthy natural hair to wearing protective styles like cornrows, loose braids and braided extensions under her wig.

As an actress, Cox says she “loves having the ability to transform myself, my look, and my character with hair.”

“I’ve been playing with color a lot more and encouraging people to play with color for fun. You have too because life is short… I’m 47 years old, I probably look better than I ever have in my life. I’m single, my career is in an amazing place, I’m living my dream and that it’s so beautiful…Live your color!”

[From People]

I feel like this at 46, that I’m the best I’ve ever been, but as I always say it’s mostly because I give less f-cks about what people think of me. (My girl Kaiser just wrote about this in a story about Taylor Swift! This is a thing when you age.) It’s less about being sure of myself and more about realizing some universal truths about confidence. It’s a feeling and attitude, not an objective truth about your body, looks, career, friends or relationship. It helps to have this job, to think about these issues, and to see amazing examples of powerful women my age who are owning their age and style, like Laverne, Tracee Ellis Ross, Halle Berry, Michelle Obama and more. Fitness helps too. If you lift a lot of heavy things and do hard cardio you can feel better about just about anything. I know that is a privileged stance to take and I’m lucky to have the time, space and health to do that. Sh-t hurts more at this age too so you have to take it easy. If your hair looks gorgeous it helps though. It does! Laverne definitely has that and is a great choice for this campaign. Yes she wears wigs and they address that well in the promotional statements. I would wear them too if I could look like that.

Photos credit: WENN