“For my character, Betty Lou in Uncle Drew, it took me 2, 3 hours in the makeup chair every day to get into the look. Actually having her come to life was really relaxing—I just had to take my mind to the spa. I put on music and watched all the Game of Thrones that I’d missed. It was a lot of prosthetics to make me look older, and it was amazing to have that wig full of gray hair. It was beautiful! I looked exactly like my grandma—thanks to Pond’s, Vaseline, and coconut oil. [Laughs] I think those are key products when it comes to anti-aging…moisturizing is so key. Water all the time. And you got to have your fish oil, that’s important. I think it’s great for your skin also, and good for your joints. There’s this other supplement I take something called Youngevity, which you actually drink. I drink it when I’m working out. It’s one of those inside-out things when it comes to how you look.
Vaseline is always in my purse because it works for everything. Dry skin, dry hands, my son’s knees, lips, if a hair is out of place you can use a dab of Vaseline and get your edges right... When your feet get dry, you have to slather it on—it feels weird but good! So, you got to put your Vaseline on, and then you put on your socks. I can’t sleep in socks, but I do it in the morning until I work out. That’s really key for keeping your feet as nice as possible. And then there’s Pond’s. I know it’s one of those cheap go-to’s, but it works. I use the Dry Skin Cream, and I use it only at night. I put it also on my neck. A lot of time people leave their necks out—the neck is important because wrinkling skin goes all the way down. And of course I love just raw, organic coconut oil. You can use it to remove your makeup, and you can also use it at night. Sometimes I switch between the Pond’s and the coconut oil on my face.
During the day, don’t forget your sunscreen. Sunscreen is huge. I use sunscreen and a serum from RX for Brown Skin [ed note: not currently available]. It’s nice for my skintone—it doesn’t leave a white cast or a heavy feeling which is important if I’m playing tennis outside. Florida, where I live, gets pretty hot—the heat and humidity is sometimes unbearable, but I love playing and working out. I also do this CrossFit boot camp, which I love. There’s a little bit of competitiveness in there, because there’s other people and it’s timed. When you take away the warm up and cool down, you’re working out really hard for about 30 minutes, but you know the end is near. I can do anything in one hour.
After that, I believe in baths. I love having Epsom salt in there—I put that in all the time. What’s interesting is that I take VO5 shampoo, which is affordable and great for the tub because it has so much moisture in it. So I use it in the bath because it’s actually good for your skin, and it also helps keep your tub clean. You never have that ring around the tub, you know? It smells so good, too. Afterwards, your skin feels so silky and smooth, it’s great. Then I do a little salt scrub in there. And I’m always watching Netflix. Right now, I’m working through Bloodlines, and I’m so far behind so don’t tell me what happens.”
—as told to ITG
Lisa Leslie photographed by Virginia Stroh.
Lisa Leslie is currently starring in Uncle Drew, in theatres starting June 29, 2018.
