Dolly Parton Thinks the “Morning Shed” Sounds “Like a Nightmare”

Nicola Dall'Asen
·8 min read

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What does one ask Dolly Parton about her beauty routine that people don’t already know? I won’t lie, coming up with an answer was one of the more daunting journalistic challenges I’ve faced (and I once interviewed all five Backstreet Boys simultaneously). Everyone knows that she’s pretty much always wearing a wig. Everyone knows that she likes acrylic nails and about the pivotal role they’ve played in her songwriting. Hell, most of us even know that she regularly goes to bed with makeup on.

What we don’t really know, I figured, is what happens when she gets home and there’s nothing else to be done for the day (a rarity, I’m sure). Does she place her wigs atop a rack by her front door as if she were hanging up her hat after a nine-to-five? Does she trade her “going out” lipstick for a “staying in” shade? Does she kick up her pedicured feet while sipping Dolly Wine from a commemorative Dollywood cup and doomscroll on BeautyTok for “market research” purposes like I do?

The answer to those questions is (very obviously, I hope) no. But I did get a bit of a glimpse of Parton’s current routines and some fresh details about her cosmetics brand Dolly Beauty—which, by the way, just launched several new products including lipsticks, lip gloss, lip liner, a mascara, and eyeliner pencils.

Below, Dolly Parton and I have a little gab about her makeup line, what she’s doing with her wigs and nails these days, plus her extremely early morning ritual and thoughts on one of the internet’s most extreme beauty trends.

Allure: This is totally off-topic, but I just wanted to start by saying thank you for creating Dollywood. I was there this time last year and it was very special.

Dolly Parton: Well, thank you for coming. We're very proud of it; it is a wonderful park. I'm glad you got to experience it. I got a park and now I got lipstick, too!

Allure: How have you translated all your business and brand experience—with Dollywood, the Stampede, Dolly Wines, and your fragrances—into your new makeup?

Parton: Everything in my life just seems to flow from one thing to another. It depends on when you sit down and work with your business people [to decide] what would make the most sense now. Of course, I'm so known for my makeup and my clothes and my hair. It's just a natural transition for me to be involved in the makeup at this time.

Allure: There are countless celebrity beauty brands out there right now. How did you ensure these products were Dolly-ized to the max?

Parton: I picked the colors that I loved, and I also picked colors that I knew would work well with all the people I know. We started with the Jolene Red lipstick… I don't personally wear a lot of red lipstick, but there are a lot of people that do. That was just a catchy little hook to have the first color be something from my song catalog. "Jolene" is famous, and you think of her as an outgoing, husband-stealing, boyfriend-stealing, hot woman, so Jolene Red seemed to be perfect.

Allure: What’s the most important makeup tip you’ve ever learned?

Parton: I think it's important to wear what matches your skin tone and what matches your personality and the way you feel. You can wear less, you can wear medium, you can wear more. I always like more anything and everything.

My skin is very fair. I’m like a blank wall when I start out… I can wear any color because my hair is light. So I just like to play in the makeup. But I think it's good to take good care of your skin; then you can just put everything on it that you want to.

Allure: A few years ago, you told Allure that you almost never go to bed without makeup on because you want to be ready for anything at any time. Is that still true? What products do you absolutely need to have on when you go to bed?

Dolly: Well, I don't make up to go to bed. I brush my teeth and I do all the things that I need to do but I just leave the makeup [I was already wearing] on. Sometimes I'm too tired to clean my face at night. I work hard, so sometimes it's like I just fall in the bed. Then I get up in the mornings and clean my face and do whatever you're supposed to do with your skin.

I don't every night go to bed with makeup on. If I've been home riding [horses] or if I've been doing other [active] things, I'll go ahead and clean my face.

Plus, I like to look pretty for my husband. I don't want to go to bed with the rollers and the Clearasil and all kinds of stuff stuck on my face and then get cleaned up and leave the next day so everybody else could see me [looking] pretty, but he sleeps with a hag!

Allure: Have you heard of a new beauty trend called the “morning shed”? I feel like you would hate it.

Parton: No. What is that?

Allure: It’s when people go to bed and they put on all of this stuff like sheet masks and eye patches. Sometimes they tape their mouth shut or wear a chin strap. When they wake up in the morning, they take it all off—or “shed”—and feel like they’ve already done half the work of getting ready.

Parton: I think it sounds more like a nightmare than a ritual. Everybody's got their own way of doing things. I can't imagine that for me. I usually just get up, do my little rituals, then I put on my makeup and I'm ready to go.

But, of course, I understand the part about wanting to wake up and be beautiful all day. If that's working for them, more power to them.

Allure: What are your little rituals?

Parton: I wake up early because I don't require lots of sleep. I do all my spiritual work and read my scriptures, do my meditations, and all my little things like that. Then I go take my bath and I clean my face, like I said. Then I just put on my makeup and take my good, easy time. I have hours [to get ready] because I do get up so early. I take my time doing it. By the time the sun comes up, I'm ready to hit the road.

Allure: You’ve said in the past that you wear a wig almost every day. Is that still true? How many wigs do you think you’ve owned in your lifetime?

Parton: Oh, in my lifetime? Well, I can't count that far back. I mean, I wear one a day. I must have at least 365.

But I really don't wear a wig every day. Only if I'm out in the public doing things like this or if I'm doing shows. But if I'm home, I keep my own hair bleached and use the same length [as my wigs] so I can just pull it up in scrunches and do fun things with it. Wigs are just so handy. I am not the kind of person that can wait and sit under a hairdryer. It's not healthy for your hair to use it the way that I [would have to].

But sometimes I wear little [hair] pieces, maybe just some bangs. I mix and match it.

Allure: Do your wigs have names?

Parton: I have a few that we've named through the years. They're not all named, but I'll describe a certain thing to Cheryl [Riddle, my hairstylist], like, "Oh, fix some more of the little twist and spout," [as in] the little spout where they're kind of high on the top. I'll name things like that… just little fun things that we know how to identify them. Like “the Goldilocks,” if I want a curly one. But I don't name them all.

Allure: You’ve told plenty a tale about your acrylic nails and how handy they are for guitar playing. Have you ever dabbled in other types of fake nails like soft gel extensions?

Parton: No, I haven't. The acrylic works really well for me, and I've worn it for years because they're so good and strong and sturdy. I do play a lot of instruments, and so I really need the strength of the acrylic nail.

Allure: Doesn’t having them on all the time wreak absolute havoc on your natural nails?

Parton: Well, if you have a good manicurist and they know what they're doing—I mean, my nails are good.

Allure: Beauty stuff aside, what’s on your mind these days?

Parton: I'm always thinking about life and people and about all of us trying to be a little better to one another, trying to love each other a little more and realize that we're all God's children. That part of my life is always intact no matter what else I'm selling. I'm selling love, top of the line.

More on Dolly Parton:

Now, watch Dolly break down her beauty evolution:

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Originally Appeared on Allure

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