“I hate that bitch Cookie. She has stolen my identity,” Taraji P. Henson told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. Cookie Lyon is the ex–drug dealer turned music mogul of Empire who made Henson internationally known. But the actress never limited herself to that character or to Hollywood. In 2018, she expanded her reach, if not her name, by founding the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, in her late father’s honor, to help Black communities access mental-health services and education. And she put herself front and center on TPH by Taraji, her hair-care-and-beauty line. With so much on her plate, Henson has refined her nighttime routine to clear her skin and her mind.
When do you start getting ready for bed?
I don’t have a set schedule, but the first thing I do, if I have on makeup, is to wash that off. I don’t care if I’ve been out partying all night. I will get that makeup off my face and wrap my hair. Even if I have a wig on, I will make the time to take it off properly—without snatching out my baby hairs.
And what’s the skin-care process?
Sometimes it’s soap with loofah in it. Or I use this Chantecaille Rice and Geranium Foaming Cleanser. I just love the way it feels on my face.
I love Guerlain. I was in Paris and my makeup artist at the time put some of their honey royal jelly on my face—it’s called the Intense Oil-in-Balm—and my skin was like, Aaaah! I had been using this face cream by Paul Scerri for years, but after she put that on my face I went to duty-free and bought my own on the way back to the States. Then, a few months ago, I went and bought the whole line.
In the P.M. I also use Body by TPH’s Wind Down creamy relaxing body cleanser, followed by the Calm Down hydrating body lotion.
Do you take supplements before bed?
I’m on a regimen right now. It’s a shitload of supplements. I’m doing a liver cleanse, so it’s vitamin D, it’s a lot of burdock root, some Chinese herbs, and holy basil. Oh God, I can’t think of everything.
One thing I’m consistently taking—whether I’m on a protocol or not—is my probiotic. I take Renew Life, and I take the 150 billion [live cultures].
Do you watch TV before bed?
I like to go to sleep to something simple or silly. Usually comedy because, if not, I’ll have nightmares or it will drive my anxiety through the roof. I usually watch Martin or The Office. I’m on my third time watching through [The Office] because once it’s over, I just go through it all over again. Martin only had five seasons, so I had to give Martin a break because I’ve started reciting all the lines.
On to the bed—tell me everything.
High-thread-count sheets. I need the highest you can get. And cool. I have to have a really cold room. I sleep with the temperature at 68, 67, sometimes 66 degrees. I have to have it really cold so I can snuggle in tight.
I just got this new bed from that Swedish family, Hästens. Drake made them really popular. I love how cooling it is—it doesn’t trap heat. I had a Tempur-Pedic before, and I just stayed hot in that bed. I got the mid-level [Hästens]. I didn’t spend what Drake spent—let’s put it that way.
And I love the bed full of pillows for decoration, but when it’s time to go to bed, I just need one pillow. So I’ll kick everything else out of the way.
What about pajamas?
I’m usually in a T-shirt. I’m really simple. I can’t do the pretty lingerie; it sounds like a waste of money for me because I just don’t feel comfortable in them. With nightgowns, I get all twisted up. I like to move around a lot in bed. They wrap around my neck by the time it’s morning.
I‘ve heard you’re big into meditation. Do you meditate at night?
It’s just me quiet in the corner with candles. My best friend sent me these speakers that are like a sound bath, but in the speaker. I’ll usually play those and just breathe for at least 20 minutes to calm my mind. It’s very soothing and relaxing. I actually have my own sound bowls, but if I don’t feel like playing them myself then I’ll just turn on the speakers. They really sound like I’m banging on my own sound bowls. Well, you don’t bang on them. You rotate the wooden spoon around.
Do you do sound baths even if you’re traveling?
I take those speakers with me everywhere I go.
Once you’re in bed, how long does it take you to fall asleep?
This is new for me because I used to have issues with sleeping, but I went to Bali and stayed for a month, and I learned how to meditate and calm my mind. It’s been a life-changer for me. I literally get in the bed, and once I turn the television off and the lights off, I go to sleep.
What did you learn in Bali that helps you do that?
I learned how to quiet my mind. My brain races a mile a minute, and I’m a Virgo, so I’m very heady, and I’m always thinking of things that I can’t control. When I went to Bali, talking to priests and healers, they were like, “You can only control what you can control. You can only control yourself in a situation, but you can’t control much of the situation.” Once I learned how to really breathe and sit and quiet my mind, that just literally set me free. Before I left to go to Bali, I could barely sit for five minutes. And now I’m up to 25 minutes.
What’s the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had?
When I went to Bali, I literally slept for 12 hours. I didn’t have any issues during the night; I wouldn’t have to wake up and go to the bathroom. I was in the middle of a rice field. I just felt safe. I hadn’t slept for 12 hours since I was a teenager.
What’s one thing you always do before bed?
I always pray for the world. It depends on what’s on my mind and what has affected me during the day or the week. But I just pray for everybody and for peace in the world. For people to get along, so we can live. It’s getting scarier and scarier every time I wake up and turn on the news.
Jensen Davis is the Junior Editor at AIR MAIL
