Beauty Spotlight on Courtney Henggeler
In case you’re new to our Beauty Spotlight series, this is our third installment! (You’ll want to check out our previous interviews, Damaris Lewis and Paige Davis). Each month, we profile a super-cool, badass woman who loves Maya Chia and is doing awesome things to change the world. This month: our dream BFF, Courtney Henggeler!
We first “met” Courtney last year when she talked about her passion for Maya Chia beauty products in an interview with Glamour Magazine! Of course, we knew who she was before that-- the gorgeous actress we’d seen in sitcoms like “The Big Bang Theory” and “Mom,” before breaking out big-time in the role of Amanda LaRusso in Cobra Kai starting in 2018.
Courtney is also a mom and a wife, and a generally hilarious, irreverent, thoughtful human. After our interview with her for this profile, Maya Chia founder Susanne Norwitz summed it up so perfectly I have to use it here. “Courtney is like the most whip-smart, coolest best friend I’ve never had.” Agreed! (And side note: Susanne loved how Courtney renamed one of her fave Maya Chia products “The Sh*t” and we’re now calling it that around Maya Chia HQ, naturally!) Read on to find out which product is, officially, “The Sh*t,” and more awesome stuff about Courtney Henggeler.
Maya Chia Beauty: What is one thing you do every day?
Courtney Henggeler: I'm pretty attached to my morning routine. I can't say I nail it every day, but... it starts my day with the smallest bit of structure, which is all my brain needs to feel like I've accomplished something. A couple years ago I did a deep dive into the world of Ayurveda and I love the simple morning ritual of, first thing out of bed, rinsing your eyes and mouth with warm water, brushing, tongue scraping, and (if I'm feeling super ambitious and don't have to shout at small children to stop eating lipstick) do a little oil pulling. Then 20 minutes of meditation. Of course, sometimes this routine is spaced out throughout the morning due to wrestling my kids into matching socks (or at least a pair of socks).
MCB: Where would you go if you could travel somewhere right now, all-expenses-paid?
CH: I'm currently in London for work and I can't stop plotting all the places I could go from here! I'd probably want to go somewhere where I could live ridiculously (since this is all-expenses-paid, right?) like the Amalfi Coast or the French Riviera, drinking oodles of beautiful wine on someone's yacht, strolling through the streets in a giant hat and shoveling gelato in my face for breakfast.
MCB: Who is the person you wish you could talk to more?
CH: My mom. She was diagnosed with a sh*tty disease that has robbed her of her ability to speak or express herself fully. I would do anything to be able to hear her voice and her amazing and aggressive scream/laugh.
*side note: everyone go hug your mom.
MCB: What are your favorite Maya Chia products, and why? : )
CH: I have a problem with skincare. I often wonder if I'm somehow robbing my children of their future college educational funds due to my unwavering commitment to acquiring every bottle of magic serum I read about. I love skincare. I love it with the kind of love that's usually reserved for golden retrievers. Or Chris Evans. That being said, I try to keep my skincare routine as simple as possible. Trying to find the best of the best for targeting my skin concerns. And when I found Maya Chia's retinol [The Straight A Serum Advanced Gentle Retinol Treatment], it filled me with such joy!
The texture is LOVELY, the smell... all of it. But I swear it makes my skin GLOW in the morning.
Sometimes I'll come across an article or a facialist who will warn me that long-term retinol use will thin my skin. (This is always conflicting with what another doctor or dermatologist will tell me). And I'll take a break for a few days, but then I run back like a goddamn junkie to my Maya Chia retinol all over again. The results are too good to give up.
(Side bar from Maya Chia: If your skin barrier feels as if it's being compromised by retinol aka drying, peeling, flaking, you are using the wrong retinol. We believe retinol, when used properly in a formulation, can actually help to build collagen and elastic and actually help to thicken skin.)
I'm also a HUGE fan of The [Super Lift] Vitamin C-More Serum and the Super Blend Pressed Serum Multi-Correctional Moisture Concentrate. I don't even know what the Pressed Serum is but I layer that on as much as I can. In fact, I'm petting my skin right now thinking... “this pressed serum is The Sh*t.”
MCB: What's your “sliding doors” moment? Some time when your life almost took a totally different direction.
CH: I often wonder if I would have had the balls to start auditioning for school plays (which of course led to an actor community, which led to my blind-faith move to Los Angeles) if I never moved from Pennsylvania to New York in 9th grade and met my best friend Patti. Patti was already an accomplished singer and used to performing regularly. She also possessed this sort of unwavering enthusiasm that could convince you that you, too, could sing (in my case this is an embarrassing untruth) and perform in front of hundreds of students and faculty. She brought me to audition for our high school's production of Carousel (where I was promptly placed in the background), and the rest is history.
MCB: What's the best advice you've ever received (and think other women might benefit from)?
CH: Stop plucking your eyebrows. My mom urged me in the early 90's to put my tweezers down. I, of course, did not heed her warnings. Now I pay a lovely woman from Estonia to tattoo faux hair on my face. So. Lesson learned.
MCB: What is something you're really proud of?
CH: Golly, I am so proud of the life I have built. I think about the years I spent struggling as an actress, hiding from my landlord unable to pay rent, dating an array of unsavory men, generally lost and not sure how to get the career and life I wanted. I used to cringe at that girl, wishing I could erase those moments, those choices. But knowing I am capable of not only change but growth, reminds me that I can't -- and shouldn't -- wish away all those embarrassing years of poor choices and sh*tty dudes. Knowing I have the power to shift out of the bad into the good is a huge source of pride for me.
Sigh. I know, right? Courtney is, obviously, the coolest. I love a relatable mom who is super-honest about “having it all,” or, rather, how no one can actually have it all. Seems like Courtney is getting it pretty close, though. I’m full of admiration for how she balances work and family, and darn if her reminder to go hug your mom didn’t make tears come to my eyes.
And, of course, I completely agree with her about the Super Blend Pressed Serum Concentrate being The Sh*t, so I’m going to go slather The Sh*t all over my face now, and pretend my new [pretend] BFF Courtney is on FaceTime with me, also covering herself in the Super Blend. After all, a girl can dream!
As always, we love to hear from you, dear reader. Who do you like to pretend is your BFF to apply skincare with via FaceTime or IRL? Who would you love to see featured in our next Beauty Spotlight? What are your favorite Maya Chia products? Tell us everything-- comment below or tag us on Instagram.