It’s all in the genes. Who better than Twinkle Khanna to be signed on as the first Indian face of global hair colour brand L’Oreal Professional? Yes, Twinkle aka Mrs Funnybones has “gene-gifted” hair, all thanks to mom Dimple Kapadia, whose auburn tresses have been legen-wait-for-it- dary! t2 caught up with Twinkle for a snap-chat on her tresses… and a little more. 

You are L’Oreal Professional’s first Indian face. Have you always been proud of your hair or was it more like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know I had such great hair’ when you were approached?

(Laughs) Well, I always knew I had decent hair. I was really thrilled that they wanted to approach me, but I wasn’t shocked. I haven’t really been proud of my hair, but it’s quite nice. It does what it has to… it has a happy bounce and it generally behaves itself (laughs)! I have been using L’Oreal Professional for almost two decades to colour my hair — I have always been a bit of a redhead — and so it was a natural progression for me to be part of the brand.

Would you count your hair as gene-gifted since your mom (Dimple Kapadia) has amazing hair?

Oh yes, it’s definitely gene-gifted! She has magnificent hair and I am lucky I have inherited three-fourths of that hair. So the right genes have been passed on (laughs)! I haven’t really had to work on my hair too much, all thanks to her. I think my mom has the best hair in the world and I don’t have to look beyond her at anyone else’s hair for inspiration.

Has she passed on some Kapadia-Khanna haircare tips to you?

Oh ya, she has! I have the earliest memories of my mom and me blow- drying our hair and putting them in rollers. My sister (Rinke) and I would style our hair ever since we can remember and we learnt that from her. So much so that at a red-carpet event now, I am not really at somebody else’s mercy… I can do my own hair and make-up and be out there! 

And has that passed on to your daughter Nitara?

She’s (Nitara is four) not really interested in dressing up… not yet (laughs). But yes, she does have nice hair.

Ever coloured your hair a crazy red or green?

No, but I did shave the back of my head when I was 15, and that was pretty radical!

I don’t really know what others felt about it, but I started crying when I saw it myself! (Laughs) It’s not something I would recommend to anyone. 

What do you do on a bad hair day when you don’t have any fix-its around?

I pull my hair into a bun and fix it with a nice looking ornamental hairpin. I do have a couple of them… and I save them for a rainy day. I have a beautiful one that looks like an armour and I shove my hair into this bun and it takes me less than a minute to do it… and I am ready! 

You are known for your 24x7 sense of humour. Does a bad hair day or a time when you aren’t feeling confident 
style-wise make you feel less funny too? 

It does make me less confident and a little conscious if I am going to be photographed. If not, I couldn’t care less! If I am going to be photographed, I make the effort to look decent. So if it’s a bad hair day, I pull my hair back and put on a pair of sunglasses and I am fine… I don’t need to do more than that to be happy. But on a daily basis, I don’t pay that much attention to my appearance — maybe I should, but I don’t! 

Has your husband (Akshay Kumar) ever complimented you for your hair?

Well, he has… but it’s a bit personal! (Laughs)

If you had to write a column on Twinkle Khanna’s tresses, how would you headline it?

Actually, I came up with a quote on Twitter recently. I said that, ‘Just as I was about to begin sprouting 50 shades of grey, I am rather glad I am sporting 50 shades of L’Oreal instead’. I think it’s a pretty good quote!