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Kyle Richards Is Focused on 'Being Strong and Feeling Strong' amid Separation from Mauricio Umansky
Richards speaks exclusively with PEOPLE about her recent lifestyle changes saying, "I'm doing everything I can in my power to make sure that I am unbreakable"
Kyle Richards is leading with resilience following her public separation from Mauricio Umansky.
“When I feel good and my hair looks good, I feel unbreakable,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 54, tells PEOPLE at Bravocon 2023 while promoting her Nexxus Unbreakable Care partnership. “And going through … [what] I'm going through now, for me right now, everything is about being strong and feeling strong physically, mentally, spiritually. So I'm doing everything I can in my power to make sure that I am unbreakable.”
Some of her intention to build strength includes lifestyle choices, which sometimes garner backlash from her RHOBH cast members. “I had a lot of heat from the cast in the beginning,” Richards says. “’You're not drinking’ and ‘You're working out every day’ and ‘You're going to work out, even in Vegas?’ I'm like, ‘I need to do everything I can to make myself feel as strong and happy as I can right now.’”
And it appears to be working.
"I do not feel my age at all," she says. "I feel better than I ever have ever in my life, which I never imagined. I heard people saying, 'Oh, you're going to love your 40s' when I was in my 30s and I was like, 'Mm. Whatever. I don't know.' I don't remember people saying [anything] about their 50s, but I've learned what works for me and I'm more comfortable in my skin."
"I have more confidence now," she adds.
Kyle Richards Reveals She Does Her Own Hair and Makeup 'Quite Often' for RHOBH
Richards, who recently partnered with Nexxus for its Unbreakable Care Collection, opened up to PEOPLE about her haircare routine
In Bravo land, Kyle Richards has one of the most iconic heads of hair.
Episode after episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, her hair is immaculate, which begs the question — what does it take to get hair like that? The star, 54, gave PEOPLE all the details about what goes into her hair (and makeup!) on the show — and how often she opts to do it all herself.
"I do my hair and makeup quite often myself on the show," she reveals while speaking about the new Nexxus Unbreakable Care Collection. "Unless I did a sit-down interview in the beginning seasons, and even [for] some of those, I did my own hair and makeup."
As Richards explains, as the show progressed, she would stick to hair and makeup teams for interviews or "big events," but that has slowed down since she was part of the original cast in 2010.
"Now I will do more for the events and the sit-down interviews, but I often do my own hair and makeup a lot," she says.
"I did the Kelly Clarkson Show and I did my own makeup. That was like... I am good at that and I like not having to rely on someone all the time."
Creating her own looks isn't new to Richards, who says she's been watching makeup artists since she was a little girl. "It's something that for me, it's an art," she says, adding that she purchased a book written by artist Kevyn Aucoin at one point in her life.
"And I would prop it up and go 'OK, I'm going to recreate this.' And I would always sit in the sink up on the counter and get out my thing and play with it and just really enjoy doing that," Richards says. "So I like doing it myself."
As a reality TV regular, Richards adds that she "doesn't love the fact that the girls use glam all the time for everything, because that's just not reality."
"It's certainly not my reality."
Richards' reality now includes partnering with Nexxus to promote the line — which features anti-breakage shampoo, root lift thickening spray and conditioner. As Richards explains, being on camera means "you want to look and feel your best" — something that these products contribute to.
"And for me, my hair is what gives me my confidence," she says. "I mean, I can have my hair looking great and everything else a mess, and I feel good about myself. So I always take really good care of my hair."
After putting highlights in her hair years back, Richards says products like those in Nexxus' collection reverse the damage and make her hair feel thicker, which ultimately "brings my confidence back."
"When I feel good and my hair looks good, I feel unbreakable and going through... Or I'm going through now, for me right now, everything is about being strong and feeling strong, physically, mentally, spiritually," she says.
"So I'm doing everything I can in my power to make sure that I am unbreakable."