Actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan on Glossy Hair, TikTok Hot Takes, and Why She'll *Probably* Never Get a Bob

If you ever see Maitreyi Ramakrishnan sporting a blunt, chin-grazing crop, know that she's about to drop some very exciting news. While the 24-year-old actress is certainly not immune to the bob mania sweeping the past few years ("Someone [on TikTok] cut themselves a bob, and I was like, 'Why can't I do this?'" she quips over Zoom), it would take a lot—like, a life-changing film—for her to stray from her signature lush, raven waves. "[My stylist] said, 'That's a bad idea. Let's not just jump and get a bob,'" she laughs. "But I always say I will cut my hair into a bob for a role. That's when everyone will know that I bagged a good project." Keep a close eye on Ramakrishnan. Her hair really is full of secrets.

For now, however, she's game to maintain her glossy, waist-skimming lengths, crediting Fable & Mane's lineup of haircare heroes for keeping her strands nice and healthy. "I sound like such a cliché brand ambassador right now, but two years ago, you could have asked me the same question, and I would say the same," she says of the Ayurveda-inspired collection, which fronts Ramakrishnan in its latest global campaign. "It reminds me a lot of what my grandma makes."

Her grandma's hour-long hair-oiling sessions will always feel like a treat, but during a jam-packed travel and event schedule, Ramakrishnan's Fable & Mane routine comes in clutch. "I use the HoliRoots Oil because it's just so easy to pack. I can't [bring] my grandma's big tub of oil, heat it up, and do this whole thing she does when I am at home," she explains. Rather, she'll massage the brand's ashwagandha- and amla-infused blend into her scalp with a wide-tooth wooden comb, also courtesy of Fable & Mane, and leave it on for at least 20 minutes or, ideally, overnight. "[I like to] really stimulate blood flow on my scalp, which is very key for good hair growth," she adds. "Even if I'm not doing oil, massaging my scalp with a nice wide-tooth comb for at least a solid minute every day in the morning does wonders."

In the shower, she'll rinse out the oil with shampoo or a scrub if her hair feels "a little too gunky" from product buildup. She follows up with conditioner on the ends and adds more oil post-rinse to lock in all that moisture. She'll even take the oil with her on the go to rehydrate her strands—always a stickler for liquid-like shine. "[My grandma] does not like dry hair. She still will clock me now if my hair looks dry," Ramakrishnan recounts.

She commits to the full routine at least once a week and sometimes more if her hair feels especially overworked from days on set. "Otherwise, it can get really dry and crusty, which sucks," she notes. A regular hair-oiling ritual is a variable she can control on the job, but on the styling front, she does give full charge to her talented team of pros—to the point where she doesn't even look in the mirror while getting all dolled up.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm also a narcissist who loves to see my reflection when I pass by any kind of reflective surface. I am but a human," Ramakrishnan jokes. But there's something about a complete trust fall into the hair and makeup chair that feels rather freeing. "I just use that time to decompress before an event," she says. She may also spend some precious minutes scrolling through TikTok (where Ramakrishnan has over eight million followers), which, on the day of our call, is flooded with Stranger Things memes. "[It] is funny because I haven't properly watched Stranger Things, but I feel like I've watched it fully now through TikTok," she says. As for her BeautyTok hot takes? Enough with the hyperspecific micro-trends, she declares: "We're missing the plot [when it comes to] all this high-intensity, low-contrast whatever. No, bro, your face is fine. You don't need to do all this."

It's clear Ramakrishnan values simple, time-honored rituals over fleeting trends, and given her strong, fairytale-length strands, the no-fuss outlook is clearly working. "I actually am pretty happy where my hair and skin are at currently," she adds. Sure, she'll never say never when it comes to a dramatic chop, but in 2026, supporting that healthy growth is goal number one. "I would like to just maintain it," she shares. "That would be very nice."

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