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Welcome to Shelf Life, where we ask celebrities of all kinds to break down their beauty routines. Today, Olympic middle-distance runner Athing Mu reveals her beauty practices in detail, including the concealer she won’t run without and her dedication to the LCO hair care method.
At 22, Athing Mu is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in track and field and holds the global under-20 record for the women's indoor 800-meter dash. But Mu’s interests certainly don’t start or end at sprinting; when I ask her about her beauty routine, she’s genuinely thrilled to discuss something other than running for a change.
“I've always been an athlete that has wanted to be more than just the sport I was in. Yeah, we're talking about track and field, but can we talk about something else, too? What foods do I like? Can we talk about my dog that I love?” Mu says. “I want to emphasize who I am as a person in general, and I think beauty is a great way to do that because people choose their own beauty. You decide how you want to present yourself.”
That’s not to say she isn’t indebted to the sport. To this day, Mu still has those pinch-me moments about getting to call herself an Olympian and having run (and won) at the 2021 Tokyo Games. “There's so much that we sometimes take for granted because of how much of a hustle it is to be professionals,” Mu says of her daily grind. “So I’m excited to embrace all of it and go through the whole year in gratitude.”
Most of all, though, Mu is ecstatic to compete at a time when women’s sports is experiencing what appears to be (but isn’t!) an overnight groundswell of popularity. And while Olympic athletes have always used the track as an opportunity to display elaborate hairstyles and nail art alongside their athleticism, rarely have they done so with such an engaged—if not buzzing—audience. “It's a really cool time to be a woman in sport and just showing off,” she says. “I love that beauty is getting more attention in sports because… We can be beautiful, fun, and creative while being feminine and being the best athlete you’ve ever seen.”
Despite the personal flair she brings to the track (see her custom bedazzled Nikes), Mu describes herself as “low maintenance.” She’s loyal to a few no-nonsense drugstore brands and has only visited a hair salon once in her life. Months ago, as she prepared for the Olympic trials from “desert-y” Los Angeles, Mu got granular about the beauty regimen getting her through it.
Hair
[When it comes to hair,] sometimes I do the most, sometimes I’m not really doing anything, but at the end of the day, I’ve just got to run. At Prefontaine [Classic competition] last year, I wore two braids with my natural hair for the first time. It's always a last-minute thing where I wake up and a thought or a picture comes to mind, and I'm like, “All right, let's try it. Let’s see how long it takes.” Usually, I need about two hours to do my hair.
In my dream world, I would be doing a full-on wash routine every two weeks to keep my hair moisturized and co-washing every other week. Between 2019 and 2020, I started actually taking care of my hair, and I have been glued to Carol's Daughter ever since. I've used their castor oil, shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in conditioner for the past five years. For someone that has 4B and 4C hair, it's not the best to have stripping products, and that brand is really good for making sure my hair retains all the moisture.
This is probably not good, but I sometimes keep the conditioner in overnight. Whatever, it makes my hair feel really good! Then I’ll do the LCO method, which is leave-in conditioner, cream, and oil. For the cream, I’ll switch it up every now and then, but I was using TGIN [Thank God It’s Natural] most recently. And if I need to get my curls redefined, I’ll just hop back in the shower for a co-wash.
For the past three years, I’ve also been using Eco Style to slick my hair. I know it’s really stripping, but because it’s water-based, it’s able to get my hair to do whatever I want. I know the natural hair community is gonna be like, “Oh no, we gotta fix that,” but it slicks my hair so good, and it takes me five minutes when I’m getting ready to work out. I’ve started using wax, too, so I’ll wet my hair and use Murray's Edgewax for a bun.
Funnily enough, I went to a hair salon, ORR Hair Studio [in Los Angeles], for the first time in my life one year ago. I’ve been trying to grow out my hair for the past five years or so. When I went, I got a silk press, but she also trimmed my ends to help get rid of the damage from all the years I wasn’t going to the salon. Once in a while, I’ll get a blowout, and [Nia Macc] does my braids. It’s so relaxing to be at the salon with someone else doing your hair.
Skin
It took a while to get here, but I'm now very excited to take care of my face. Before, it would just be a simple face wash, and sometimes I’d put lotion—not even facial moisturizer—on my face, which is crazy.
After I wake up, I’ll start by cleansing my face. Olay has these new cleansing melts that activate when you put them under water [Editor's note: Mu is a partner of the brand]. It's a cleanser and a toner all in one. Then, I’ll go in with Vitamin C or Super Serum, followed by moisturizer and SPF, of course. I have super sensitive skin, and recently my skin has been peeling, so I need to make sure it’s protected. I get whiteheads sometimes because of how much oil builds up on my face from working out, but I don’t use zit stickers or anything. Sometimes it's best to just leave them as is because otherwise I would have a big, old scar and that takes much longer to repair.
I don't travel like everyone else. I like to take as little luggage as possible. But I really like to keep my consistency, so I won’t be changing up my routine last-minute abroad.
I’m usually not getting facials in-between competitive races. I got my first-ever facial at Willow Spa in Santa Monica two years ago. Now, I’ll do them twice a year at most.
Makeup
Besides my skin care routine, I am one of the most low-maintenance people you’ll ever meet. I stick to what I know. I do like to wear makeup when I race, but I’ve pulled back what I actually put on my face, mostly because of the humidity. If you put foundation on and start sweating, it's going to melt with you. Of course, there’s setting spray, but when it comes to athleticism, we need some hardcore glue or something to keep everything in place.
For the most part, I’ll put NARS concealer under my eyes and in the triangle area around my mouth; it’s so creamy. For my lips, I’ll do Aquaphor. When it comes to my eyebrows, I love Anastasia’s angled brow pencil, and then I always put Got2b Glued on my eyebrows so that they stick up nice. I’m not against a sapphire graphic blue liner for race day, but again, I’d have to feel it in the moment.
Body
For lotion, I’m always using Jergens, the shea and cocoa-scented one. I’ve been using it for so long, but it’s so good. For SPF on my body, I’m not too picky, but any classic sport brand works; for easy going on the track, I also have a La Roche Posay sunscreen lotion that I can quickly lather on. As for shaving, I don’t really use shaving cream. Regular soap does the job just fine. But I love BIC Soleil Glide razors; they have a moisturizing strip, which is great for my sensitive skin.
Nails
They really take care of me at Beaut Nails Spa [in Los Angeles]. I’ll do nothing for two or three weeks, and then I go back. I was getting [Après] Gel X tips at first, then I started doing gel on my regular nails, and now I get dip powder based on a recommendation from my nail lady. I don’t have a favorite color, but I usually pick OPI polish.
I play around with the shape: Sometimes I like almond, but when that feels too pointy I like a short, rounded square. Sadly, I don’t do my own nails anymore. I don't have anything at home except toenail clippers because they can’t get too long for running and a little Aquaphor to keep the cuticles nice. But besides that, I don't do anything. I just wing it.
More on Olympic athletes:
- How Synchronized Swimmers Keep Their Performance-Perfect Makeup Intact
- How Fighters' Hairstyles Can Make the Difference Between Winning and Losing
- How 4 Black Gymnasts Style Their Hair for Competition
Now, watch a gymnast's daily routine:
