Jonathan Van Ness: "If Someone Tells You to Look a Certain Way, Question That Implicitly"

Maybe you've noticed one particular thing about Jonathan Van Ness [1]: sister is fierce — a happy consequence of lush, butt-grazing hair [2] and I'll-cut-a-b*tch platforms [3], we suppose — and does not give two f*cks what you think about it.

"For as long as I can remember, I've been into gender-queer experimentation — I just didn't know that that's what it was called."

It's that sense of confidence and self-expression [4], after all, that have earned their keep as reigning star and hairdresser of Netflix's Queer Eye. But JVN has been doing JVN their whole life, thankyouverymuch. "For as long as I can remember, I've been into gender-queer experimentation — I just didn't know that that's what it was called," they told POPSUGAR. "It's just on a larger scale now. There have been certain scenarios in my life where I've been more or less forced to conform into the gender roles of a man because there wasn't another option. Like in cheer, it was like if you were a boy, you do this. There really wasn't room for you to express your individuality."

Now, honey, the world (and TV screens, red carpets, social media feeds . . .) is their oyster — and they are sharing the shamazing lessons they've learned along the way, ahead.

The Biggest Life Lesson Jonathan Van Ness Got From Cheerleading

You probably already knew Van Ness was a cheerleader in college [5]. (Check his Instagram page for proof.) But it wasn't all glitter and spirit fingers. "When I was 19, and was very boy-identified, I couldn't really speak about how suppressive your [beauty choices] were in cheer," they said. "There were really rigid grooming rules. Your hair couldn't touch your ears, so you had to keep it short. You had to go get spray tans because they wanted you to be very tanned-looking. It was very weird, honey. That's not where I learned about beauty. It was more that polyester doesn't look great on anyone, and if anyone tells you that you have to look a certain way, question that implicitly — that would be what I learned from my cheer days."

How Jonathan Van Ness's Life Has Changed Since Queer Eye

In a word, JVN has always been unapologetically themself — they are just a little better dressed these days. "In the last year, I've developed a checking account that can afford me heels that aren't from Payless," they said, laughing. "No shade to a Payless heel, but my clothing options have just gotten so much cuter because, honey, she's got a checking account now. I mean, I kind of had one before, but it was only enough to raise my cats and be an AllSaints queen because all my heels are from AllSaints, which is a great heel. But my wardrobe is more varied now."

On Practicing Sustainability in and Out of the Beauty Space

"Any company with sustainability and reducing their carbon footprint [6] at the forefront of their mission is great," Van Ness said. "It's all about the way we come together and make small decisions toward a greener future."

What does that look like for him, exactly? It means reusing glass water bottles, not throwing away uneaten food, stocking up on travel-size beauty products [7] "so that I'm not buying multiple big containers of things that get taken away at the airport." Oh, and then there's scraping every last remnant from inside the product (which "is actually a lot more than you think," they noted). "That way, you are cleaning the inside of the bottle, making sure whatever product is on the inside of that packaging isn't going to contaminate the recycling of other products you're trying to recycle."

"It's all about the way we come together and make small decisions toward a greener future."

They also partnered with Getaround [8], a peer-to-peer car-sharing app that lets you list your own or ride with others right in your neighborhood. "It reduces the carbon emissions so greatly," they said. "For every car that we get involved in ride share, it takes more cars off the road. It also makes car ownership more accessible to people in varied economic rates."

The Queer Eye Castmate With the Best Beauty Evolution

"When Bobby [Berk] and I started doing his hair color — which was really all in the first and second seasons — there was an evolution for him," they said. "If you think back to episode one of Queer Eye [9], that was his former hair color. After that, the way the first two seasons were shot weren't in order, so his hair color had to grow out in different stages. But I helped him with his hair color now. We've gotten him away from so much bleach because I'm like, 'Honey, you have the most beautiful natural hair color.' And he's just the most gorgeous boy, and you really can't go wrong."

Jonathan Van Ness's Biggest Life Influence: The Golden Girls

Any fan of JVN knows their personal fandom for The Golden Girls — and, yeah, they still evoke their character personas IRL. As for which one hits home for them, personally? "I'm a Dorothy because she's very straightforward, but I also have a little bit of a Rose and a Blanche in me," Van Ness said. "With Dorothy, though, her beauty is underestimated. If you can wear a head-to-toe sequin getup with shoulder pads and not a stitch of makeup, I am really here for that. I liked her no-f*cks approach to makeup, but big, big, big hair. So bright gray. Curls for days. Ugh. Love."