Quotes from Jonathan Van Ness

Coming from a town of 30,000 people on the Mississippi River, having 'Queer Eye' in 2003 through 2007 when I was in high school was really important.

I grew up in a town of 30,000 people, and 'Queer Eye' was a beacon of light.

It's nice to have a safe place to have a conversation going; whether it's a friend or family member, you can use 'Queer Eye' as an entry point to have a conversation that's meaningful.

I used to be pretty hard on myself, like, if I didn't like a haircut I did on someone, I would think about it a lot and second-guess myself. But after therapy and a lot of work, I know how to dust myself off a lot faster, and those things don't knock me down as much as they used to.

Self-care is the non-negotiable. That's the thing that you have to do. And beauty is the thing that can be the benefit of the self-care. Beauty is not the point. Beauty is just a cute side-effect from self-care.

From the extreme political polarization that is everywhere - there's so much suffering going on - so many people are really thirsty to feel good about something.

Gorgeous exfoliants are expensive.

I wish I was a gorgeous mixologist, but that was not my god-given strength.

I'm obsessed with gymnastics. It's like my football. And I like to watch women's gymnastics a little bit more than men's because I live for balance beam.

I love changing hair color. I love doing hair shape. I love the social aspect of salons. I love clients, and because of doing hair, I've heard so many life stories.

Getting married is a good time to revaluate all of your relationships. Have you had the same haircut since seventh grade? Have you found products that work for your skin? You need time to experiment.

I've had the honor of working with so many trans people as a hairdresser over my career in some way.

You want to be more hairy, that's beautiful. You want to be more clean-shaven, that's great.

The second you're bleaching hair more than three or four levels on a consistent basis and want it long, and then you're heat styling it and living in the world - it's just impossible. You can get it there for a moment, and then you might get a couple re-touches out of it.

If you're feeling a little down, you're never fully dressed without a strong heel. But only if you're depressed - if you need a pick-me-up.

I was the first male cheerleader of my high school; it's very hard to embarrass me - you have to do a lot.

Podcasts are hard! I mean, you gotta get the microphones and all these things... there's a lot going on there. I never really realized how much goes into producing things till I did 'Gay of Thrones.'

We focus so much on our relationships with other people, and beauty, for me, is about facilitating your relationship with yourself.

I've worn a 100% polyester cheerleading outfit in stadiums full of people - it is pretty hard to embarrass me.

So often, grooming is meant to make you feel better about yourself, and a lot of times, we use it to make ourselves feel worse.

For keeping hair long and healthy, I like to use silk pillowcases; they conduct less heat and keep your ends less frayed. Also, I sleep with my hair in a very loose top bun to keep my ends away from my body heat. This also keeps your hair from getting tangled at the nape of your neck.

I want people to fall in love with themselves and to be really proud and full of joy for the space they take up. If someone else appreciates the space you take up, then that's icing on the cake.

One of my closest friends is a trans man who is incredible. And a lot of my clients are trans women.

In states where there's one really big city, a lot of outlying counties and smaller towns really don't have very many resources.