How did your new partnership with CHI come to be?

“I was already familiar [with the brand] because I watched a lot of YouTube videos and tutorials when I was younger, and CHI was all the rage. I really appreciated all the science and time and effort they put into creating products that [help treat and prevent] heat damage. That's big for me, because I've been through the heat damage problems, and not knowing how to take care of and manage my natural hair. So, it’s really cool that I have a system now and can help educate other women on how to protect [their hair], how to take care of it, and, if they're going to use straightening products, how to properly go through that process. Especially because I have little nieces who are just getting into that and I'm like, ‘Yo, don't make the mistakes I made. You have beautiful curly hair, don't do it.’”

How do you get the most out of your own curls?

"My [hair] isn't as curly as it once was and it doesn't do exactly what it used to, but it's a process. Out of the collection, I've gravitated toward the Argan Oil because I need a little extra moisture. I can't wash my hair every day, and I don't [lather] all the way to the ends because it dries my hair out. So I use the mask a few times a week. I use the cream styling gel to add a little curl definition. I do the little scrunch before I get out of the shower and that helps define my curls — but it's not crunchy, it's soft. And then I use the diffuser and go.”

You've expressed in the past that you weren't very confident in your curls growing up. If you could talk to the younger Zendaya, what kind of advice would you give to her?

"I was in a primarily white [elementary] school, so most of the girls I was around had straight hair. The only time I ever got a compliment on my hair was in the third grade when I straightened it for the first time. And that felt a little weird to me — it affects you. And I think that that's something a lot of women of color, in general, deal with — accepting and loving their hair. And that's why I love this new movement of women embracing their natural hair and sharing their journeys. My little nieces, they need to see that. They need to see cartoon characters with curly hair. The little girl on my Disney show has Afro puffs because that needs to be something that they see more often, something they see as beautiful. Representation is very, very important.

"I always let them know, there's nothing wrong with straightening and having fun with your hair — you should be able to do that. But it's about how you protect it and the reasons why you're doing it. You’re straightening your hair, not because you think you look more beautiful that way, but because you want to change it up and do something different. I’d definitely impart that knowledge upon younger me and also my little nieces."

What brought you to that point of acceptance?

"I think it was more of a process. I went to a different school, I went to a public school in Downtown Oakland and there was just a lot more diversity. That helped, meeting other girls with hair like mine.”