Kate Hudson Talks Joyful Moments as Joico Celebrity Spokesperson (Exclusive)

Kate Hudson has one of those heads of hair that is always making headlines.

Her beach waves back in the early 2000s set a trend that has yet to slow down, so it only makes sense that the actress, 45, is the first global celebrity spokesperson for Joico as the brand celebrates its 50th anniversary.

“Good hair brings a lot of joy, let’s be honest,” Hudson tells PEOPLE. “That little thing can change the way I feel in a day. I just love that.”

Hudson admits that she’s long been hard on her hair, especially after decades of working in front of the camera. The star tries to lay off the heat and let her hair relax when she’s not on the job, and that’s where her favorite Joico products come in.

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“K-PAK‘s something I’ve always used, and now they have the KBOND20, which I would say would be my number one because I travel with it,” Hudson gushes. “I don’t necessarily travel with my shampoo and conditioner, but I’ll take a really intensive conditioner with me. So if someone was to ask what’s the one product I need, I would say the KBOND20. But all of the Defy Damage product is awesome,” she says, adding that, “Joico has great products, so that’s the easy part [of haircare]!”

The Defy Damage collection — with shampoo, conditioner, the KBOND20 Power Masque and more — protects your hair’s health without damaging your color. The bond-building collection also provides maximum hydration, which is perfect for the cold winter months especially when everyone needs that extra moisture boost.

With so much joy — or joi, if you will — tied to your hair, we got the scoop on Hudson’s joyful hair moments, and more. Ahead, see where Hudson finds her “joi,” including the moment she truly learned to embrace her hair.

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When Did You First Find Joy in Your Hair?

Hudson: I’m half Italian and I have this brown copper hair with dark blonde in it. My actual hair color is much more dark blonde, caramel, red. I remember being 14 and I’d grown my hair out really long and I’d been brushing it so much and everyone always said I had a lion’s mane. And I realized that I had curly hair and when I didn’t brush my hair, I had these waves and curls. That was the greatest moment — I was so happy. Then I started diffusing it. That was the first time I played with the fact that my hair had real texture to it. That actually brought me joy.

What Red Carpet Hair Look Brought You the Most Joy?

Hudson: I think it was [during] The Skeleton Key [press in 2005]. We hit five cities in two days. We were in Paris, Rome, Germany in one day. It was a crazy thing. I think we were in Rome and we did this premiere and then we had to get on a plane to get to a premiere. And my hairdresser took my natural deodorant because we had nothing because the stuff was in the back. He was just like, “Oh, give me that thing.”

He took it and he sprayed my hair, and we just shook it. I put on this dress and I did The Skeleton Key premiere. It was, hands down, some of the best hair. It’s the hair that everyone, when I go to a shoot, they’re like, “We want it to look like this.” And it always made me and my hairdresser, David Babaii, who’s now passed, would make us laugh so hard, because it was literally us in an airplane with deodorant. That brought me a lot of joy because we laughed our butts off.

What Does a Joyful Day Look Like?

Hudson: My most joyful days are when I do the things I really love to do the most. I love to read, I love to knit. I love to just be at home. I’m a real homebody, even though I also love to go out and be with my friends. So the days that are uninterrupted at home where I’m either cooking or reading or where there’s just nothing really to do, but just chill out. Those are really honestly my happiest days.

The other days that make me super happy are vacation days. I love traveling. I love aimlessly walking in a new place and eating food in a different country and finding great food. Food is another thing that brings me a ton of joy. The other thing is being with Danny [Fujikawa], my partner and he’s like my great travel companion. A day with Danny traveling to me is the best.

What’s the Most Joyful Part of Being a Mom?

Hudson: I love seeing them become their own people. Just watching them develop their ego, their likes and dislikes, watching them navigate challenging moments, trying to figure it out and really seeing them come into themselves, it brings me the most joy. I really believe that saying, you’re only as happy as your happiest child. The same goes for joy. I think it’s the same. My barometer in my life of joy is how my kids are doing. And when I see them feeling good in themselves and loving, internally feeling good inside of themselves and enjoying their life, there’s just nothing that brings me more joy. And I have got really funny kids, and thank God, because I really believe that you can get through anything in life if you have a really good sense of humor.