This age-old Indian ritual is the secret to actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s long, thick hair

Long before glossy routines and viral hair hacks, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan learned how to care for her hair the way many South Asian kids do, sitting still while elders worked warm oil into her scalp. At 24, with a packed filming schedule and global attention, that ritual hasn’t fallen away.

If anything, it’s become something she holds onto more tightly.In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the Never Have I Ever star traced her relationship with hair oiling back to childhood, when beauty wasn’t about trends, but care.

A ritual she never grew out of

“There’s never been a time in my life where I didn’t know hair oiling was a thing,” Ramakrishnan told PEOPLE. “Growing up South Asian, your life as a young child is all about taking care of your skin, taking care of your hair, making sure you’re eating good, healthy things.”That grounding shows up in how she treats her hair today. Ramakrishnan oils it twice a week before washing, and on days when it feels dry or tired, she lightly applies oil just to the ends. It’s practical, unpretentious, and very much rooted in habit rather than hype.Now best known for playing Devi Vishwakumar on Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, Ramakrishnan is also the face of South Asian haircare brand Fable & Mane’s 2026 global campaign, Where All Rituals Begin: From Ancient Lands to Modern Hands.

The campaign was filmed entirely in India, with Ramakrishnan as its sole star and narrator.

More than hair, it’s about honouring origins

For Ramakrishnan, the campaign wasn’t just another shoot, it doubled as a personal milestone. “It was my first time in Mumbai which is really cool, and it was beautiful,” she said. “It was really nice to be able to have such a collaborative process with Fable & Mane, to create this story and this narrative of this girl who’s making the oil from all the nature around her.”The film follows her gathering natural herbs, moving through forests and rivers, and crafting oil by hand, imagery that mirrors the deeper message she wants people to take away. Beyond the visuals, the campaign nods to Ayurveda, the South Asian system of holistic wellness that has shaped beauty rituals for generations.“It’s these ancient rituals that have been used through generations that have proven to be some of the best cores and foundational bases for haircare, skincare, and really everything wellness,” Ramakrishnan said.She also addressed how those traditions have often been dismissed outside their cultures of origin. “For the longest time, Ayurveda was always seen as something that isn’t legit, it’s not ‘scientific’ enough for the Western world. But there is a lot of truth to it and now that the Western world is catching up, it seems like they want to catch up but discard who was the creator, who was the original doer.”