Lisa Rinna Opens Up About Her Love of Wigs and How Brandi Glanville Inspired Her Hair Changes (2024)

Lisa Rinna may be known for her plump pout, but her diverse wig collection is quickly becoming a new Rinna beauty signature.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 58, has made it a habit of changing up her traditional short 'do in recent years with various hair pieces, trying out everything from long blonde locks with bangs to a curly auburn lob. She even names them (the Raquel, the Heidi, etc).

All in all, the wigs are something Rinna tells PEOPLE she turns to for an immediate confidence boost.

"The wigs do that! They instantly make me feel better," says Rinna, while promoting her new line of "Larger Than Life" Lip Plumping glosses.

"I'm telling you, the wigs have been so much fun," she continues. "I'm an actor by trade, but I haven't done a whole lot of acting in the last few years so I haven't itched that scratch of stepping into different characters."

They're also helpful while filming RHOBH, Rinna says. "Let's say there's a scene I'm doing and I'm feeling like, 'Oh God, I'm dreading going' — I throw a wig on and honey, I just walk through that door with confidence," she says. "It's amazing. I love what a wig does. They've been such a great form of expression for me."

Rinna only first began wearing wigs a few years ago.

She was inspired to start using them after Brandi Glanville, her former Bravo co-star, criticized her look at the season 5 reunion in 2015, saying, "You've had the same hairdo for 20 years!"

"It really was that," Rinna recalls. "'I've had the same hair for 20 years' or whatever Brandi said. Now it's 25, 30 at this point! But yeah... it was Brandi. I don't even need to give credit to her, she'll take it forever!"

The Melrose Place alumna first tried on a wig during a photoshoot. "This photographer wanted to do wigs and I was like, 'Great!' " Rinna says. "I mean, it happened organically. And from there? Forget it. Now you can't stop me!"

While fans will have to wait to see if Rinna launches her own wig line one day (a natural next step, obvi), the star is giving fans an easy way to mimic her fuller lips with her new lip plumper.

Designed to increase lip volume and moisture while decreasing lip lines, Rinna's lip plumper collection features six colorful shades, all with an ultra-reflective sheen that gives lips an immediate and fuller, fabulous facade.

"Your lips will be bigger," she tells PEOPLE, "And believe me, I know bigger! I mean, come on — it seems like if I didn't do a plumper, it would be a lost opportunity, don't you think?"

It sure would be. Rinna's lips are instantly recognizable. The star originated the fuller-lip look long before it became a red-carpet staple, putting permanent plumper into her top lip when she was just 23 years old (she was inspired by seeing Barbara Hershey's full pout in the 1988 film Beaches).

Part of the appeal to her "Larger than Life" lip plumping glosses is that one can get their desired fullness without a needle. "This is doctor-free plumped up lips," she says of the product, which uses collagen peptides to plump. "It really works. It really plums your lips. Use this for 28 days, you will have bigger lips. No appointment necessary!"

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Rinna's lip plumpers retail for $24 each. Three shades — red, peach, and a frost — are out now, while the rest of the colors will launch in April.

The plumping glosses are scent-free, taste-free, paraben-free, phthalate free, gluten free and vegan. They also contain no animal collagen, and like all Rinna Beauty products, have been deemed cruelty-free by Cruelty Free Kitty. They can be used daily, and the effects are cumulative with consistent use, the company added.