Tracee Ellis Ross On Braids, Baths and Being the CEO of a Beauty Brand: 'It Keeps Me Young' (Exclusive)

At the kickoff party for the Byrdie Beauty Lab, the Pattern Beauty founder and co-CEO spoke to PEOPLE about life on and off duty

When Tracee Ellis Ross was young, she wondered what a muse was. Now, she is one.

In September, the actress/producer/beauty entrepreneur was revealed as the cover star for Byrdie’s Muse Issue and was also named the first recipient of the  brand's Muse Award.

Ross, who also celebrated her haircare brand Pattern Beauty’s fifth anniversary with a live event this month, attended Byrdie Beauty Lab's VIP night on Sept. 20 at Iron23 to accept the honor.

“The word muse, it's really elegant, beautiful, and complimentary,” Ross tells PEOPLE at the event. “I remember as a kid actually saying, ‘I don't get it. What does that mean?’ And when someone described it, I was like, ‘oh, I want to be a muse.’ So here we are.”

Related: Tracee Ellis Ross Launches First Heat Tool for Pattern Brand: 'Dream Come True'

Ross’s interpretation of the word emphasizes authenticity. “It’s about being yourself, not about being someone other than who you are.”

The star, whose brand celebrates curly, coily and tight textured hair in all its glorious forms, is a source of inspiration for countless others. When it comes to what inspires her, Ross says, “It's usually more esoteric than a thing.”

“I love beauty, and for me, beauty is really about nature,” she shares. “When I moved to New York, one of my favorite apartments was on the third floor because it was treetop leveling. So I got to see the tips of the trees, and it made all the difference,” Ross says.

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“[Now] there are some trees outside my home that I watch dance and sing all the time, and it's incredible. And just now, I was early for makeup, so I sat with my really good friend who also did my makeup and looked at the architecture in New York. It’s beautiful.”

Her influences don’t end there.

“I'm also very inspired by people who inhabit their skin, people who are very much who they are, through and through. I'm inspired by honesty. I'm inspired by tenderness. So that is all to say, many things inspire me,” Ross explains.

The sold-out Beauty Lab, which over 40 brands participated in, focused on the theme of “Breakthrough Beauty” and “the products and people bringing about influence and revelation,” according to a release.

As Ross sat on a couch that overlooked her own brand’s activation, the visionary opened up about breaking through in this noisy category.

“I love that the beauty industry is full of sounds and textures,” she says. “I think that Pattern for me, really was a chronicling of my own personal journey. And then discovering that I was not alone, that there were so many of us. There was a massive culture of people that were also not being served and cared for and honored and celebrated in our authentic beauty.”

For Ross, whose brand introduced an innovative interchangeable curling iron this year, challenging moments are met with fear but fierceness.

“I find all of the growth in becoming a CEO and a founder and owning a beauty company to be exciting. It's the kind of challenges that keep me young and excited about life,” she says.

Related: Watch Tracee Ellis Ross' Ecstatic Reaction to Seeing Herself on Pattern Beauty's First-Ever Billboard

“The beautiful part,” she adds, “Is the feedback that I get, big and small. The moments when a mother says, ‘I couldn't get my daughter to love her hair, and now that we use Patterns, she knows how to do it herself, and she's wearing her curls.’”

“Hearing that people finally find products that work for them, or that they love the packaging, or any of those things, I think that is really special to me in terms of the community that we serve."

In the five years since Pattern has taken off, Ross has also starred in a number of projects. And just one day before this event another was announced: she will appear in season seven of Black Mirror.

With all she has in the works, Ross says the secret to showing up her best self to set or her Pattern headquarters requires “mapping out with military precision.”

Related: Tracee Ellis Ross on How 'Girlfriends' Inspired Her to Start Haircare Line: 'Most Rewarding Thing'

“That is perhaps both an escape and a defense mechanism, and also how I get it all done. But I take the moments: what I call it is being mindful and slow between A and B. So instead of rushing between things, I really allow myself to be present between them.”

“I'm not sleeping well. One of my responses to menopause has been I just am not sleeping well, but sometimes I'm able to sleep in. And this morning I was able to sleep in. And then I wandered around the city. So I get to recharge by being able to sleep in when I can, by being a person in the world, by cooking for myself, by taking a bath, by connecting and being with my family, all of those things. I'm just like everybody else, just trying to find the fun things to do, watching TV, way too much TV on my iPad.”

Ross’s hair, whether slicked back or voluminous, has served as proof of concept for half a decade. Today, she wears it in braids.

“I washed my hair with the Cleansing Shampoo and the Intensive Conditioner. Then my hairstylist blow-dried me with our blow-dryer, and then braided me with styling cream, and then finished off with the Palo Santo Curl Mousse and then dipped me in the hot water."

Related: Tracee Ellis Ross on Her Entrepreneurship Journey, Supporting Black Businesses and Having 'Pride' in Her Hair

“The beauty of our products, which I love, is that they really support you in any phase that you're in, any moment that you're in. So if you're braided, you're good. If you're in a deep condition phase, we have you. If you are wanting to put heat on your hair, we've got you. So it really is all-inclusive: every day, every moment, every pattern.”

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Tonight, Ross is in celebration mode. But, when asked what words come to mind for Pattern’s next five years, she pauses.

“Expansive. Continuing to be effective. Bold, and, home.”

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