Real reason Maura Higgins (maura higgins) wears wigs on The Traitors — and what her real hair is actually like
maura higgins says wigs were essential on the misty location of The Traitors because her natural hair is very curly and frizzy. The Irish TV star, 35, also outlined a simple hair and makeup routine and reiterated why she leans on familiar beauty products in and out of the game.
Maura Higgins' hair and wigs
Higgins said she kept a stock of wigs while filming The Traitors because her hair "is so curly and it gets so frizzy, " and the wigs were "the best thing I did" on the show. She described conditions on missions — being in water and facing "raining and cold" weather in the misty Scottish highlands where the competition was filmed — and said she would put on a beanie cap for a mission, then return and "stick my wig back on, and it was already styled. "
How she styles and cares for hair
Higgins acknowledged she is not patient with styling: "I'm not the best at styling my hair — I just don't have patience. I have more fun doing my makeup than my hair. " She said she does not have a strict routine: "I'm not sure I have one, " and that on busier days she will opt for a hair mask. She added she uses a root spray, noting, "I've had gray hair since I was 17, so I always have to cover my roots. " On drying, she said: "Sometimes I'll blow-dry. Sometimes I'll just blast it and style it myself. " She also said she now has a personal hairstylist but that in a pinch she could do her own hair, recalling earlier training in hairdressing in Athlone after leaving school at 16 and holding a salon job in her hometown for ten years.
Lip combo and beauty essentials
Higgins outlined a faithful lip routine, naming MAC Lip Liner in Spice paired with MACximal Silky Matte Lipstick in Honeylove as her go-to combination. "Lip combo is always the same, all the time, " she said of the pink and cinnamon-hued duo, adding she sometimes wears the liner solo and applies it "all over" her lips. She called MAC Spice the liner she carries constantly: "MAC Spice is the one lip liner — it's in all of my handbags. "
Her broader beauty bag, she said, includes a small roster of skincare and makeup items: a high-end cream, cleansing wipes for removing eye makeup, Biodance Bio Collagen Real Deep Masks that she said "go see-through on your skin" and that she is "obsessed with" at the moment; a treatment for breakouts she said "really helps"; a root cover-up product; and a Voluminous Panorama Mascara she called "the best mascara to cry in, " adding, "I've been using that for quite some time, and it's incredible. " When doing her own makeup on reality shows she said she now prefers a little wing and bronzer rather than heavy eyeshadow: "I used to do my eyes very, very heavy, and now I just like a little wing, " and "when I'm doing my own makeup, I don't use eyeshadow — I just use bronzer. "
Traitors gameplay and final run
Higgins was a Faithful on Season 4 of The Traitors and trusted fellow Love Island USA star Rob Rausch throughout the game. She said she was often unbothered by intensity in the game: "When people are getting really intense in the game, I'm like, 'Oh guys, it's just a game. '" She added, "All I was thinking about was 'Well, nobody murder me because I want to wear my outfit tomorrow. ' That was me. "
She described entering the game somewhat blind and learning as she went: "I actually found it quite tough, only because I never watched the show. I probably should have. I think that's a regret of mine. " She explained her prefilming mindset: "My brain before filming it was kind of like, 'Well, I've never watched any other shows I've done before doing them, and it's always done me good. ' So, yeah, I went in there very blind, and I was learning the game as I went along. "
She made it to the finale stage of the season as one of the last faithfuls standing. At one point she was described as one of the last four faithfuls standing after season four, having evaded banishment or a murder while being looked out for by Rob in the turret. She proceeded to the finale alongside Rob and a traitor recruit, Eric Nam, and with faithfuls Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski and Mark Ballas. Earlier coverage noted she made it to the finale with five other players and that she entered the castle with Rob Rausch and 21 other players, including Donna Kelce, Porsha Williams, Caroline Stanbury, Candiace Dillard Bassett, Lisa Rinna, Dorinda Medley, Ian Terry, Tiffany Mitchell, Rob Cesternino, Natalie Anderson, Yamil "Yam Yam" Arocho, Colton Underwood, Kristen Kish, Eric Nam, Mark Ballas, Monét X Change, Stephen Colletti, Michael Rapaport, Johnny Weir, Ron Funches and Tara Lipinski. Viewers were invited to "find out on Thursday at 9/8c" whether she would trust Rausch enough to go to the end with him or banish him.
Early life, modelling and relationships
Although she competed on Love Island UK, Higgins was born and raised in Ireland in 1990, which the context notes "is not part of the UK. " She grew up in Longford, Ireland, and has two sisters and one brother; her parents are divorced and dating other people. She currently lives in Essex, England, having moved there to train for Dancing on Ice in 2019.
Before reality TV, Higgins studied hairdressing in Athlone after leaving school at 16 and worked in a salon in her hometown for ten years. She later became a model with Elite Model Management, an agency that the context links with Kendall Jenner, Adriana Lima and Olympic sprinter Dina Asher-Smith. She has also worked as a promotional "grid girl. "
Higgins burst onto the scene in the fifth season of Love Island UK, entering the villa on day 10 and reaching the finale with Curtis Pritchard, placing fourth; the pair briefly dated and broke up in early 2020. Before Love Island UK she had been engaged to James Finnegan, a car salesman she met in school; they broke up in 2017 after nine years together. She later dated a costar, Chris Taylor, until May 2021, then dated Giovanni Pernice until October 2021, and from 2023 to 2024 she dated Bobby Holland Hanton, a stunt double.
Her television credits include appearances on shows such as This Morning, Celebrity Juice, Maura Higgins: You're Joking Me!, Dancing on Ice, Love Island spin-offs, Cooking with the Stars, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!, and most recently The Traitors. She also appeared in the 2016 music video for "Get Low" by Liam Payne and Zedd, taken from Payne's only solo album.
maura higgins remains open about relying on practical solutions—wigs, a pared-back beauty kit and trusted partnerships—while navigating the demands of reality TV and public life.
