Summer House's Ciara Miller Shares Her Hair MVPs and All the Beauty Qs in Her DMs That Inspire Her (Exclusive)

Ciara Miller knows a thing or two about summer hair. 

After all, the travel nurse and model-turned-reality-TV star has been making waves ever since she joined the Summer House cast in 2020 (season five, her first, premiered in winter 2021).

Fast-forward to 2024, and the Bravolebrity is heading further east to Montauk, where she’s helping TRESemmé celebrate the launch of its Keratin Smooth Weightless collection, which is already a must-have for Miller, who does her own glam for the show. 

“I spend my summer in the Hamptons filming my show, so I have to have really good products,” Miller tells PEOPLE. “I’m not typically wearing my natural hair in the summertime because I just don’t have the time. But even with my extensions, I have to have a good hairspray like the Anti-Frizz [Finishing Spray] to keep it in place so that I’m not mid-conversation thinking, ‘My hair’s going to look so crazy during this scene.’”

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Coincidentally, Miller says her first memory of the brand is of TRESemmé’s hairspray cans in the beauty aisle.

The star, who says she’s always been “so enthralled with everything beauty,” enjoys conceiving her looks for the show.

“I feel like your outfits don’t hit unless your hair and makeup is spot on. So, I try to be a little bit different when I’m filming, and during the summer, I feel like that’s when I get to have the most fun. But, I’m coming up with [these looks] on my own, and maneuvering it all — I’m like a part-time hairstylist to myself — so it’s whatever’s within my own ability and within the time crunch.”

Most important to Miller, though, is protecting her natural hair. Even if that doesn’t always appease her over 340,000 Instagram followers. 

“I get a lot of DMs of [people saying], ‘Why don’t you do this hair?’ and who make it seem like ‘Oh, you don’t like this or that,’ but it’s honestly a time thing. And, between [the show] and modeling, I am not willing to damage my hair, so I find styles that are either protective or just conducive to being styled multiple times, but are also easy for me to kind of get up and go.”

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However, Miller also gets tons of questions from fans that keep her inspired. “Women ask, ‘How are you doing this with your hair? What products are you using?’ So I’m trying to be a well of knowledge and information

The star would love to start “experimenting more,” but part of the challenge is settling on what to do next. 

“My dream style? I don’t know because we Black women can do everything. My hairstylist has been trying to get me to do a pixie cut for the past year, and I think that that’s the next thing that’s on my radar. So we’re just trying to map out when because I’m like, I can’t hate it. That’s the thing, you know?”

Even though she’s filmed constantly, Miller doesn’t feel the need to fake feeling great when she simply doesn’t. 

“I have a lot of those days, where I am like, ‘Oh my God, I have to be on camera.’ And I’m like, I’m just going to be myself, and if I wasn’t having a good day and it’s on camera, it’s on camera,” she shares.

But there are some things that help boost her mood.

“The part that makes it fun is the dressing up. I love [doing that] and challenging my style. And, I try to get a lot of sleep. Some would complain, some would say I get too much sleep!”

“It’s also really about the products that I’m using. This Keratin Smooth Weightless Perfecting Leave-In Lotion is my ride or die on my real hair and on my extensions. And then to bring the shine back, I love the Keratin Smooth Weightless Silky Shine Spray, which doesn’t weigh your hair down.”

“If I have that and I have my eyebrows filled in, I’m like, ‘okay.’ It’s simple!”