Beauty
The Beauty Secrets Of Nascar's Coolest Driver
Toni Breidinger shares her pre-race beauty rituals and hack for helmet hair.
In Bustle’s Beauty Detail, we dive into the beauty bags of our favorite celebrities and talent for intel on the rituals that keep them glowing. Ahead, Toni Breidinger talks about bringing glam to NASCAR, her secret weapon against helmet hair, and the K-beauty staple she discovered on TikTok.
During a summer race, the temperature inside a stock car can climb to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s the reason Toni Breidinger — the first female Arab-American driver in Nascar history — spends her weekends in a hot Pilates studio.
“Do I enjoy it? No," she laughs, talking about her go-to workouts. "But I know it's going to benefit me."
Motorsports isn’t a world typically associated with hot Pilates, glossy blowouts, and getting-ready routines. Yet, Breidinger has become one of Nascar’s rising stars — and its most-followed active driver on social media — by bringing her love of beauty along for the ride.
“It's tough being in a male-dominated space,” the 26-year-old Craftsman Truck Series driver tells Bustle over Zoom. “The more you lean into your femininity, the more you stand out. Showing up to the track in an outfit and makeup that really speak to me is my way of having a voice in rooms where I don't always feel heard.”
Of course, Breidinger’s beauty routine doesn’t just give her a voice — it also gives her skin and hair a fighting chance against the triple-digit temperatures. Race weekends are so taxing on both that she's adopted what can only be described as a preventative approach to beauty. Or, as she puts it, “doing high-maintenance things to be low-maintenance later.”
Think hair glossing treatments, sleeping in collagen sheet masks, and always arriving at the track with a fresh blowout. “I try to start off strong because I know it’s all going downhill from there,” she jokes.
Unsurprisingly, as someone who spends her weekends stress-testing products, Breidinger has also become particular about what she uses. That’s what makes her recent partnership with Kristin Ess feel so fitting: she discovered the hair care brand on TikTok, tried their viral hair gloss, and added it to her pre-race shower routine long before they tapped her for a campaign.
Ahead, the Nascar it girl shares more of her TikTok beauty finds, the products she trusts to survive race day, and the high-maintenance habits that make everything else feel easier.
Her Helmet Hair Defense
“I always shower before a race. It’s such a therapeutic moment for me. I used to use whatever products the hotel provided, but now I’ve realized that having products I love helps me get the right start to the day. This 12-in-1 hair primer is my go-to because it keeps me frizz-free, even while I’m sweating underneath my helmet.”
Her Race-Day Fragrance
“I'm a vanilla girly, so I layer this with my Sol de Janeiro body mist. My hauler always smells like Sol de Janeiro. In our team lounge, the mechanics and engineers will come through, and it’s like, ‘Sorry, guys.’ I’m always spraying it — I need to smell good.”
Her One-Step Brow
“I have to tweeze my brows a ridiculous amount — otherwise, they get crazy. But apart from that, I keep it pretty simple. I just brush them up with CoverGirl’s clear eyebrow gel, and that’s it.”
Her Skin Detox
“The amount of crusty, dusty, musty stuff that comes off my face after a race — from the fumes and rubber — is insane, even after I wash my face. I can really get in there with these little pads and get it all off. Now I’m like, before I started using these, was all that grime still on my face? It’s so satisfying.”
Her Most-Complimented Product
“People always ask me how my makeup is still on after a race — it’s my setting spray. For how much I’m sweating, it’s crazy that my makeup stays intact. Best thing ever.”
Her K-Beauty MVP
“After a race, my skin gets so dehydrated, and this sheet mask revives me every time. I don’t even know if you’re supposed to sleep with it on, but I do. The next morning, I’ll take it off, and I'm like, ‘She's so back.’ At first, I wasn’t sure if people were over-hyping it on TikTok, but it’s so good.”
Her Budge-Proof Lip Combo
“My go-to for ages has been the Charlotte Tilbury lip liner in Pillow Talk — I've been using it forever. Then I’ll put a CoverGirl lip stain on top to keep everything on lock.”
Her Checked-Bag Staple
“No more hotel shampoos for me — it feels so nice to use products you actually feel good about. I will literally check my bag. I can’t bring a travel-size; I need the whole thing.”
Her Everyday Glow Essential
“I love a nice little glow, but I’m always wearing sunscreen on my face. So I'll mix my Goop SPF and these bronzing drops. I literally have a little palette. I feel like an artist.”
Her Post-Race Reset
“I genuinely feel like this has changed my face for the better — it’s lifted everything. I literally had people asking if I got Botox, and I was like, ‘No, it's my gua sha.’ I swear, it's so good. I'll use it on my cheeks and forehead. My muscles get so tense after a race, and I was getting really bad headaches. I started using this, and it helps relax everything.”
