Inside Modern Family Star Sarah Hyland's Self-Care Journey

For Sarah Hyland, a former star on ABC's "Modern Family," self-care is a non-negotiable. The actress was born with kidney dysplasia—a condition that necessitated two kidney transplants — and struggles with endometriosis. Hyland has spoken openly how these health conditions impacted her life. Through it all, her relationship to wellness has been a lifeline. "Self-care is an extension of self-love," she told Refinery29 in 2020.

Contending with the pressures of shooting a hit TV series — "Modern Family" aired for 111 seasons — while also managing the pain and exhaustion of two serious health conditions hasn't been easy. For Hyland, self-care has helped her rebuild her confidence and find ways to thrive in the spotlight. "I love taking baths and having a nice glass of rosé," she told Allure in 2019. "I throw a face mask on and some Epsom salts in there and just relax those muscles — it's the best."

Over the years, Hyland has undergone a stunning glow-up, and there's no doubt that learning to lavish some love on her body, her skin, and her hair has helped turn Hyland into one of today's most beautiful and beloved figures.

Focusing on skincare gave Sarah Hyland an opportunity to regain a feeling of safety in her body after chronic illness left her feeling out of control. And the self-love has paid dividends, if Hyland's makeup-free selfies are any indication.

"Skin care is something that I can control, whereas other things in my life health-wise, I have not been able to control," the actor told Refinery29. Hyland takes her routine seriously and is thoughtful about the products she uses on her face, forgoing harsh chemicals whenever possible. "Being a two-time kidney transplant recipient, you want to treat your body as well as you can."

Hyland became passionate about discovering and testing all kinds of beauty products, from face masks to beauty rollers. Focusing on skincare helped her when her health struggles felt unmanageable. "I started doing a lot of face masks and testing out beauty rollers... I would literally spend hours online looking at skin-care products, because, you know, retail therapy is real," she explained to Allure. In 2020, she even released a skincare set in collaboration with No B.S. Beauty.

Sarah Hyland revealed that she's struggled with hair loss — a side effect of the medication she takes for her kidney condition. Though she's often associated with the long hair that her "Modern Family" character has, the actress cut her tresses short in 2013 and wore extensions on set. In recent years, Hyland has grown her hair out and the process has been full of surprises. "I didn't know just how curly it was going to be," she told Allure. "I've had a lot of my hair fall out from being on medications and all that stuff, and now that I'm finally getting all this new growth, it's even curlier."

Since growing her hair out, Hyland has regular rocked her natural hair texture in photos and in public. In 2019, a tweet accused Hyland of getting her locks permed, and the star hit back quickly — retweeting the comment and stating clearly: "I'd like to say this once. IT'S NOT A PERM. IT'S JUST MY HAIR." Of course, with curls that gorgeous, no one could blame Hyland for wanting to take full credit for them.

I'd like to say this once. IT'S NOT A PERM. IT'S JUST MY HAIR. https://t.co/MIozGAcDSi

— Sarah Hyland (@Sarah_Hyland) April 9, 2019

For Sarah Hyland, opening up about the effects of her chronic illness has been a powerful way of rebuilding confidence. On the podcast "Quitters," she revealed how transformative vulnerability has been for her. "I thought if I talk about this, not only do I think it will help me and be a bit cathartic, in the sense of I'm proud of myself for making it through the other side but as well as shedding even more light," she said (via National Kidney Foundation).

It's that authenticity that makes Hyland so beloved by fans, and it extends to her presence on social media. In addition to photos of herself with her curls or going makeup-free, Hyland is one of many celebs who have bared their scars to the public. She has shared images of herself in a bikini — revealing the marks left by two separate kidney transplant surgeries. In one story post, she captioned one bare stomach photo with the hashtag "#scarsondisplay," modeling self-acceptance, which is the highest form of self care.