Jen Shah Reveals Beauty Tips After ‘Ulta Experience in Prison’
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah claimed she was the “Ulta” of prison.
In a recent People interview published on Thursday, April 2, Shah, 52, shared how she crafted her own beauty products while incarcerated at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas.
“There weren’t many options, so I would create my own [beauty products],” she explained, detailing how she utilized her monthly $360 commissary allowance.
After being sentenced to over six years in prison for orchestrating a nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme that targeted elderly individuals, Shah had to adapt and care for her skin while behind bars.
She employed hemorrhoid pads—“which had witch hazel in them”—as an astringent to reduce oil, alleviate inflammation, and tighten her pores.
Combining this with “laundry soap” resulted in a “winning combo for looking young” while incarcerated.
“Many people were interested in my skincare routine,” the reality TV star remarked. “A lot of the women embraced it.”
Shah humorously noted that some weeks, she spent more on beauty products than on food. “[My husband] would say, ‘You need to buy food this week. Please don’t purchase any more hairspray.’ But I worried they might run out at the commissary, so I had backstock,” Shah joked.
“I was like the Ulta of prison,” she shared. “People would say, ‘Oh my gosh, they ran out of gel.’ ‘Go talk to Shah, she probably has four.’”
Shah also revealed that she couldn’t receive cosmetic procedures while in prison. “People were like, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s going to come out and her face is going to fall off because it’s filled with Botox!’” she recounted. “I guess they found out I wasn’t filled with injections and fillers. I survived!”
Shah served 2 years and 9 months of her sentence and was released early in December 2025. She is now under home confinement for the remainder of her time.
The Bravo star pleaded guilty in July 2022 and was ordered to pay over $6.6 million in restitution to victims and forfeit $6.5 million in addition to luxury items.
Shah mentioned to People that she initially had no idea how she would cope with her prison time. On her first night, she remembered lying in a top bunk and “silently crying.”
“I just thought, ‘This cannot be my reality every day,’” she reflected. “Everyone knew I was coming. People were shouting things at me.”
Before wrapping up the interview, Shah expressed her regret over her actions. “I’d like to say I’m sorry,” she remarked about her victims. “I’m here accepting responsibility and have made it my mission, as part of my consequences, to ensure that people are compensated.”
Furthermore, she denied intentionally targeting the elderly, stating, “I’d like to dispel this false narrative … I never targeted the elderly.”
