Disney's latest live-action remake, The Little Mermaid, is in theaters now, and Oscar-nominated hairstylist Camille Friend detailed the experience working with Halle Bailey and the bonkers price of the iconic hair extensions and locs.
Speaking with Variety, Friend — who has worked with the likes of Lupita Nyong'o in the past — talked about the process of transforming Bailey into the famous Ariel character that people know from The Little Mermaid.
“I went to meet with Halle's family. Her mother is spiritual and they're a kind family,” said Friend.
She continued, “I started to understand who she was and why the natural hair element was important to keep.”
Once the process began, Friend faced one big obstacle: Not cutting Bailey's locs. The whole wrap process took 12-14 hours according to Variety's interview, and Friend added that Bailey was a “trooper.”
Even crazier was the amount of money that the 30-inch locs cost. “I'm not guestimating, but we probably spent at least $150,000 because we had to redo it and take it out. You couldn't use it and we'd have to start again. It was a process,” Friend said.
While it was expensive, Bailey's hair in The Little Mermaid did look good and was one of the few things that didn't ever look bad from a visual standpoint. Friend detailed that they added loose hair as well so that it would float underwater.
The Little Mermaid is the latest Disney live-action remake and adapts the 1989 animated classic. It follows Ariel (Halle Bailey), a young mermaid fascinated by the human world who makes a deal with a sea witch named Ursula (Melissa McCarthy) to become human for three days so she can pursue a young prince named Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). Javier Bardem, Noma Dumezweni, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina also star in the film.
The Little Mermaid is in theaters now.
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