The hairstylist for “The Little Mermaid” revealed the process of transforming Halle Bailey into a red-haired princess
On May 26th (local time), US media site Variety published an interview with Camille Friend, who revealed the efforts made to create Halle Bailey‘s hairstyle for the character Ariel in Disney’s live-action film “The Little Mermaid”.
“The Little Mermaid” showcases Disney’s first Black Ariel (the first Black princess in a live-action film). At the same time, it is known that Halle Bailey, who played Ariel, wanted to maintain her natural hair since she wanted to stay true to her Black heritage.
Regarding this, Camille Friend said in the interview that she began with Halle Bailey’s roots and went to met with the actress’ family, eventually understanding who Halle was and why it’s important for the actress to keep her natural hair.
She then began the process of creating the hairstyle in “The Little Mermaid” by looking at Halle Bailey’s facial shape, skin tone, eye color, as well as the color of her costume.
After this, Camille Friend became determined not to cut any of Bailey’s natural hair or use a wig, and took on the challenge to create a red-haired princess look without removing the actress’ locs.
In the end, she used extensions to wrap around the locs, which are down to Halle’s waist and over 24 inches – a process that took 12 to 14 hours.
Finally, it was revealed that three shades of red was used, and the final result cost Camille Friend “at least 150,000 USD”, since she had to redo it and constantly take things out.
Meanwhile, “The Little Mermaid” is a live-action Disney musical film that tells the adventure of Ariel, a spirited mermaid who dreams of the world beyond the sea, as she rescues the shipwrecked ‘Prince Eric’ and follows her heart’s desire to venture into the forbidden human world.
