The Secret to Ariel's Hairstyle in "The Little Mermaid" Is Genius

Published on 5/25/2023 at 7:15 PM

Disney's "The Little Mermaid" live-action film starring Halle Bailey as Ariel premieres on May 26, and it's already left its mark in more ways than one on pop culture. Since the animated movie was released in 1989, 39 years ago, it's the first time we've seen this underwater world brought to life with real people — and, as such, the hair and makeup needed to rise to the occasion.

Oscar-nominated celebrity hairstylist Camille Friend was responsible for creating Bailey's hairstyle to play Ariel while Peter Swords King was the lead hair and makeup designer for the rest of the cast. Having previously worked on film projects such as "Black Panther," "Captain Marvel," and many, many more, it's safe to say Friend was up for the challenge of reimagining cartoon Ariel's look for the 2023 movie.

In short: it takes a lot of inventiveness. "There are things you have to make concessions for because it's just a different medium," Friend tells POPSUGAR. To create a cohesive theme among the cast, they started with Ariel's look and built the rest of the looks around it.

Ahead, Friend gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Bailey's hairstyle for Ariel.

Transforming Halle Bailey's Locs Into Ariel's Hair

In real life, Bailey wears her hair in locs, and it was important to her to keep them in the film — no wig. "After speaking to Halle, she really wanted to keep her natural hair," says Friend. They had to figure out how to translate the style into this other world, fitting director Rob Marshall's vision while changing its color.

When the topic of hair color came up, Friend knew she had to find a solution that worked best for Bailey. She was concerned about dyeing her entire head red and the damage that would cause, so Friend came up with a workaround. In partnership with a company called Extensions Plus based out of California, Friend got three custom shades of red, 30-inch hair extensions made to encase Bailey's locs.

"We just started mixing the colors, starting from darker and working to lighter and, literally, taking and wrapping each of her locs with this hair," Friend says. The process in total required three stylists and took two days, but once it was in, they were set for a while. "It could stay in her hair anywhere from six to eight weeks and then be touched up in between, because when you're in the water, it's a little harsh on the hair," says Friend.

Ariel's New Shade of Red Was Intentional

Intertwining the three different shades of red allowed them to completely transform Bailey's brown hair into Ariel's red hue. The result wasn't the same as the cartoon Ariel had in the 1989 movie, but that was very intentional. "They're all golden-orange reds because we wanted to bring that golden-sunshiny color out of Halle's skin," says Friend.

She acknowledges some people wanted to see the cherry red from the original, but she stands by the decision. "It was just about what looks good on your actor," says Friend. "You can create a great hairstyle, but if it's the wrong shape, the wrong texture, or the wrong color, it still doesn't look great."

The Secret to Getting Her Hair to Dance in Water

The color was still only half of it. "Rob really wanted to make sure that the hair had that dance and that movement he envisioned," says Friend. In water, hair takes on a life of its own, and they wanted to make sure that came across as she swam around. Friend added loose hair in with Bailey's locs to create even more fluidity and give her that mermaid-like look. "Once we doubled [the loose hair] and we put her in the water and all that hair was dancing, we were there."

CGI, visual effects, and the hair department worked hand in hand throughout the entire film. "I knew where we were gonna be doing live-action, if we were gonna switch into CGI, and then if we were gonna go back into live-action," says Friend. "I knew what the cuts were gonna be, and that was a game changer for me." The end result, as Friend describes it, was magical.