Halle Bailey is truly enchanting in her role as The Little Mermaid, but her hair transformation came with a substantial price tag.
The 23-year-old multi-talented actress and singer opted to dye her hair red to capture Ariel’s iconic appearance while still preserving her natural locs for the role.
Camille Friend, the hairstylist responsible for this feat, recently divulged the intricate process and why it carried a price tag of approximately $150,000, taking over 14 hours to complete.
Friend shared insights about her work with Halle in an interview with Variety.
Recognizing the impracticality of using a wig, Friend stated, “Halle’s locs are down to her waist, over 24 inches. And putting her in a wig was going to look crazy.”
Instead, Friend devised a method involving wrapping red hair around Halle’s locs. This approach allowed them to change the color without altering the internal structure of her natural hair.
The transformation was undoubtedly costly. Friend commented, “I’m not guesstimating, 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.”
Once they mastered this technique, they fine-tuned it to ensure it worked seamlessly both underwater and when Ariel transitioned from fins to legs on land.