The remake of The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey is now the number one movie in the world and that’s because of the amazing acting, Halle’s natural talent, and great production.
While it looked amazing on the big screen, Camille Friend, a hairstylist who worked on the new live-action version of the beloved mermaid classic, is now sharing some details about what it took behind the scenes to make this all perfect — starting with Halle’s transformation tor becoming character Ariel.
While speaking with Variety, Camille shared how important it was to Halle to stay true to herself and her natural beauty all while taking on Ariel’s signature red look. “I went to meet with Halle’s family,” she recalled. “Her mother is spiritual and they’re a kind family. I started to understand who she was and why the natural hair element was important to keep.” Camille went on to reveal that the cost to keep her locs and add red extensions cost thousands of dollars. “I’m not guesstimating, but we probably spent at least $150,000 because we had to redo it and take it out,” Camille told Variety. “You couldn’t use it, and we’d have to start again. It was a process.”
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Of course, wigs could have been an option but Camille said that would have made her look “crazy.” Ultimately they decided to go a different route; wrapping 24-inch hair around Halle’s natural locs.
“If we take hair and wrap it around her locs, we don’t have to cut them and we don’t have to color them,” Camille explained. “We can change her color without changing her internal hair structure. Her structure and her hair are her.”
Let’s just say Camille and the team did what needed to be done and fans still can’t stop raving about how perfect Halle looked as Ariel in the historic film.
Halle too previously shared how thrilled she was to have her stunning natural hair while playing the beloved mermaid. She told Ebony Magazine earlier this month,
“I’ve had my locs since I was 5, so they’re a huge part of who I am. We need to be able to see ourselves, we need to be able to see our hair on big screens like this so that we know that it’s beautiful and more than acceptable.”
The new Little Mermaid film is already a success. Over the weekend, the movie raked in $117M at the US box on its opening week, making it the fifth-best opening for Memorial Day weekend in history.
Press Play Below To Watch The Trailer Of The Little Mermaid Film Starring Halle Bailey:
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