The horror satire “Bad Hair” features several recognizable hairstyles from 1989, including those worn by Yanni King Mandschein, left, Al Lorraine and Lena Waithe.

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African American 80s Hairstyles

Two years ago, after reading the script for her next film project set in 1989 Los Angeles, Nikki Wright began combing through old black fashion magazines, poring over cosmetic ads and watching music videos from the New Jack Swing era. She reflects on how to replicate the narrow beauty standards African-American women felt forced to live up to at the time, which was a central theme of the film. None of these preparations were unusual for the veteran barber.

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But this wasn’t just any movie. It was Wright’s most notable performance to date: bringing a killer headset to life in Hulu’s hot low-budget horror comedy Bad Hair. Every detail of the culture had to be right, even if it meant reviving old-fashioned hair techniques that were flawed.

“I wanted you to feel like you’re actually in that time,” said writer-director Justin Simiens, whose new film turns the experience of getting your first cloth into a chilling allegory of cultural assimilation. “I didn’t want the movie to feel like 2020. Year in 1989.”

Dear White People creator Justin Simien returns to Sundance with the retro horror satire of New Jack Swing Bad Hair.

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His commitment to authenticity meant that the foundation of the braids was created the old-school way, braiding the hair in a ring pattern above the client’s head (a big no-no these days) before sewing it into the legs, Like the luxury of Laverne Cox. Stylist does in the film. “It’s funny looking back,” Wright said. “We wrote a book about this style and in doing so we realized that braiding hair in a bow is not what we are supposed to do. When the hair grows out, it looks like a lampshade.

In “Bad Hair,” which sparked a bidding war after premiering at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, long, silky strands of hair spill out of place at meetings, swathes of them sneaking around corners, climbing walls and growing demonically from heads. Tentacles to seize and kill human victims, then feed on their blood. Braids turn out to be evil and take over the women who wear them, such as Anna (Elle Lorraine), a malicious executive assistant at black music television network Cult.

Wright, who directed the production’s hair section, portrayed Anne as an average Comptonian girl who has everything she needs to pursue her dream of becoming an on-air host, except for the right looks. At the beginning of the film, she wears her natural hair in a trendy curly style, tucked into an Afro-style outfit. The problem is, a fairly basic style won’t cut it anymore at Cult, whose new host (Vanessa Williams) wears her hair in fancy braids and is hungry for content that appeals to a “wider-er, broader-demographic.” She advises Anna to participate in the program.

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“European features are supposed to be the key to success and make you fit in the workplace,” said Kelly Robinson, the film’s makeup supervisor. It was important to Robinson that the makeup in the film reflect the choices of women of color in the 1980s, when they were limited to three elements: light, medium or dark. “Obviously we have a mix of colors and undertones,” said Robinson, who applied her base colors and foundation to the cast so they wouldn’t clash. She added: “In the 1980s, the colors went away.”

After receiving her cosmetology license, Wright worked at several salons before opening one of her own. Celebrity clients such as Queen Latifah followed, and in 2005 her first television recording: “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” with R&B singer Ashanti. The show got her into the hair and makeup union Local 706, which gave her a taste of the entertainment industry.

“I remember working on Dancing with the Stars, they only called me when there were black people on the show,” she said. “They didn’t hire me as an employee. It was just, ‘Oh, Chris Brown and his dancers are coming.’ Can you work?” After they did that a couple of times, I said, ‘No, I’m fine, I’m not available.’ The idea still lingers. “We know how to do everything, every type of hair.”

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Like other Hollywood guilds, Local 706 has worked to increase the number of racial minorities in its ranks. It doesn’t track information about gender, age, race or ethnicity, but the association has about 1,700 film and television hairstylists on its roster, about half of whom list “textured hair” as a skill.

One of the most fun parts of working on a film like “Bad Hair,” which had a hair and makeup team that was 100 percent people of color, Wright said, was recreating many of the haircuts from her youth. The classic dressing gown worn by Anna’s narcissistic Julie (Jay Pharoah) was inspired by Bobby Brown. The asymmetrical bob that her best friend Brooke-Lynn (Lena Waithe) rocks at the end of the film is Salt-N-Pepa’s eye. For Kelly Rowland, who plays the healthy pop diva sidekick, they took on Janet Jackson, right down to her layered, mid-length locks.

Most of these styles are actually human hair wigs made specifically for the film or rented. They made almost half a dozen wigs of different lengths just for Lauren’s character.

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As Bad Hair’s killer tresses grow in length after each feeding, the hair and make-up department have to work closely together to achieve the desired physical transformation, which requires a delicate touch. “After Anna got her first sew-in, you can see her facial features start to change [she feels more attractive and confident], so I add more contour to her facial structure to enhance her naturally beautiful cheekbones and nose,” said said Robinson. . “The longer her hair, the straighter I made Anna’s features.”

For the film’s hair effects, the director turned to Tony Gardner of San Gabriel Valley VFX studio Alterian Inc. Gardner said Simiens, who also made 2014’s Dear White Men, wanted to use as many practical effects as possible and make it look like the process and execution actually came out of the ’80s. Long acrylic hair is used in tandem with Wright’s handmade wigs.

“It was nice to have Nikki there early on to help us get the texture, density and shine of the hair right,” Gardner said. “We actually bought the hair fiber in 50-foot rolls, so we could pull off whatever Justin came up with, as well as the resources to shoot multiple scenes.”

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Air cannons and blowers are used to move the hair around the scenes, and electrical charges are planted in the walls around the set to make the hair move towards them. “The day we shot the weasel that was attacking everyone in the cabin was a fun day,” Gardner said. In the production, a fiberglass skull cap was created for the actress, with animatronic appendages attached to the top. “They were doing things I had never seen before,” Wright said.

If “Bad Hair” is set in the past, “Black Panther” may point to the future. Some consider the 2018 superhero film about the technologically advanced fictional African nation of Wakanda to be an African-American hair-raising blockbuster. The film Wright worked on featured a large cast of characters with styled, natural coiffures in a variety of styles – queens and sideburns, detailed braids, Bantu knots, accessories, bald scalps that deserved their own movie credits. “We did a lot of research on the latest ‘Black Panther’ styles and looked for innovative ways to express ourselves with our hair,” she said.

One thing is certain: hair has long been involved in cultural identity and politics, and it’s evolving 24/7. “We can do so much with black hair,” Wright said. “It’s not just sitting on your head, it’s a crown, but you decide to wear it.

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Get our L.A. Go Out newsletter with the best events of the week to help you explore and enjoy our city. For centuries, black communities around the world have created their own unique hairstyles. These hairstyles go all the way back to the ancient world and continue through the social, political, and cultural conversations surrounding black identity today.

Many of the most iconic black hairstyles, from braids to dreadlocks and afros, can be found in ancient Egyptian drawings, engravings and hieroglyphics. When the painted sandstone bust of Queen Nefertiti of Egypt was rediscovered in 1913, her regal beauty, accentuated by a powerful hairstyle, was undeniable, and she quickly became a global icon of female power.

Wigs, often used instead of headdresses, symbolized a person’s rank and were important to royal life

African American 80s Hairstyles