Behind the Scenes With 'Jane the Virgin's' Hairstylist
By Chloe Metzger
If you’ve ever watched an episode of Jane the Virgin, you already know why it’s earned so much praise in the last few months. With insanely likable characters, an over-the-top yet endearing story line, and a badass female lead, this show is adorably addicting. (If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to turn off your Friendsmarathon and flip over to the CW, pronto.) Being a beauty lover, though, I can’t help but wonder how girls like Gina Rodriguez (who plays Jane) can hang out on a windy beach and then roll around in bed for half an episode and still have camera-ready curls. So I spoke with Michelle Rene Elam, Jane’s hair-department head, about the behind-the-scenes work it takes to bring telenovela hair to life.
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What was the original concept for the hair and makeup looks? “The show’s creator, Jennie Snyder, is really natural and real, so she wanted the show to have a more natural, undone look. We decided to keep Gina’s hair fun and alive but still low-key enough that it doesn’t look like she spent a lot of time on it. For all of the characters, we figured out which styles would work best with their hair in a natural sense and then changed it to fit the characters they would be playing.”
What’s a typical day for Gina’s hair? “On any given day, someone could be chasing down a criminal or jumping in the ocean, so you really need to plan it out in advance. When I first get the script, I break down the episode and figure out how many looks she needs for each of the days in the story. Sometimes we have all the scenes in one day, so I have to figure out which hairstyle would be able to transition from, say, a party look to an in-bed look to an outdoors look while still looking like we haven’t been filming for ten hours.”
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How do you keep the Miami humidity from wreaking havoc? “We do a lot of beach work, and I do some pretty crazy things to try to contain the hair, like putting rain caps on their heads in between takes. In general, though, I use a lot of Oribe Impermeable Anti-Humidity spray to tame any of Gina’s unruly hair and White Sands Orchids Oil to keep moisture from penetrating the shaft and causing frizz. To smooth her baby hairs and seal the style, I’ll also use Aerogel Styling Spray, which is a gel hair spray that you can brush through for a natural finish. Gina’s thick hair can handle a lot more product than someone with superfine hair. So for Yael, who plays Petra, I’ll use Living Proof Restore Target Repair Cream on her ends to seal out humidity and then layer on White Sands Liquid Texture Thermal Styling spray to protect and smooth her hair before I curl it.”
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photo: Courtesy of The CW
