Butterflies and braids: How Black hairstylists brought characters to life on Disney's 'Saturdays'

Saleen Martin, USA TODAY
·4 min read
2

Black entertainers have talked about it for years: They arrived to a film or TV production set only to be told the hairstylist is at a loss and doesn't know what to do with their curly, textured locks.

One Chicago hairstylist, Rukey Styles, thinks part of the responsibility in eliminating these experiences lies with hairstylists themselves.

Rukey has worked on productions such as "Divergent" and Disney's "Sneakerella," for which she was nominated for an Emmy.

Most recently, she served as head of the hair department on "Saturdays," a Disney show that premiered in March starring Golden Brooks and Omar Gooding. The show focuses on three best friends who frequent a local skating rink and form a skate crew.

Peyton Basnight and Daria Johns on the set of "Saturdays," a Disney Channel show that premiered in March 2023.
Peyton Basnight and Daria Johns on the set of "Saturdays," a Disney Channel show that premiered in March 2023.

Rukey, leader of the show's hair department, said more actors are speaking up for themselves on set and hairstylists need to know how to do all types of hair.

"Be as well-rounded an artist as possible," she told USA TODAY. "There's straight Black hair and there's very tight, coily Black hair. There's curly Black hair. Work with all types of Black hair so you're equipped to work with any hair that sits in your chair."

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Styling hair on set takes innovation, she says

To prepare for her new role as head of the hair department on "Saturdays," Rukey first read the script and got to know the characters.

Before she starts any production, she reaches out to the actors to ask about their likes, dislikes and thoughts they have about their characters as well.

On "Saturdays," Rukey said she took into account the characters' personalities as well as their hair textures.

The character Ari, played by Peyton Basnight, loves butterflies, Rukey said. So Basnight, a 16-year-old actress, donned butterfly locs on "Saturdays."

Basnight, a North Carolina native, is multiracial and said she has family members who are Black, Indigenous, Chinese, Native American and more.

Peyton Basnight wearing butterfly locs on the set of "Saturdays," a Disney Channel show that premiered in March 2023.
Peyton Basnight wearing butterfly locs on the set of "Saturdays," a Disney Channel show that premiered in March 2023.

Basnight said she hasn't permanently straightened her hair with chemicals, but she does flatiron it sometimes.

"I grew up with white girls with straight hair that wore their hair to school wet," she said. "I'd never seen anyone in braids until I moved to Georgia. That was really interesting, to experience that."

When she looks at her own hair, Basnight said she thinks about her great-grandmother, who was indigenous and had long, black hair. Her family says her great-grandmother only had three gray hairs in her lifetime, one for each son she had.

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Prior to "Saturdays," her first major production, she hadn't had much experience with protective styles like butterfly locs.

Rukey and her crew would leave the butterfly locs in Basnight's hair for a few months, take them out, wash her hair and put the locs back in.

"My hair grew so, so much," Basnight said. "It amazed me how much my hair had grown in six months. That was an amazing thing to see."

Calling Ari her "butterfly-loving homegirl," she said the character is kind and sassy. She sees herself in Ari and admires how confident she is.

"Ari is so positive and she's always in a happy little cheerful mood most of the time," Basnight said. "Being able to play someone like that was amazing because I got to feel that positivity, no matter what was going on."

'People are becoming more vocal,' stylist says

Looking back, Rukey said it would have been great to see hair representation across TV and film years earlier.

Rukey Styles, a Chicago-based hairstylist who serves as head of the hair department on Disney's new show, "Saturdays."
Rukey Styles, a Chicago-based hairstylist who serves as head of the hair department on Disney's new show, "Saturdays."

"It would have surely changed the narrative of what beauty is," she said before acknowledging that representation has increased on-screen.

This increase in representation is leading to changes behind the camera as well, she said.

"People are becoming more vocal about their needs and the higher-ups cannot be dismissive about these things because these requests are being made by the people that are higher up on the callsheet."

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Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757 – and loves all things horror, witches, Christmas, and food. Follow her on Twitter at @Saleen_Martin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Disney's 'Saturdays' showcases Black hairstyles through characters