Burning Question: Who Decided to Dye Kristen Stewart's Hair Orange?

Kristen Stewart just dyed her hair orange for a role. Was that her own decision?

I have it on good authority that a horde of werewolves did not — repeat, did not — drag Stewart into the Maison de Cheveaux in New Orleans and slather that acid sherbet hue all over her pate.

Rather, the new ‘do is just part of Stewart’s preparations for her latest film, American Ultra, as the photo posted on the salon’s Instagram page promised. In the action-comedy, directed by Nima Nourizadeh (Project X), she’ll play the girlfriend of Jesse Eisenberg’s stoner character who winds up the target of a government manhunt.

[Related: Sundance Scoop - Kristen Stewart Dons Fatigues in GITMO Drama Camp X-Ray]

"A lot of films get shot on location here. And if they don’t have the capability to get what they need on set — because they have their own hairdressers on set — they call a salon like us," a co-owner at the Maison de Cheveaux in New Orleans tells me. "Like most other clients, we’re given a photo of what the client wants, and we work off of that. Here it’s very simple and easy [as in, not a ton of people involved]; we see the picture and give the client whatever the role calls for."

If Stewart’s transformation was even remotely similar to the ones other actresses go through for big movie roles, than you can bet the Twilight phenom didn’t pick that tangerine shade herself. In Hollywood, it takes a village, as well as a five-figure budget, just to choose and execute a new hairdo for a movie or TV role — especially for a tentpole or high-visibility production.

In fact, the person actually cutting or dyeing the hair is often the least powerful person in the room.

"It is not just the hairdressers’ creative that goes into the look. Sometimes it’s a combination of the writers, director, producer, and wardrobe," hairstylist Michael Duenas tells me. “The creative aspect to decide on the cut and color can usually take a week. It all depends on the storyboard and if everyone is on the same page. Once enough reference looks have been pulled and combined, then the hairdresser can start to create the look.”

[Related: 2014 Celebrity Hair Transformations]

That’s not even the end of the process. “If it is not a wig, the look must be detailed and written into the contract for the actor and approved by the actors manager, studio and actor themselves.” Duenas adds.

"It’s never the hairstylist’s choice," reiterates Sean James, who recently transformed Jamie Lee Curtis’s hair for Only Human, a TV project she’s currently filming in Canada. “In fact, quite often you are just a pair of hands. Your skills are used like a basketweaver’s skill.”

Don’t believe us? Here’s a bit more of a play-by-play:

"First the director came to me to talk about the character," says Los Angeles-based hairstylist Carla Gentile, recalling her experience on the film The Go-Getter, starring Evil Dead reboot actor Lou Taylor Pucci. “We talked for a good hour. Then a producer got involved in the discussions” for another 40 minutes or so.

Colorist Fernando Baldonado was recruited at that point for another half-hour meeting. And then, finally, came the actor and his thoughts.

"And this was a small film," Gentile points out. "For a bigger film, it’s a bigger process. You can multiply those hours or people by three to 10 times."

For example: A lighting expert or production designer might want to fiddle with color saturation. And then there’s the costume designer.

"Oftentimes how the actress moves in the film will determine the cut," Gentile points out. "Will she be wearing anything like collars on her outfits? That’s not only important for the color match but for logistics. Is she wearing hats? Is she taking them off?"

[Related: The (Hair) Color Purple - Stars Parade Their Lavender Locks]

And the coiffure-by-committee doesn’t end there, either.

"Sometimes the director of photography comes into play," James tells me of his experience with 2003’s Down With Love. “For one film I did with Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger, I had to come in and color his hair jet black every two weeks. Zellweger wore wigs for the whole film, but the DP was complaining that he kept seeing fading on Ewan’s hair color. I was surprised at how often they brought me in to dye it, but I didn’t mind.”

Maybe that’s because top film hairstylists can also command top dollar. How much? How about, say, $30,000, just to cut and maintain a star’s hair for a single film?

After all, Gentile says, “there’s a lot of creativity that can go into that single haircut. And just as many logistics.”

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Leslie Gornstein is an entertainment writer and the host of the weekly Hollywood gossip podcast The Fame Fatale.