BEAUTY

‘Cruella’ Hairstylist, Nadia Stacey, Talks Inspiration And On-Set Tips For Hollywood Hair

Emma Stone trades in her signature red hair for Cruella’s iconic black and white ‘do

Having been the on-set hairstylist for The Favourite and Captain America, stylist to the stars, Nadia Stacey, is adept at giving A-listers a complete hair overhaul. And now Emma Stone is almost unrecognisable as the black-and-white-haired character of Cruella.

We ask Stacey about her inspiration behind Stone’s new Cruella and all her best on-set tips to keeping hair looking its shiny best.

What was your inspiration behind this new Cruella?

Each character needed a strong silhouette. Emma Stone’s character is more of a punk and influenced by that fashion whereas the Baroness, Emma Thompson has perfected her look in the 1950s/60s, so it meant that we had a whole range of styles to draw from. [We created] lots of pulled back, not a hair in place, sculpted styles.

You used a lot of wigs in many of the looks. What are your tips for styling wigs?

All the wigs are real hair, so you must treat them as such. If I was putting in rollers or using irons or any styling implements, I would always use a heat protecting spray like the Hask Keratin Protein 5-in-1 Leave-In Spray. It helps protect and keeps the hair conditioned and smooth for styling.

HASK

HASK Keratin Protein 5-in-1 Leave-In Spray, $14.99; priceline.com.au

What were your go-to products?

Keratin 5 in 1 spray for the heat protection because of all the styling. They are the best. The hair masks for protection of actors’ hair under wigs and for a once a week treat or to send them home with them. The nourishing Coconut ones are great. The Rose oil and Peach colour protect because the black and white hair IS Cruella!

How can we recreate Cruella’s iconic curls at home?

If you are blessed with curly hair then add a curl enhancing mousse to wet hair and dry with a diffuser to really encourage the curls, tip your head upside down when drying to create lots of volume, when you tip you head back the hair will be wild but that want Cruella would want! I use Hask Curl Care Curl Defining Cream to define and take away some of the frizz. If you have straight hair, use a thermal protection spray like Hask Keratin 5-in-1 Leave-In Spray to protect before you use a curling tool, rollers or tongs. Create the curls and use the curl defining cream.

HASK

HASK Curl Care Curl Defining Cream, $14.99; priceline.com.au

How do you care for hair that is being styled so much?

I give the wigs a treatment using Hask Monoi Oil Nourishing Deep Conditioner as much as possible to revive the hair and put back the condition lost in over styling. I also used it on Emma Stone underneath the wig to condition her hair during the day. The Hask Rose Oil and Peach Colour Protect Shampoo and Conditioners were great too because the black and white hair needed to be really defined and strong, so I needed to punch the colour up. The white side of the hair started to look yellow with over-process and these shampoos really worked to protect that.

HASK

HASK Monoi Oil Nourishing Deep Conditioner, $4.99; priceline.com.au

We love dry shampoo… How do you use it on-set?

We had to create lots of punk styles on the extras and supporting cast and that means lots of body in the hair. We used dry shampoo in the root to rid all the excess oil and give a good base to start creating. That worked well too in some of the punkier styles for the Cruella wigs.

HASK

HASK Biotin Dry Shampoo, $9.99; priceline.com.au

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