Interviews

Abbott Elementary Lead Hair Designer Preserves Natural Hair and Styles for Individuality

August 25, 2023

13 mins read

Abbott Elementary Lead Hair Designer On Preserving Natural Hair & Styling For Personality

Summary

The hairstyles of the characters in Abbott Elementary are specifically chosen to reflect their personalities, with Janine’s curly hair representing her self-contained nature and Barbara’s classic bob reflecting her wisdom and elegance.
Ava’s ever-changing hairstyles symbolize her ability to adapt and explore different looks, while Melissa’s fiery red hair matches her fiery personality.
Moira Frazier, the show’s lead hair designer, prioritizes the health of Black actors’ natural hair and created a haircare product to keep their hair moisturized and protected. Collaboration with creator Quinta Brunson ensures that the hairstyles align with the characters’ backstories and the overall vision of the show.

Abbott Elementary is a mockumentary-style sitcom that follows a dedicated group of teachers at a Philadelphia public school. With the odds stacked against them, these teachers work hard to bring the best educational experience possible to their students. This strange work family takes care of one another just as they do their students, and the audience is invited to laugh as they grow as people and educators.

Abbott Elementary was created by Quinta Brunson, who is also the executive producer and star of the series. Abbott Elementary also features a powerhouse cast, including Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, William Stanford Davis, and Sheryl Lee Ralph. Given the majority Black cast, hair is naturally a big concern on set — especially in an industry where Black performers have felt their voices went unheard in that department. That’s why Abbott Elementary has award-winning Hair Department Head Moira Frazier, whose 20-plus years of experience in the beauty industry includes her natural hair product line Fingaz Beauty.

FilmmakerFocus spoke with Moira Frazier about her work as the lead hair designer on Abbott Elementary. She broke down how Janine, Barbra, Ava, and Melissa’s hairstyles speak to their personalities as characters. Frazier also discussed the importance of preserving the health of Black actors’ natural hair and collaborating with Brunson to achieve the desired looks.

Note: This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and the show covered here would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both unions.

Moira Frazier Talks Abbott Elementary

I love Abbott Elementary. The show is phenomenal. Can you talk about how the hairstyles for each of the characters helped portray each of the characters’ personalities?

Moira Frazier: Oh, my gosh. As you all know, hair tells a story. Because hair tells a story, everyone’s hairstyle is specific to them. Let’s take Janine for example. Janine’s hairstyle played by Quinta Brunson. She wears her hair pretty much the same, but she’s very to herself with her look. And we all love a good curl.

We all love a good curl pattern. But with Janine, she’s never really stepped outside of herself, outside of just her curly hair because that’s what fits her. I know in the beginning of her character development, we didn’t want to stray too far from that look because if she was to come in with blonde hair, that’s not Janine. It doesn’t speak to her. The importance of showing her personality through her curls and through that curly texture, it just brings out her character all the way around. Just because curly hair… Even though it may seem to be less manageable, there is a specific process. There are specific steps. The washing, the deep conditioning, the twisting at night for the curls, all of that is a specific process.

For Janine to come out with, let’s say, a Halle Berry haircut with blonde hair? That’s completely out of the norm for her. And if she did come out with something like that, it’s because she’s trying to find herself and try something new. But that’s why that hairstyle speaks to her. And we all know somebody that’s hair like that and may have similar personalities like Janine’s.

Moving on to Barbara. Barbara got that honey, that church lady bob, look. Okay, we all know that grandma in church or I don’t want to say grandmother, but we all know that older lady or seasoned, mature woman.

Yeah, the distinguished woman.

Moira Frazier: Yes. Distinguished, who you can grab so much inspiration from. Because now we are living in a day and time where people are… Let’s go on the internet and do all this and Google this, Google that. But when you have a living legend like Sheryl Lee Ralph that you can glean wisdom from, it emulates so well through Barbara Howard. And the hairstyle just speaks for itself and it goes with her personality. It is very together. Barbara Howard is not going to come to work with a bust down middle part and long hair like Ava.

Honey, we switched all the looks for Ava this season because a character like Ava, you got to keep the audience guessing. You got to keep the audience on their toes. And the thing with hair for Ava’s character is hair changes your mood. Okay? I’m curly today, but if I feel like being straight tomorrow or if I feel like having a Farrah Fawcett hairstyle or going like the whole fro, I can do that.

And Ava represents every woman out there who has the ability to change and change that hairstyle. And switch a wig like she switch her shirts in her wardrobe. And that’s the fun part about Ava. Melissa Schemmenti, her… I’m just going down the line. I’m flying.

No, you’re good. I love it.

Moira Frazier: Melissa Schemmenti, her hair speak… Well, the color specifically because Dustin Osborne, who’s my key hairstylist and also colorist on our show, worked together with Lisa Walters to get this hair color just right for her. And the color speaks to her personality; that fiery red hairstyle. That firecracker hairstyle just speaks to her spicy personality. Don’t play with Ms. Schemmenti, honey, ’cause she might grab a bat on you! Or whatever the case may be. But it gives… Even with how her hair is styled throughout this whole season, because there’s moments where we see her in an updo ponytail when she’s at home and relaxed.

But when she’s at work, she means business. That’s why we never really put her in straight hair. We always put her in hair that speaks to her personality. It speaks to her confidence. When you see her, you already know she means business.

You have so much fire. You should be on the show. I feel like you should be a character on the show. Can you talk about the importance of black women being able to not only understand their hair, but keep it healthy?

Moira Frazier: It is definitely a priority because we as black women, especially on shows like Abbott or any other show that any actor in Hollywood or Atlanta or wherever the place works in our industry, are constantly in and out of wigs depending on their character. And for me, I created a product, Moisturelized, and that basically helps keep their hair moisturized. I always use products that are basically specific to the actor or actress that’s in my chair or in my trailer that’s being serviced by any one of my team.

All of us come from the salon world. As a licensed cosmetologist, we understand the importance of healthy hair. And a lot of times with these schedules of these actors, if they’re shooting in Brazil, they may or may not be able to bring their normal hairstylist with them. It’s up to us in this industry to make sure that we bring that knowledge and that practice to the trailer so that they can be able to have their hair fully taken care of. So that they can grow and not take out no edges and not be bald.

But all of that learning and training and figuring things out and doing it quick now because we got to get them ready for the show and ready for their scenes. But yes, those are all important and we bring that skill level, especially on Abbot. That is haircare is our first and foremost primary… Like that’s our motto.

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Wow, did you know that they have over a hundred wigs ready on set at all times? It’s absolutely stunning!

Moira Frazier: Yes, it’s a necessity. I remember one incident where our creator and showrunner Quinta Brunson wanted a specific texture for her sister’s character, played by Ayo Edibiri. Unfortunately, I didn’t have it on hand, but I did have the hair extensions in bundles. So, I quickly went to work. Ayo had to be on set by seven in the morning, and it was already five. I rushed to my trailer, grabbed my sewing machine, and made her a wig right then and there.

Within two hours, I had to make and color the wig, and then get it approved by Quinta. Thankfully, she loved it and said, “Yes, that’s it. That’s the one.” And that’s how we created that character. So, sometimes I have to create wigs on the spot, adding to the hundred-plus wigs we already have on the show. It’s all part of my experience and skills that I bring to the set because you never know what you’ll need.

Working with Quinta as a collaborator is an absolute joy. She’s so welcoming and inviting, and I believe her real personality shines through in her character.

Get ready for a unique technique that promotes natural hair growth – using water to remove wigs. Let’s dive into this fascinating topic and understand why it’s so important.

Moira Frazier: I mean, obviously if there’s a scene where we have to use glue. We just have to use glue, and we do go and follow safety protocols when it comes to removing glues. That’s why you need to license people. You need your cosmetology license. But as far as the product that I have, the lace lock melting spray is quick to put on, quick to take off because of the water. That’s all you need. And it’s just a high holding spray that literally makes the lace disappear on camera. We shoot in 4K.

My thing this whole season was to make sure, okay, you don’t want the glue to seep through. It needs to be met. And it needs to match the actor’s skin tone to a point where you’re not going to be able to see anything. And if you ventilate the wig right, you ain’t going to see nothing anyway. So that’s the best thing in the highlight of this whole Abbott Elementary with our expertise that comes into play. So yeah.

janelle james & sheryl lee ralph in abbott elementary

Discover the most challenging look from Abbott Elementary – the Halloween episode featuring Janelle’s Storm wig.

Moira Frazier: I really wanted to go bigger. I wanted to go bigger during that episode because I actually put three wigs together on that episode. Three wigs stacked on top of each other. But for this, I think we only ended up doing… Yeah, we rnrnIn the world of hair styling, I’ve learned some incredible techniques that have helped me create amazing looks. One of my favorites is the invisible part technique, which I used on a recent project. Instead of ventilating a whole hairline, I decided to cut a weft and glue it onto the scalp to emulate a natural hairline. It was a last-minute decision, but it turned out to be a game-changer.

That particular project was intense. We had over a hundred wigs for the episode, and everyone, including the kids, wore a wig every night. I even remember creating a Beyonce wig for one of the little girls. It was a lot of work, but my team and I pulled it off.

Unfortunately, that was also the episode where I contracted COVID. But my team stepped up and held it down while I recovered. They had all the wigs I created, and they did an amazing job. I’m forever grateful to Dustin Osborne, Christina Joseph, and all the day players and barbers from my union who supported us.

Now, let’s talk about another episode where Janine goes out to the club during Christmas break and straightens her hair. It was a whole new look for her, and she almost looked like a different person. Shaping a style according to someone’s face can be challenging, but it’s all about understanding facial structures.

As a licensed cosmetologist, I’ve been trained to analyze facial shapes and use that knowledge to create the perfect hairstyle. For Quinta, we wanted to accentuate her softness and femininity, so we incorporated soft layers into her straightened hair. It was a big step for her character, and it translated beautifully on screen.

Quinta is an incredible actress, and she carried every look throughout the season with grace and confidence. I’m proud to have been a part of her transformation and grateful for the opportunity to showcase my skills.

Yeah, she’s fantastic. Can you talk about your process? Do you get the script and read it, and at that point, are you already mapping out what you’re going to do with each person’s look? Do you talk to the actor about the look that you want to apply?

Moira Frazier: Right. It always starts with pen and paper, first and foremost. I read the script, break down that episode. And when I’m breaking down that episode of breaking down that character. I’ll actually go to the writers first and I’ll ask them, “What were you thinking when you wrote this about this character?” Just to kind of get in the mind frame of what particular, what they’re looking for. Because if I know what kind of mind frame they’re going to be in, then I’m going to know how to apply whatever hairstyle that I’m going to do.

And I’ll pick the hairstyle and then consult with the actors. Like, “Okay, this is what we’re thinking. This is what I like.” And obviously, because they trust me, there literally is no back and forth. This, “Why don’t I do this?” But when the actors, when they’re excited about a look… I think there was one episode, the Christmas episode where the club episode Janelle did suggest, “I want to do a half up, half down hairstyle. Like, “Yes, girl, let’s do that. Let’s do that. I like that.” So when those things come into play, it can be a collaborative effort across the board.

But it’s me trying to break down the psyche of that character. That’s first and foremost across the board for me. That’s what I always do. I always break down the character. There was an episode of, you got to catch the finale when they had the sleepover. And I was like, “Y’all, let’s be real. I remember when I was growing up, my mama didn’t let me go to no sleepover, a school sleep over without a scarf or a bonnet or something. ‘Cause she spent that time putting my hair together. She not about to let me go to a sleepover without no scarf.”

So when I talked to one of the writers, which was Brittany Nichols, I asked her, I’m like, “Okay, let’s talk about this. Where do you see them having the durags and the bonnets? And where do you see them winding down with that?” And that’s how we really incorporating and I saw comments online when everybody was finally a show where they’re showing the real us, our culture and how we do. You know what I’m saying? So that was good.

That’s incredible. Now, let’s talk about scalp massages for the actors. How do they help with blood flow, promote growth, and generate circulation?

Moira Frazier: What we do is we have a little scalp massager that we use on some of the actors and actresses who want it. We’re also planning to offer more treatments next season. We go above and beyond our normal job description to ensure their comfort. Having knowledge about hair growth is crucial in this process.

We stimulate their scalp and follicles through deep massages. We also take care of their coloring and maintain it on set. It’s like having a mini salon right there. We do our best to prepare them for their hairstylists outside of the show as well. It’s a collaborative effort across the board.

One thing that I want to discuss is your use of color without a lot of ammonia. This is important because some people are allergic to it and it’s not very healthy.

Moira Frazier: I do use an ammonia-free product on one of the actors. It’s a safer option and helps prevent any allergic reactions. We prioritize the health and well-being of our actors.

One of our talented actresses, whose name I can’t reveal, undergoes an amazing ammonia-free coloring process. You see, when it comes to coloring hair, each person’s hair reacts differently. It’s all about understanding the unique characteristics of their hair. In my case, I can’t go for a platinum blonde look without my hair feeling like cotton. No matter how many products I use, my hair has a little porosity that prevents it from achieving that desired result.

But there are others who can pull off that look because their hair has high porosity and retains moisture. However, some actors have hair that doesn’t retain much moisture or has been through a lot of styling and product mishaps over the years. That’s where I come in to ensure their hair gets the safest treatment possible. If we’re just refreshing their color, I opt for ammonia-free products with the lowest volume. This way, we can maintain their hair’s integrity while rebuilding it. It’s important to remember that wigs and braids are protective hairstyles, so when they’re in my chair on set, I usually braid their hair down.

They can keep those braids for a week, depending on their schedule. But if they have to attend a premiere or get ready for another event right after filming, I make sure their hair is still moisturized and prepped for any style they need. So yes, it’s all about finding the balance between achieving the desired look and keeping their hair healthy.

Oh, and let’s not forget about my own brand of shampoos and wig bath bombs! These products are designed to hydrate the hair without stripping the color. My daughter actually gave me the idea for the wig bath bombs. She’s a big fan of TikTok and YouTube, and she suggested creating a bath bomb specifically for wigs. So now, whenever time allows, we give all our wigs a luxurious bath bomb treatment. They soak in the bath bomb for about 15 to 20 minutes, and then all they need is one shampoo. Just one! And of course, I recommend using my own product. After shampooing, a conditioner is applied, and voila, the wigs are ready to go.

It’s all about taking care of the hair and ensuring it looks its best on and off the screen.

Well, let’s talk about your product for a second because is this available to the public?

Moira Frazier: It is available to the public. I got to make the bath bombs, but it’s available to the public. My conditioners, I do make all of my moisturized cream. These are handmade. I only use raw ingredients such as shea butter, mango butter, kokum butter, all those things, shampoos and conditioners are made. And I also just incorporated an ingredient called Chebe oil. And Chebe is a very, very popular product that everybody’s doing. That everybody done got hip to Chebe now. So everybody adding Chebe.

But I actually make the oil and you have to ferment that oil for about a good three or four days. And once you ferment that oil, then I usually add that to my products and add it to the hair growth oil as well. And it does promote massive hair growth.

You’re like a hair designer and scientist. This is crazy.

Moira Frazier: Yeah, I got to be!

About Abbott Elementary

A group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — find themselves thrown together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students

Are you ready to succeed in life?

The first 2 seasons of Abbott Elementary are available on Hulu now.

Source: FilmmakerFocus Plus

Ethan Whitaker

Ethan, a film studies graduate from UCLA, brings his in-depth knowledge of cinematography and storytelling techniques to his film reviews. Born and raised in Seattle, his passion for independent cinema was sparked during his time volunteering at a local film festival.