Thousands of Hours Went Into Elphaba’s Microbraids in 'Wicked: For Good'
Beauty
TSS Talent
Lorraine Dublin
Hairstylist and lead microbraider Lorraine Dublin shares insights into the months-long braiding process—and deliberate change—behind Elphaba’s signature look.
Off-screen, there is a marked shift in Elphaba’s look between "Wicked" and "Wicked: For Good". Minutes into the sequel, she swoops in on her broomstick, hair billowing around her. They are clearly looser and more undone than in part one, but Elphie’s microbraids have remained—a key part of her character and a testament to the layers of work that went into her looks. As was clear from the first movie, this Elphaba is a masterclass in detail.
Cynthia Erivo’s wigs were created by Samuel James, who closely collaborated with the movies' hair, makeup, and prosthetics designer, Frances Hannon, to “determine the texture and curl pattern.” No detail was overlooked here; separate nape pieces were created for Elphaba’s updos, while the lace for both these and the main wigs was tinted green to match the green face and body makeup worn by Erivo (custom mixed by Hannon and David Stoneman). The actress’s shaved head also meant her scalp could be painted green and peek through the wigs, heightening the realism.
Each wig was then carefully hand-braided. Lead microbraider Lorraine Dublin tells The Set Set that her team of five—Brenda Ford, Kat Hand, Heide Hawthorne, and Cloe Nelson—began braiding Elphaba’s wigs all the way back in November 2022, two years before "Wicked" was released. The microbraided wigs were complete by the following summer, around six months later. Dublin says she often braided two to three days per week during that time, sometimes more; between the team, the total number of braiding hours would easily have been in the hundreds, if not thousands. Erivo herself wore four different wigs, but “there were loads of other wigs that we [braided] that were for doubles and her stunt person,” Dublin explains. “I lost count of all of them!” Fitting, given that there are more than 3,500 wigs in total on "Wicked."
Erivo also played a pivotal role in Elphaba’s final looks. One request was to keep her long nails, whose length changes throughout the films as Elphaba evolves. To keep continuity, technician Shea Osei created more than 35 sets of press-ons for Erivo to allow for quick changes between scenes. It was also Erivo who asked that Elphaba have micro braids to reflect herself in the character, which Dublin says will resonate with Black women who watch the film. “When we were younger, growing up, you would have a set day to have your hair done,” she says. “It’s a connecting and bonding time that most Black women would have felt in their lifetime, so micro braids have such a deep-rooted emotional connection to who we are.” Elphaba’s visible baby hair was also a request from Erivo.
The final hair looks we see on screen were created and styled by Erivo’s hairstylist Sim Camps, while Dublin and her team were on call for maintenance. “Say one of the braids got loose, then we would go in and wash it, put the braid back in, tidy up, and make sure that it was always ready for set,” she explains. When braiding, Dublin used a specific pintail comb—namely the Y.S. Park 112 Tail Comb in Carbon for its sharpness and precision. “We used Agor Edge Wax on Cynthia’s braids to keep the look clean, defined, and polished while still allowing the style to move naturally on camera.” As for the specific hairstyles, Camps shared on Instagram that she used The Doux’s Mousse Def Texture Foam and Crazy Sexy Curl Honey Setting Foam to give the styles structure and definition. Then, she applied Wetline Xtreme Gel with Spectrum makeup brushes “to create clean, sculpted edges”.
Throughout both films, changes in Elphaba’s hair also reflect her character development. Not only are her knotless microbraids braids in the opening scene of "For Good" strikingly looser and freer compared to the previous film—Dublin notes the team wanted that difference between the two movies—they also become noticeably curlier and more undone as the story progresses. Hannon has also explained that both Elphaba and Glinda’s hair is darker in the second film, one of the ways the time jump is subtly signalled to viewers. "The [lighter] brown softened young Elphaba’s face,” she told Allure. “But by going darker and paler, it made them much stronger [visually and emotionally]."
All of these details, big and small, come together to build Erivo’s incredible, layered portrayal of a beloved Broadway character and to draw us into the magic. And with hints that there could be future projects within the "Wicked" universe, who knows? "For Good" may not be the last we see of this Elphaba and her magnificent micro braids.
