Quinta Brunson, head of the hair department at ‘Abbott Elementary’ on Halloween

Even before the new season of “Abbott Elementary” begins, showrunner, creator and star Quinta Brunson will sit down with the show’s head of hair, Moira Frazier, to discuss various hair changes that help take the characters to the next level.

Brunson explains: “It’s important to show the passage of time. We have something that I think is important for TV shows, where I want the characters to keep looking the same. I don’t want them to come in looking completely different.” She continues, “People need to be able to draw the silhouette of the characters, and they know who the characters are, and that includes the hair. So Moira will make adjustments.”

As part of her preparation, Frazier builds mood boards with ideas for each character at the beginning of each season. “I can say ‘yes or no’ and that sets them on the right path,” Brunson says. Their collaborative process is the key to improving the appearance of each character.

Brunson says, “The nice thing about Abbott is that I sit in Moira’s chair in the morning and get my hair done. That’s where we have our meetings and talk about the other characters’ looks.”

This season, Janine’s look remained consistent. “She is in a relationship and so there is consistency in her curls and hair pattern,” Frazier explains.

Brunson notes that Janine rocks a ponytail in one episode. “For Janine, going out is a different look. She believes her teacher look goes one way, which is the hair down, and going out means ponytail, and it’s funny because for some other people it might be the exact opposite.”

As Brunson returns to the writers’ room with Frazier for Season 6, the pair looks back on the highlights of Season 5.

Barbara’s Wet Picture Day look

Frazier explains, “I got a wig – and remember that Barbara’s character in my mind has hair relaxers. I didn’t want her hair to get wet and then turn into an Afro style. So we went with a wave pattern. To achieve that, I just wet it and added a gel mixture with water to give it the ‘I just came out of the rain’ look.”

Brunson adds, “The gel part is interesting because on screen it can look like she just got her hair wet. But that’s TV magic: vMoira used the gel to keep the look consistent through multiple takes of multiple scenes. We had conversations like, ‘When is it less wet?'” She emphasizes how important it is for Frazier to track the episode’s progress, as scenes are filmed out of order.

Ava’s Halloween look

This season’s Halloween episode was shot outdoors during a camping trip with the kids, instead of on soundstages at Warner Bros. When Ava takes off her Darth Maul mask, the wig underneath had to look identical to the character’s usual look. However, Frazier had to use two wigs to achieve this effect.

Brunson says, “The makeup team chose not to paint Janelle James’ face. Because we were playing a character that was a combination of a Disney character and Darth Maul, we had to have an approved Disney look and an approved Darth Maul mask. There were horns sticking out of the mask.” She continues, “This made Moira’s job extra tough because the wig had to go over the horns of the mask, and the hair also had to match the character ‘Ma.'” Frazier recalls the behind-the-scenes testing: “The mask was huge and reached far back. That meant the bangs had to be long enough, so we actually made two different wigs: one wig that was short enough and accurate enough for Ma, and another that covered the mask while retaining the Darth Maul effect.”

Melissa’s April O’Neil look

Brunson explains that Ava is “really good at Halloween costumes, but everyone else – not so good.” Melissa’s April O’Neil costume didn’t have to be 100% accurate. “Moira pulled off several April O’Neil looks, and we chose the one that best suited Melissa’s era. Then it was about making it look good, but not too good — it had to feel like a makeshift Halloween costume. The hair had to look good, but not perfect, because no one really does it right like Ava,” says Brunson.

Frazier admits, “It’s always a challenge when Quinta says the costumes can’t be perfect. For Melissa’s look, we had to deconstruct the hair and put it up for the desired effect.”

“That was a braided wig on Tyler,” Frazier says of Gregory, played by Tyler James Williams.

Brunson adds, “We wanted it to look like a store-bought wig that Janine braided, and not exactly like Ryan Coogler’s real hair. The same principle was applied to the mustache, which was covered by the makeup. I told them, ‘I don’t want it to look too polished. I want it to feel like a store-bought mustache slapped on its face.’ Those details are important.”

Melissa’s 80s look

Lisa Ann Walter came in with ’80s references for Melissa’s look. Brunson explains, “Melissa as a character already has curly, big hair – it’s not straight. So for her ’80s look we had to go bigger, but not overly so.”

Frazier notes that the idea of ​​using crimps came up. “If it got too big for her, she would have looked like ‘Grease’.” She adds that at one point she didn’t know what Melissa’s outfit looked like. “When we went from teasing to curling the hair, that sold the ’80s look.”

Ava’s Mall look

This was one of Frazier’s favorite looks. “We see Ava in her new relationship. She doesn’t show up with loud hairstyles and colors like in season 1. This season she is calm, cool and collected. That specific color choice and the overall vibe of her look were perfect for Ava,” says Frazier.

Brunson notes, “Ava is a character who has the most diversity in her hairstyles. But even with that, we want the audience to recognize her immediately. She gets to play with hair colors, light folds and different parts, and I’m always excited to see Ava’s hairstyles. There’s never been one where I’ve said, ‘I don’t like that.'”