If you’ve seen the new film Missing, aka the sequel to Searching, you probably noticed the *incredible* braids that June, played by Storm Reid, rocks throughout the film.
But unlike June, Storm Reid definitely did *not* wake up like that. In fact, Storm’s wig took weeks to create.
In an exclusive interview with Hair Department Head Justi Embree, we found out just how much work went on behind the scenes to create Storm’s look. Justi told us,
“The process of the wig, of creating the June wig, was first started by obviously obtaining Storm’s measurements. A wig was constructed. It was a partial front lace wig, in this case. First, it was colored. We used a little bit of Redken’s EQ Shade just to give it a gloss and a shine before we started the process of braiding it.”
She continued,
“You know, that is a very tedious process to make it look natural and to make it look like natural parts. So, there is quite a bit of customization that goes into creating a wig of that type.”
Justi explained that, once the wig was colored, the team then went about adding in synthetic hair pieces and braiding each piece by hand.
“It’s a long process. You know, it takes a minute. Just that process alone from the wig being established to the finished look could take a few weeks.”
The final hairstyle is a labor of love with input from the directors as well as the actresses. Justi said,
“It is definitely a collaborative process. The directors come with an idea. They know what they want. And it’s my privilege to get to try to figure out how that’s going to take place in a way that’s comfortable for the person who’s wearing it, the actor or actress who’s wearing it.”
She added,
“[The actresses] have input. They have to wear it. So it’s important that their needs, their concerns, are taken into consideration. First and foremost, they’re first.”
At the end of the day, Justi wants to make sure that Storm and her co-stars felt comfortable on set and beautiful on screen.
“I mean, we all want to look pretty, feel pretty. Imagine you’re on a big screen. You’re definitely going to want to be your best you.”
Missing stars Storm Reid (Euphoria), Nia Long (Big Momma’s House), and Megan Suri (Never Have I Ever). Make sure you catch Missing in theaters now.
Reporting by Pooja Shah
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