Quinta Brunson and ‘Abbott Elementary’ Hair Department Head Break Down Halloween Looks, Melissa’s ’80s Hair and More

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

Brunson explains, “It’s important to show passage of time. We have this thing that I find to be important to TV shows, where I want the characters to continue to look the same. I don’t want them to come in with a totally different look.” She continues, “People should be able to draw the silhouette of the characters, and they know who the characters are, and that includes hair. So, Moira will bring modifications.”

As part of her prep, Frazier builds mood boards at the start of every season with ideas for each character. “I can say ‘Yes or no,’ and that sets them on the right path,” Brunson says. Their collaborative process is key to elevating the looks of each character.

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

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

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

As Brunson returns to the writers’ room for Season 6, together with Frazier, the pair look back at Season 5 highlights.

Barbara’s Wet Picture Day Look

Frazier explains, “I took 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. So, we opted for a wave pattern. To achieve that, I just wet it down and added a gel mixture with water to give it that ‘I just got out of the rain’ look.”

Brunson adds, “The gel part is interesting because, on screen, it can look like she just wet her hair. But that’s TV magicv—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 critical it is for Frazier to track the episode’s progression, as scenes are not filmed in order.

Ava’s Halloween Look

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

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

Melissa’s April O’Neil look

Brunson explains that Ava is “very good at Halloween costumes, but everybody else — not so much.” Melissa’s April O’Neil costume didn’t need to be 100% accurate. “Moira pulled different April O’Neil looks, and we chose the one that best matched the era for Melissa. Then it was about making it look good but not too good — it needed to feel like a makeshift Halloween costume. The hair had to look good, but not perfect, because no one really nails it like Ava,” Brunson says.

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

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

Brunson adds, “We wanted it to look like a store-bought wig that Janine braided, not exactly like Ryan Coogler’s real hair. The same principle applied to the mustache, which fell under 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 his face.’ Those details matter.”

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 needed to go bigger but not over the top.”

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

Ava’s Mall look

This was one of Frazier’s favorite looks. “We get to see Ava in her new relationship. She’s not showing up with loud hairstyles and colors like she did in Season 1. This season, she’s calm, cool, and collected. That particular color choice and the overall vibe of her look were perfect for Ava,” Frazier says.

Brunson notes, “Ava is a character that has the most diversity in her hairstyles. But even with that, we want audiences to instantly recognize her. She gets to play with hair colors, light crimps, 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.’”