‘Abbott Elementary’ Hair Dept. Head Moira Frazier & Makeup Dept. Head Constance Foe On Creating Janine’s New Look While Staying “True To The Character” – Production Value

“I do have a very, very fast turnaround in Hollywood,” says hair department head Moira Frazier. “I can do it in a day. Same-day hairlines for me.”

That level of skill was essential for this season, when the resolution of the cameras was upgraded to 8K. “I had to make sure that every wig that I ventilated was absolutely flawless,” she says. “Even with that in mind, for every guest cast that came onto our show, I made sure to ventilate a custom hairline. The reason being is because you can’t just put a regular lace on people… You actually have to use high quality, and I do use the highest quality.”

“Just like Moira, I was told 8K, and skin care is everything,” says makeup department head Constance Foe. “We really honed in on the skin care for all of our talent, because you can put makeup on, but if the skin isn’t together, it still doesn’t look right. We made sure that each and every talent had their own specific skin care… From there, we applied makeup to make it flawless, because again it was 8K cameras.”

Created by Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary is a mockumentary-style comedy that follows the lives of a group of teachers at a public elementary school in Philadelphia. Season three begins with Janine (Brunson) working at the school district, which allowed for Frazier and Foe to collaborate with Brunson on a new style.

“We want to make sure we stay true to the character, and true to the characteristics of that character,” says Frazier. “And typical Janine, she doesn’t really stray too far away from her look, but doing a part change is huge for her.” Brunson decided that Janine should have a middle part in her hair for this season, which Frazier says is a significant point of growth for her character. “Anybody who wears a buss down middle part in our culture, that means a lot – that means you’re sexy, you’re bold, you’re confident – and you gotta remember she just had a little rejection.”

With Janine changing her hair, Foe took the opportunity to redefine the makeup as well. “We went with more jewel tone eyeliners this season, instead of the regular browns and blacks,” she says. “She’s stepping out, she’s redefining herself. She’s now at the district, so we’ll do sapphires and emeralds and things to match what she has going on… She is now very cognizant of what she’s doing and making a statement.”

For both Frazier and Foe, the hair and makeup of this season track a journey of growth for Janine that happened just before season three began. “She just got this new role with the district, so hair is everything,” says Frazier. “That’s the first thing you notice, and that’s the first thing we change when we’re trying to find ourselves, or even define ourselves.”

Click the video above to watch the full interview.