The Hair and Makeup in

02.12.2025, 18:42 allure.com

In The Scenario, reporter Kirbie Johnson takes readers behind the scenes of the buzziest movies and TV shows to reveal how the best wigs, special effects makeup, and more are created. For this edition, Johnson spoke with Frances Hannon, the award-winning makeup and hair designer of Wicked: For Good. As you might guess, spoilers ahead.

It’s been a year since I first spoke with Frances Hannon, the Oscar and BAFTA award-winning hair and makeup designer who had a large undertaking with the Wicked films: Not only did she have to create believable green skin on Cynthia Erivo, transform Ariana Grande from a pop star into a Glinda the Good, and outfit hundreds of extras in Oz and Munchkinland—she had to depict growth in both lead characters while filming the two separate movies simultaneously (sometimes they’d even film scenes from the first movie the same day as scenes from the second).

Last year, we discussed the numerous prosthetic ears used on set, the thousands of wigs donned by the cast, and the choice to put the movie’s star in microbraids; this year, Hannon finally shared the details behind the hair and makeup of the fim franchise’s second installment, Wicked: For Good—including how she worked with award-winning prosthetics artist Mark Coulier to transform actors Jonathan Bailey and Ethan Slater into the Scarecrow and Tin Man, the subtle but impactful changes made to Elphaba and Glinda’s hair, and the choices behind Glinda’s makeup, about which the internet has had some strong feelings—as so many do.

But doing makeup on a movie set like this one isn’t nearly the same as getting a celebrity ready for a photoshoot or red carpet appearance. “Somebody might watch and say, just an example, ‘Those eyelashes are too strong. Why has that been chosen?’ Or ‘Those nails!’ or ‘The shape of his hair!’” Hannon says. She emphasizes that those viewing the film may not consider or understand how many time constraints artists face on set when accounting for different storylines and collaboration among numerous departments (hair, costume, set design, the producer, and the director, to name a few). “It is the combination of all your thoughts, and often that can bring restrictions as well. For example, with Elphaba wearing a big black hat and a big black cloak, you have to think about what you're doing around her face, to leave her to perform and to leave the audience able to be attached to her.”

Hannon said she hopes that once people understand all the elements that come into play with designing a film of this magnitude, it will bring clarity to the questions or critiques they may have and encourage them to go see the film again. “Nothing was by default. Everything was [by] design.”

Time jumps forward from the first film to the second. It’s nothing extreme, but they do progress from college students to adults who’ve adopted their respective roles of Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch. This meant the makeup department had to rely on subtle visual cues in the makeup and hairstyling to depict those time changes rather than aging them up and down in more traditional ways.

Older Elphaba was given longer, “freer” hair in For Good to depict her newfound strength, as opposed to the contained, polished updos she wore at Shiz in the first film. Erivo’s wigs were about eight to 12 inches longer compared to those in Wicked, and while the hair team decided to make them a little darker, they still opted not to give her black hair. “It didn't suit Cynthia and didn't suit our Elphaba either, with the very dark clothes in the hat, so we kept brown in there,” Hannon says.

Older Glinda’s wigs were also longer but paler in color—interesting given her role in this film: someone who loses a lot of things: her integrity, her best friend, her love. “The gold softened young Glinda's face, and the [lighter] brown softened young Elphaba’s face,” Hannon says. “But by going darker and paler, it made them much stronger [visually and emotionally]. We complemented it with the makeup. For Ari, we really went much stronger around the eyes.”

Speaking of eyes, I asked Hannon about “lashstrip-gate,” which she says she has not read into. On TikTok, people are obsessed with the fact that they can tell Glinda is wearing strip lashes versus clusters or individuals. Some even say her lashes “took them out” of the film (a film in which animals talk, the protagonist is green, and people randomly break into song to convey their feelings, but sure).

“With the lashes, my intention was, and I think it really worked…It brought her [eyes] forward and gave her a maturity with the paler hair,” Hannon says. “It’s a subtle change, but you really feel that there is something much more grown-up about her. We didn't go for big, strong eye makeup, shapes, or colors. The real change was in the strength of the lashes and the depth of the eyes.”

Using stronger eyeliner or eye shadow to shape the eyes wouldn’t have fit with the classic aesthetic of the films, Hannon adds, which is why she chose to emphasize the lashes specifically. “By staying with soft and muted colors, with a subtle brow and not making it very arched, I hope [the timeless quality is] what comes through.”

Boq may get limited screen time in the grand scheme of the franchise, but he makes a big impact in For Good. His transformation into the Tin Man isn’t his only one. Boq’s look is constantly evolving from his first appearance on-screen in Wicked. From a munchkin student at Shiz yearning for Glinda to ultimately taking his chances with Nessarose, his dark side does not become apparent until the second film.

“[Boq initially] is freedom and happiness and vulnerability, and [that’s depicted] with his red hair all over the place. Then, when he's being controlled by Nessarose and he's in a uniform and he's a prisoner, his hair is very contained,” Hannon says. “The strength in the person is being controlled, and that shows within the hair and the uniform. When he's trying to get to the station and get free, he takes off his hat, and he ruffles all his hair, and he's finding himself again. But it didn't last for long.”

After telling Nessarose he’s off to declare his love for Glinda, she takes matters into her own hands, casting a spell—unaware that instead of making him love her, he’d end up without a heart altogether. His heart begins to shrink, and Elphaba saves him by transforming him into, of course, tin. What’s left of Boq is a man made of metal, built from pieces from Nessarose’s office that fastened to him during Elphie’s live-saving spell: a kettle spout for a nose, serving tray handles for ears, thimbles for fingertips.

Hannon worked with Coulier, who co-designed and made all the prosthetic pieces for Tin Man, to ensure Slater could still emote without the prosthetics overtaking his performance. “Even with the cheekbones and the angles that had to be there—it was certainly a nod to our previous Tin Man [from The Wizard of Oz] in life, but you can still see Ethan's jawline move, even though he's got the ‘metal’ around there,” said Hannon. Later in the film, he’s shown with rust stains on his face to imply that he’d been crying.

Hannon and Coulier used eight handmade pieces to create Slater’s final look, plus the funnel hat, which was 3D-sculpted. “His little fingers were all made by the costume makers,” Hannon says. “They had little thimbles and salt and pepper pots and all that.” Slater also wore custom contact lenses and teeth as the Tin Man.

In an attempt to protect Fiyero from the royal guards who end up killing him, Elphaba casts a spell that ultimately prohibits him from enduring any harm—it doesn’t prevent his death but instead brings him back to life as Scarecrow. His look pays homage to the original Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz with burlap face makeup, but instead of a hat, For Good’s Scarecrow has straw-like hair.

Hannon and Coulier used six prosthetics on his face, plus a couple of hand prosthetics that Coulier made into gloves. To mimic the texture of burlap on his skin, small hairs were sewn into each prosthetic and flocked on top. “The stubble that Fiyero has [as a human] is carried through in that texture,” Hannon says. “And you can really see the texture in that shot with Elphaba, and the light shines through onto the side of his face. Next time you see it, you'll see all the little hairs and the gathering down the side where the sacking is drawn tight around his neck.” Hannon says Scarecrow’s straw eyebrows were also hand-punched into the prosthetic versus applying separate hairpieces on top.

For Scarecrow’s wig, which mimics Fiyero’s human hair, Coulier 3D printed prosthetic sheets of wheat, barley, and oats for Hannon to incorporate. “I had very little hair put in the wig and added all the prosthetics to give the natural blend from the face and the coloring into the hair,” Hannon says. “It gave the wig some substance, some integrity.”

The audience gets a good look at Boq as the Tin Man throughout the second film, clocking his silver eyes and teeth. Fiyero’s transformed look as the Scarecrow, however, is kept offscreen until a big reveal at the end of the film. And even then, with the lighting of his big scene, he still seems obscured. Watching it as someone who appreciates special effects makeup, I was yearning for a closer look I never got—and Hannon says that was the goal.

“It was a definite choice to keep them under wraps. [Jon M. Chu] kept Scarecrow [hidden] for that moment with Elphaba, that realization of their recognition of each other, and that love that went deeper than the way he looked I thought it was a perfect moment. I'm looking forward to Wicked 3 where we can really see them much better,” Hannon jokes.

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