Abbott Elementary’s Lead Hairstylist Had Over 100 Wigs Ready on Set at All Times

Janine Teagues is everyone’s favorite bubbly (and at times, overzealous) teacher, and her hair fully reflects that. Frazier explains that Quinta Brunson, the show’s creator who also plays Jeanine, wanted the character’s hair to be an unspoken part of her identity as a young teacher whose main motive is her students’ wellbeing. “’ I don’t really care what I look like,’” is how Frazier describes Janine’s point of view in the first season before Jeanine had really settled into her role at the school. “‘I’m here to teach these kids. My hair is not important, my clothes are not important.’”

At the start of the second season, however, Janine has just broken up with her boyfriend of more than 10 years and is figuring out how to navigate that. As part of the process, she starts making ever-so-slight changes to her hair. “[Brunson] wanted to still be Janine but be more aware of her hair and taking care of it this season,” Frazier says “So she started by changing her part because after any breakup, what’s the first thing we do? Try to do more things to get ourselves together, do a little pick-me-up, that kind of thing.” The hairstylist adds that she and Brunson wanted to put more emphasis on Janine’s curls and make them “pop” in season two to show that the character is putting more effort into her appearance post-breakup. 

Janine’s curls, as natural as they look, actually come courtesy of full lace wigs. “She has two full lace wigs that I hand-made and constructed,” Frazier says. 

For all the actors who wear wigs, Frazier pre-styles the wigs a day before installation to maximize the amount of time she has to perfect the details while on set. “At the end of a workday, I wet Janine’s wig and brush it through after applying some Nairobi mousse to define the curls,” says the stylist. The next day on set, Frazier braids Brunson’s hair into cornrows to prioritize hair health. She also applies her hair-care brand’s Moisture Lock cream between Brunson’s roots. 

Oftentimes Brunson and the show’s other actors will keep the cornrows in for the duration of filming, so all there’s left to do each day is put on the wig. “I put a wig cap on her that matches her skin tone, then I spray my Lace Lock melting spray on [the perimeter of her hairline], and I do maybe one or two coats of the Lace Lock [over the entire cap] and let that dry,” Frazier explains. “I spray on a third coat and put the wig on while the Lace Lock is a bit tacky and let it dry while the wig is on to keep it secure throughout the day.” Frazier uses water to dissolve the glue to remove the wig once filming is complete. 

Barbara