The makeup and hair team behind *The Shards* pulled from period-accurate tools and products to rebuild the glossy, high-volume styles of the 1980s. Department head Valerie Jackson led the effort, focusing on authenticity over modern convenience. The result is a visual time capsule that anchors the show’s moody, elite Southern California setting.
Jackson’s team used vintage styling techniques to craft the distinct looks for Ivy Wolk, Kaia Gerber, and Homer Gere. Each character required a tailored approach, reflecting their social standing and personal insecurities. Hair became a storytelling device, signaling privilege, rebellion, or vulnerability without a single line of dialogue.
The products chosen were not modern formulations. Instead, the team sourced older-generation mousses, gels, and hairsprays to achieve the right stiffness and sheen. These items behaved differently than today’s formulas, producing the crunchy, sculpted textures that defined the era.
Tools also played a critical role in the recreation. Hot rollers, crimping irons, and round brushes were used to build volume at the crown and create the feathery, layered ends popular in Los Angeles at the time. The team avoided flat irons entirely, relying on heat techniques that encourage natural movement.
The focus on detail extended to every scene, from classroom moments to late-night parties. Jackson’s background in film and television informed the decision to keep hairstyles slightly imperfect. Intentionally placed flyaways and uneven part lines helped ground the characters in realism, avoiding an overly polished look.
Wolk’s character, for instance, wore looser waves meant to appear effortlessly carefree, yet the execution required precise pinning and setting. Gerber’s look leaned sleeker with more defined bends, reflecting a character used to being watched. Gere’s styling, by contrast, favored a more laid-back texture, reinforcing his character’s countercultural edge.
The attention to period detail extended to the dailies, where the team tracked continuity across takes. Each re-set involved reapplying product and overheated rollers to maintain exact curl patterns. Jackson noted that the vintage gear was less forgiving, but the team embraced the challenge for the sake of immersion.
Viewers may not notice every technique employed, but the cumulative effort builds a convincing world. The hairstyles do not distract or scream for attention. Instead, they quietly reinforce the show’s tension, class dynamics, and simmering danger.
