Megan McLachlan talks to GLOW’s head hairstylist Theraesa Rivers and head makeup artist Lana Horochowski about their Emmy-nominated episode “The Good Twin.”
In Season 2 of GLOW on Netflix, we finally get to see what a show-within-a-show GLOW episode looks like in the form of “The Good Twin,” which introduces us to Olga, Zoya’s sister and title reference (both played brilliantly by Alison Brie).
The episode might be the riskiest of the series, but it pays off by not only giving us a look at what these ladies have been working on for nearly two seasons, but also by showing us that their work is actually pretty funny and entertaining.
I had the chance to chat with the Emmy-nominated hair and makeup team members, Theraesa Rivers and Lana Horochowski, behind the episode, who give us behind-the-scenes details of how they achieved five key looks from the episode.
How They Created Olga
It’s no coincidence that Olga has a famous American athlete’s ‘do.
“It’s supposed to a spin on the Dorothy Hamill haircut,” says Rivers. “It is a knock-off.”
“There were so many discussions about that,” offers Horochowski. “At first, we were just going to make [Olga] look like Zoya. We thought, ‘She should just have the same makeup as Zoya.’ Then, we thought, maybe that would be confusing. We went backwards and made it the opposite. She really wore no makeup and we just put that mole on her and that ridiculous wig, which actually ended up being way funnier than what we originally thought. She [Alison] is so funny, she’s just such a funny person, that all you really had to do is put on the mole and she did the rest for us.”
The Dance Sequence Between Beirut and Yolanda
Beirut (Sunita Mani) and Yolanda (Shakira Barrera) channel some serious Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds vibes in this scene that utilizes a wind machine.
“It was a very touching scene to watch being filmed,” says Rivers. “Both of them dance so beautifully. We used a lot of hairspray—teasing and hairspray and teasing the hair together to get it to stay. Then we shellack it so it can hold up to a high-powered fan or tornado or wrestling.”
The Mysterious Beauty, Black Magic
Cherry Bang (Sydelle Noelle) returns to the ring as Black Magic, serving a new, inspired look (and some powder to the face of her opponents).
“The episode before, we get her backstory, but this is the first time we see her fully in her new get-up,” says Horochowski. “Just like every other person on this show, it’s a total collaboration between Beth Morgan (costumes) and Theraesa. We sit down together and Beth will show us a costume idea inspiration and then it blossoms from there. We talked about the bones on her, maybe we should do some sort of tribal look. Once we saw the color palettes, everything came together. It was a lot of trial and error, meetings and conversations, but between those two ladies and I, we fully collaborate on every single look you see.”
Lois Daly’s Hair is Real
One of the funniest moments of the episode is the fake commercial for Quilting Bee Easy, starring Lois Daly (Bonnie Hellman) and Joan Hannaford-Hobbs (Ren Hanami).
“That was her real hair,” says Rivers of Lois’s tresses. “There are a lot of tricks that we have. We do a lot of research with movies, television, and music videos, high school yearbooks, Time magazines from the ’80s and that’s where we get our inspiration from: real-life people and what was really happening during that time.”
Keeping that Sweat-Filled Glow
When it comes to hair and makeup, GLOW offers a different type of challenge with touch-ups since the actresses are wrestling in the ring. Plus, these actresses on the show-within-a-show are not professional makeup artists, which adds a layer to their approach.
“The hardest part of the show is making everything seem a little more homemade and less professionally done,” says Horochowski. “It’s always tricky. [The GLOW team] really does consider us when they shoot this show, which is so nice. If they can get the closeups first, when they look the best, they do. And then they always try to do it where if something smears, it can be left. If they’re sweating, they can stay sweating.”
Season 1, 2, and 3 of GLOW are streaming on Netflix.
