How The ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ Team Brought The ‘70s To Life Through Hair Color

What really makes a rockstar? Plenty of media time and energy has centered about distinguishing between the real deal from those who just look the part — on and off-screen, the cast of Daisy Jones & The Six happen to be both. The female leads of Amazon’s new series based off the best-selling novel of the same name, seem right at home in fluttery ‘70s sleeves and glitter-soaked eye makeup, but the distinct, retro-inspired hair colors in Daisy Jones both drive home the era’s aesthetic and provide some fresh dye inspiration for viewers. With careful curation by MaryAnn Hennings, head of the Daisy Jones & The Six hair department, Riley Keogh, Suki Waterhouse, and Camila Marrone all channel their character’s personalities through haircuts, styles, and colors, not unlike their real-life rock counterparts with music.

Throughout the filming process, a sense of authenticity was top of mind for Hennings. Before a single scene was shot, she was digging deep into the ‘70s and consulting with the series’ stars on their interpretations of the characters. Judging by the frenzied anticipation long before before the first Daisy Jones episode aired March 3, the painstaking process paid off. Ahead, Hennings shares with TZR how she and the team nailed the show’s star-on-the-rise hair looks.

It All Starts With Stevie Nicks

It’s long been part of Daisy Jones lore that the original book and Amazon adaptation loosely depicts a Rumors-era Fleetwood Mac, with the titular Jones a Stevie Nicks-like frontwoman. She was also Henning’s jumping off point for inspiration when building out Keogh’s hair looks, while looking at other style icons for the rest of the cast. “For Camila [my inspiration] was Ali MacGraw, and for Karen [Waterhouse’s character] it was Brigitte Bardot for the ‘70s looks and Debbie Harry for the ‘90s. Of course, I made my own version of these looks in order to fit each individual’s hair type, face shape, and body type.”

For this project, though, Henning’s had a unique challenge. Not only did every character’s hair color, cut, and style need to look authentic to the individual and era, and read well on camera, it was crucial to do it all without interfering with that off-the-cuff glam part and parcel of a rockstar personality. “Creating the rockstar look is definitely different because rockstars have an effortless, extremely cool look that does not come without beauty tools, products, and color — it’s actually a lot more work!” she tells TZR. “We had to work to create a style that would make it through an entire concert where they walk on stage looking like rockstars and by the time they’re done, they’re soaking in sweat.” She even lists maintaining that continuity as her biggest challenge of the process.

Hair Color Can Really Say It All

Hennings says she decided on each hair color by taking into account the characters’ distinct personalities and motivations. In many cases, color alone can tell a novel’s worth of backstory. Take series romantic rivals Daisy and Camila, two polar opposite personalities. “Daisy is rough, tough, and confident. She is who she is, so I thought a nice, bright red sends the strong statement of ‘I’m here and I’m owning it.’” In stark contrast, Hennings intentionally wanted the reverse for Camila — “something that showed she’s a warm, loving, caring person,” she says. She settled on a warm, rich brown that adds radiance to Morrone’s complexion and suits the character’s clothing palette.

Finally, for bandmate Karen, a keyboardist who exudes cool, Hennings gave Waterhouse some bright blonde highlights for serious pop. “She’s quietly extremely trendy, so she would have the most up-to-date looks regarding color, cut, style, and clothes,” she says. “The frosty blonde color fits the mold for what she is — I can just see her sitting in front of her mirror to do her hair at home with Clairol.” Henning’s is spot-on with the historical accuracy here, too. Introduced in the ‘70s, plenty of real-life Daisys did rely on the brand for standout color, part of why Clairol and the cast just partnered on a campaign playing homage to their vintage ads.

How To Get The ‘70s Look

Hair and makeup looks from the ‘70s have enjoyed a serious resurgence in the past few years, but the next big up-and-coming trend might just be color. “When I think of the ‘70s, I immediately think of thick, frosty blonde highlights. Today, it’s almost the opposite, and we tend to see a darker color at the roots and lighter color at the ends, with gloss over it for a glam look.” She predicts the colors seen on the Daisy Jones & The Six characters come back into vogue, in large part thanks to the show itself.

The rockstar aesthetic starts right at the hair roots. Shop the essentials for getting the retro colors beloved by your favorite fictional celebrities just below.