Rihanna’s hairstylist reveals why she asked to wear dreadlocks for Ocean’s 8
Cinemagoers will have the opportunity to witness Rihanna in action as the tech-savvy “Nine Ball” when Ocean’s 8 is released on June 8.
The singer’s choice of hairstyle was particularly integral to who she wanted her character to be.
Rihanna’s hairstylist Yusef Williams explained why it was so significant for Nine Ball to wear her hair in dreadlocks during the heist film.
According to Williams, Rihanna felt strongly about being representative of her Caribbean roots. ‘Her locks would maintain that tie to Africa,’ he told Refinery29.
‘She’d keep her accent. She wasn’t just going to be some American girl in this movie. Nine Ball is still a Caribbean girl that just happens to be in America.’
© yusefhairnyc/Instagram
Williams stated that their aim was for Nine Ball to be ‘cool, chill and very minimal.’
‘When people have locs, it’s kind of like their crown,’ Williams said. ‘It’s their pride and joy.
“It’s like a flower… you gotta nourish it and watch it grow. Hair played a really big part in who Nine Ball came to be.’
Williams and his team of assistants wanted Rihanna’s dreadlocks to have a loose, reggae look, using shea butter and black seed oil to maintain her hair’s strength.
The locs had to be thinned out during filming, as Rihanna’s own hair wouldn’t have been strong enough to carry the weight of it otherwise.
© badgalriri/Instagram
Williams explains, ‘She was given the equivalent of 12 years of locs overnight.’
‘It was probably the easiest style she’s ever had, since she got to be free and cool and see herself differently,’ he said.
‘She’s a huge pop star, and then we kind of stripped her down and gave her locs that we didn’t make super, super pretty. She made them glamorous when she wanted, and then super casual when she wanted.’
Williams has assured that Rihanna will wear her hair in dreadlocks again in future.
