So THIS Is Why Hair Looks So Flawless in Commercials

Trying to get commercial-model hair is nearly impossible. (Anyone who tried to grow out their bangs in the ’90s and push them to one side thinking that would make them look like Cindy Crawford in an Herbal Essences commercial knows this to be true).

So how the heck do they get their locks to look so perfect in the first place?

Thankfully, the BBC was just as curious, and on Monday night it solved the mystery. A documentary titled Hair Care Secrets dove into lots of myths about hair. The most fascinating segment of the episode involved recreating a hair ad and showing the viewers what it takes to make hair shine and flounce the way it does. In a nutshell, it involves a manipulating lighting, an invisible man, and a lot of extra hair.

First, a hair stylist explained how straightening the hair makes it like a “flat mirror” by increasing the surface area that reflects light. And why work with what you’ve got when you can have more? To create more surface area for even more shine, they added extensions, giving the model’s limp, shoulder-length hair the “swish factor” it didn’t have naturally. The stylist pointed out this was “all part of the illusion.”

Then there’s the lighting. A photography expert explained why they use trace frames — a white board that makes lights less harsh. “Above, we’ve got these fluorescent tubes which are firing through a trace frame. … The trace frame is diffusing it, but it’s also making it into a bigger source, so this will bring up the area of shine on the top of your head.” Genius.

Think that’s wild? Just you wait. They then put the model in front of a green screen, and had a staffer suit up in a matching leotard — the type they wear when using CGI in movies with loads of special effects — that covered everything from his feet to his face. Why would they need special effects in a simple shampoo commercial? Well, to get hair with that sort of shine, volume and bounce, it takes some high-tech filming.

They gave the green guy a green stick, which he used to flick and comb through her smooth hair, showing off its silkiness. Since he’s in front of a green screen, he and his matching stick can be eliminated in editing, so he becomes the invisible force behind her superhuman hair. He’s the secret weapon that answers the question you always ask yourself when watching a hair product commercial: “How is her hair moving on its own?!”

So there you have it. And you can move on with your life knowing that there’s nothing wrong with your hair because it doesn’t move on its own or shine blindingly.

Now, excuse us while we go search for our own personal hair flicker.

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