See How Hard SNL Has to Work to Turn Melissa McCarthy Into Sean Spicer

Saturday Night Live probably has the best hair and makeup department in the network TV business. Last night they brought out Melissa McCarthy as press secretary Sean Spicer, and the look was pretty spot on.

But how do they nail the look of famous celebrities and politicians? Well, there’s a video for that. Take a look inside, as the makeup department head Louie Zakarian and hair designer Jodi Mancuso discuss how they wrangle all that hair into shapes that transform the likes of Alec Baldwin into Donald Trump and McCarthy into Spicer.

According to Zakarian, it takes up to 50 hours just to make one wig and a boatload of research to nail that signature Trumpiain quaff. “Your whole method is to really try to make that person look like them,” says Mancuso. “Even if I’m styling a wig or if Louie is doing the makeup, you have this little trial of just shaping something so it gives the same silhouette as the person.”

SNL of course has been known for its makeup and prosthetics since the ’70s, with legendary characters like the Coneheads, John Belushi as a jack-of-all-trades samurai, and Eddie Murphy in whiteface.

SNL is now in its 42nd season.

Related: Ariana Grande Had a Wardrobe Malfunction While Hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.