‘The Young and the Restless’: Do Actors Do Their Own Hair and Makeup?
One of the best things about watching a soap opera is seeing how glamorous the cast members look. While it isn’t exactly realistic to see a beautiful woman waking up with perfect hair and a full face of makeup, it’s important to remember that our favorite shows aren’t grounded in reality.
Getting transformed into a new character in the makeup chair seems like a lot of fun. But in recent years, the cast of The Young and the Restless, in particular, has faced criticism from fans regarding the cast’s hair and makeup.
With rumors floating that the show faces budget cuts, people wonder if that might have something to do with it. But the answer is actually a bit more complex.
Soap stars typically do not do their own hair and makeup
Standing under the bright lights of the stage and behind the cameras can make anyone look different. That’s why it’s important to hire a professional team of wardrobe stylists, hair stylists, and makeup artists. This way, the stars will look fresh-faced and glamorous under the stage lights instead of washed out.
Of course, hiring professionals isn’t cheap. Movie makeup artists can easily earn six figures in Hollywood, reports Pocket Sense. So employing an entire team is definitely costly. That being said, most will agree it’s well worth the investment.
COVID-19 protocols changed everything in 2020
When COVID-19 hit the USA, production on all shows came to a halt for a while. When The Young and the Restless resumed filming in the summer of 2020, eagle-eyed fans noticed the cast looked different. That’s because everyone was doing their own hair and makeup because of COVID protocols.
Y&R wasn’t the only soap to make this decision. Many daytime actors decided to forego the makeup chair and provide their own wardrobe so as not to put themselves or others at risk of spreading the virus. However, The Young and the Restless cast seemed to have the most noticeable changes. Soap fan Cheryl E. Preston wrote:
“The soap that, in my opinion, had characters with the more notable changes was The Young and the Restless. All the women’s faces were less made up and most of them had their hair parted down the center rather than any particular style.
I detected that no one wore a lot of mascara or used false lashes. Ashleys’s tresses were very blonde and thin and a little shorter than usual. It was not evident, however, whether or not she was wearing a wig.”
Preston did note that Nikki Newman was obviously wearing a wig, and she wasn’t the only one to spot it. Other publications, like Distractify, also commented on the obvious wig, calling it a drastic change from her prior hair.
This was also due to COVID-19 protocols, as actor Melody Thomas Scott chose to wear a wig instead of styling her own hair.
‘The Young and the Restless’ gets back to normal
COVID protocols aren’t what they used to be on soap sets. Everything appears to be back to normal, with the cast getting their hair and makeup done professionally. Still, with budget cuts on the horizon, we can’t help but wonder if they’ll go back to how things were in 2020 — and how they would be received if they did.
