Brigitte Bardot‘s beehive. Elvis’ pompadour. Jennifer Aniston’s “The Rachel.” The most dynamic hair moments just sort of roll off the tongue. And, while Friends may have premiered a good 30-plus years ago, the iconic styles will undoubtedly hold on tight to their place in history.
The one-man show responsible for cementing it: Celebrity stylist Chris McMillan. While McMillan is best known for being Aniston’s go-to hair guru nowadays, as the stylist himself told us, he was responsible for pretty much all the stars’ strands on set.
“I did everyone’s hair on Friends—except Lisa’s,” shares McMillan, who can clearly recall the show’s behind-the-scenes moments, down to the tiniest detail. “So first, I would do Jennifer’s hair and she would get her hair blown out and then go into makeup. Then, I would do Courteney’s hair, and after that, I’d do Matt, David and Matthew. For David, I would just trim and clean up his hair, but he would always do his own products and style his hair.”
The Heros
Besides giving a life-changing cut and blowout, McMillan also has a darn good memory of the most minute hair moments from Friends. “For Jennifer, some of the hair go-to’s were a round brush for blow drying, Laminates Hairspray by Sebastian and a flatiron. I would use Phyto Volumizing Styling Spray ($18) on Jennifer’s roots to get [a] lift. I also used a hair oil, like Kérastase Oleo-Relax Hair Oil ($42), on the ends of her hair before we blow-dried to keep it from getting frizzy. Then, I’d mix that anti-frizz oil with a paste, like Shu Uemura Ishi Sculpt Texturizing & Sculpting Hair Paste ($46), and that mixture ended up inspiring Jennifer’s Lolavie Sculpting Paste ($29) product later on.”
For Courteney Cox, McMillan says the secret to Monica’s look was one specific spray. “I typically used a salt spray, like Bumble & Bumble Surf Sea Salt Spray ($35). And, on the boys, I also used the Shu Uemura Sculpting Paste. I remember using Murray’s Wax ($14) for David Schwimmer’s hair, too.”
Laugh Track
While the show itself was funny, McMillan says there’s one inside joke that stood out. “One really fun moment and memory from the show was when I wore a T-shirt that said ‘Save The Drama For Your Mama’ with lips on it. Jennifer said she loved the shirt, so we got her one and she ended up wearing it on the show.”
Hand Hack
Not surprisingly, McMillan says Aniston and he always “worked together during glam,” and calls it a team effort. “Whenever we would do her hair up, I would give her a clip and she would twist it and put it up in a bun, and then I would go in and refine it. Another moment during glam I remember is when I would flat iron and spray her hair, she would put her hand in between her face and the front part of her hair so it would give a slight bend to her hair to not hang down straight. It was always a collaboration between us.”
The Rachel, Revised
McMillan doesn’t have one favorite Friends’ hairstyle because “it was always fun to do Jennifer’s hair,” but points to one misconception: “It’s funny because people say Jennifer wore her hair the same during the show, but if you look at the evolution, it’s been so different over the years. I think Rachel’s hair was a seamless transition over all the seasons of Friends.”
“But two fun hair looks I’ve always loved are the two braids we did for the Thanksgiving football episode, and the pigtails she wore in the episode when she gave birth to Emma. I loved those hairstyles because they’re looks that Jennifer herself wouldn’t typically do, but they were very characteristic of Rachel.”
Vacation Vibes
“We never really did hard hairstyles because that wasn’t the vibe of Rachel’s character. Rachel’s hair always looked easy and relatable,” recalls McMillan. “The hardest hairstyle I actually ever did was the Barbados episode when Courteney/Monica had her hair super frizzy and then got her hair braided with the seashells!”
Layer Game
McMillan says the year 2024 is definitely seeing haircuts that are resurgences of popular hair looks from the ’90s. “For example, we’re seeing a lot of the clavicle-length cut right now, which is a long-layered, collarbone-length bob and basically the comeback of The Rachel cut.”
