Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO
The hair game
Game of Thrones has some appropriately epic wigs. According to Kevin Alexander, a hair designer on the show, here’s what it took to maintain Cersei’s long blonde wig before her haircut. First, the wig did not have any chemical processing and is sourced from human hair. The wig maker then individually knotted strands onto a lace cap, and at night, the wig goes on a custom block shaped like Lena Headey’s head. By 2015, he was using two wigs.
And it shows in Cersei’s lustrous golden locks, which are elaborately styled in King’s Landing-style braids that happen to look vaguely like crowns. Hmm. We wonder why. (Hint: it’s symbolism. Very much symbolism.)
Anyway, Cersei’s hair actually does play a role in telling us about her character. It’s well-maintained and well-styled, because here’s one woman who cares about her looks. Others mimic her hairstyles, like Sansa Stark and Margaery Tyrell, which has to simultaneously make Cersei proud and also annoy her because of the younger, maybe-prettier women copying her.
Even when it gets chopped off, she manages to make it work in seasons 6, 7, and 8. In fact, it could easily symbolize Cersei’s transition into not just the queen consort, but the queen regnant. No more men to hide behind. Just her, with short, boyish hair.