SOUTH PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Chewbacca has more hair. But when it comes to making the most of the hair she has, no one in the galaxy beats Princess Leia.
When "Star Wars" came out in 1977, audiences had never seen anything like it before -- the aliens, the robots, the spaceships...and yes, the hairdo. Leia's unique coiffure might best be described as resembling two giant cinnamon rolls stuck over each of her ears. Through a confident performance by Carrie Fisher, the side-buns became iconic.
Leia changed her style in later movies, but more than 40 years later, her first look is the one that fans tend to imitate at Halloween and sci-fi conventions. The hairdo may even turn up at theaters this Friday at the premiere of the newest chapter in the franchise, "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
Don't expect to see Princess Leia on the screen. The movie follows the adventures of Han Solo in his younger years, before he joined the Rebellion and met the love of his life. To make up for her absence, the "Star Wars" fans at NEWS CENTER Maine recruited Lindsey Mills to channel the role.
Lindsey could have chosen the easy route for her coronation as intergalactic royalty. Costume stores sell Princess Leia wigs and headbands with buns attached to either end. But just as Leia was willing to lay down her life to stop the Empire, Lindsey made the decision to put her natural hair on the line. That is no small risk considering she still needed to look professional to anchor NEWS CENTER NOW at 5 p.m. later that day. Whom could she trust with such a delicate mission?
Help us, Coco Cheveux. You're our only hope!
The salon in South Portland is already familiar territory for NEWS CENTER Maine anchors thanks to the discount it provides for haircuts. But even the reduced rate was waived completely for the chance to bring out Lindsey's inner princess. Out of the team of stylists, Dawn DuDeVoire-Wood accepted the challenge.
Dawn regularly fields requests to recreate famous haircuts, although this was her first attempt at Princess Leia. Lindsey's appointment was booked two days in advance. Dawn said extra time is appreciated to build a strategy for special requests. Her preparation involves checking photo references of both her client and the haircut they want.
Lindsey typically wears her hair in a straight cut that falls several inches below her shoulders. To form buns as big as Princess Leia's, you'd need hair down to your waist. But in the words of Yoda, "Size matters not." Whatever Lindsey's buns lacked in sheer mass, she more than recouped in rebellious attitude.
Once she sat in the chair, Dawn set to work parting her hair down the middle using her nose as a guide. Dawn next gathered up each side into matching ponytails with a simple elastic band. Instead of tying them off in the usual location toward the back of Lindsey's head, Dawn set the ponytails directly above each of her ears.
With a twist and curl, Dawn wound up first one ponytail and then the other into a tight pair of buns. Hairpins held together the bulk of the coil, and a good spritz of hairspray discouraged any strays from bursting loose. The entire process took only about 10 minutes. Even Han Solo couldn't fly the Kessel Run that fast.
Seeing Princess Leia staring back at you in the mirror is enough to make anyone feel like a kid again. That's not just a metaphor for Lindsey. At seven-years-old, she dressed up as Princess Leia for a birthday party. Both then and now, the results couldn't be more perfect if John Williams's music was playing in the background.
