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Host 1
Mom.
Host 2
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Sarah Hinskall
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Host 3
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Host 4
Visit blue apron.com terms for more foreign.
Sarah Hinskall
Los angeles.
Host 5
Hi, kirby.
Host 3
Hi, sarah.
Host 5
Welcome to los angeles.
Host 3
All right, everybody. Glam's first guest episode of 2026. Today we have two time Emmy nominated hair designer from Denmark, known famously for her work on Stranger Things seasons one through five. Her other credits include I'm thinking of ending things with Jesse Plemons. You were never really here. With Joaquin Phoenix. And my personal favorite marriage story with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. Please welcome to Los Angeles, Sarah Hinskall.
Host 2
Okay, wait.
Host 3
And Sarah, I've known you for what, three, four years now? Since season four.
Sarah Hinskall
Was that when it started?
Host 3
Yeah. That's when you and I first connected. Do I say your last name correctly?
Sarah Hinskall
Hinskowl. Yeah, look at that. I'm not German. Nothing wrong with being German.
Host 3
We're thrilled to have you because, well, stranger things has come to an end according to most people. If you're chronically online, you may have heard of something called conformity gate.
Sarah Hinskall
Yes, I heard of it.
Host 3
Conformity gate. I. I was calling it conspiracy door because I couldn't remember what the term was that they were using for this thing apparently. So we're recording this on Sarah's birthday. Sarah Tan's birthday.
Host 5
Thank you. Thank you.
Host 3
January 6th. But apparently on January 7th tomorrow, there's going to be an announcement, an additional episode.
Host 1
No way.
Host 5
Okay.
Host 4
Can we read Sarah's body language? Are there any hints whatsoever?
Host 3
And this doesn't go live till Friday the 9th. So you have the opportunity to say yay or nay. And we can. We can talk about it or we don't have to.
Sarah Hinskall
I mean, I think this story has ended.
Host 4
Okay.
Host 3
Okay.
Host 5
Thank you. Yeah, see, there's just.
Host 4
With AI too, I just like don't know what's real anymore because I keep seeing these things and I was like, oh, there's going to be like 10 spots.
Host 5
Spin offs.
Host 3
I have something very serious to say that I think everyone should take to heart. And that is what you seek, you will find.
Host 5
Right.
Host 3
And I say that specifically to conspiracy theorists, because if you want.
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah.
Host 3
An extra episode of a beautifully wrapped up series, you can find the clues to kind of fulfill your premonition if you would like it to be real.
Host 4
Totally. The Internet is a crazy place, but it's done. We're done. It was beautiful.
Sarah Hinskall
I feel like it's hard for people to say goodbye, which was definitely hard for me to say goodbye. So I get it. You know, and I think you go through, like, different stages of grieving, and one of the stages of grieving might be denial.
Host 3
Yes.
Host 4
Beautifully said.
Sarah Hinskall
And anger. Yeah. And then hopefully we all come out on the other side and, you know, ready to live our lives again.
Host 3
Totally and truly, it is a grieving process for you. I mean, I know that this fan base is having a really hard time letting go of it, but you've been with the series since season one. For people that don't know, your significant other is Matt Duffer.
Sarah Hinskall
Yes.
Host 3
Okay. So, like, you're really in the thick of it. And this is also why Sarah has to be super careful with what she says, because even me posting about Purple Rain and, like, why that song was such a perf choice. You reposted it. And then I found on Reddit threads, people being like, Sarah reposted this theory that, like, the lyrics in Purple Rain, like, were really, like, what drove the. The storyline between. And that's not what my video said at all. You just simply liked the fact that I was covering.
Host 5
Ish.
Sarah Hinskall
I love the Purple Rain song. I thought it was a beautiful moment, I think, you know, I think the beautiful thing about Stranger Things is that it's quite sad, simple, and it's about friendships, it's about outcasts. And now it's about, you know, how we're wrapping it up, basically. And we. We have all been there, having to move on after we're done moving away from our hometowns, starting a brand new life. And. And I think it's really beautiful, but I don't think everybody has maybe gone through all of these steps yet. And that can be a little bit confusing.
Host 3
Yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
And I also get it. I mean, there's millions of things I would love to see these characters go through. Right. But at a certain point, we just have to say goodbye.
Host 5
Yeah, totally.
Host 4
Just you can rewatch all the seasons again and probably catch so many things that you didn't notice the first time.
Host 3
I'm doing that, actually.
Host 5
Right.
Host 3
I just started watching Season one again, Noah Schnapp.
Sarah Hinskall
Oh, my gosh.
Host 3
I cried at how cute he is. They're so small.
Sarah Hinskall
They're so tiny.
Host 3
I mean, all of every single one of them. I was like in tears when she first appears on screen because she's so freaking cute. But truly just an amazing cast. Casting deserves all the awards.
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah. Carmen is amazing. She's the godmother of our children.
Host 3
Oh, is she?
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah. We're really, really, really close to car. She is an amazing woman and she found all of these fantastic actors there's on the show.
Host 3
Okay, well, if you can believe it. We will have more stranger things questions later in this interview, but we want to talk about you because you have created some of the most amazing hair iconic wigs and I don't. I know I said this to you in a voice note. I know your IMDb page front to back. But I don't know much about your upbringing and your point of view on beauty. So let's get into it. Sarah. Let's ask Sarah the question.
Host 5
Yes.
Host 4
We need to know what is on your face. What are you currently obsessed with?
Sarah Hinskall
What is it called? It's called eight days.
Host 5
Oh, yes.
Host 4
Eight day skin.
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah. Love eight day skin. That is really good for me especially like when you're getting a little bit older. I really need to like soak it and layer up a lot of different creams and. And syrups on my skin.
Host 3
So it's the serum that you like?
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah, I love the serum. I can't use any of the other products. They make me break out for some reason.
Host 4
I'm using the cream right now because I. Everyone has been just saying how incredible these products are. So I just started using the cream. It is really thick. It is very heavy, but I like it.
Sarah Hinskall
So, yeah, I mean, I think it's just, you know, one product can work for you and the other one cannot. I love this serum. Works for me like a dream. And then I still swear by the good old school August bader cream. And I remember being younger, you know, and trying limar and like my skin would just break out. And I was like, who can put this thick stuff on their skin and why would you do it? And I'm like, oh, no, you need like something that can like, like soak it in. And then I'm obsessed with bulu research, biology.
Host 4
For share yes, yes, yes, yes.
Sarah Hinskall
And I have like their Vernix cream. I think that I will just slatter on at night and I will sleep at it like a mask.
Host 3
Well, I love how bougie you are. You're speaking our language.
Sarah Hinskall
We love a bougie product.
Host 4
Yes.
Sarah Hinskall
I mean, I feel. Yeah, I feel like otherwise it just gets really dry and if you used a wrong thick products, then you break out. Right. So it is like a balance of finding what products really work for you.
Host 3
Have you found any products through your makeup counterparts on set? Have they introduced you to anything?
Sarah Hinskall
No, I probably use more money on beauty than we have on Strange.
Host 3
Yeah. You're like, Netflix isn't footing the bill for buying a jewelry.
Sarah Hinskall
I think I have read recommended some stuff to the actual department. Makeup was like, great. Thank you.
Host 3
Completely getting rid of my budget.
Sarah Hinskall
Get some product placement, Sarah, because.
Host 5
Totally.
Host 4
Well, we have to talk about hair. What are you using in your hair at home?
Sarah Hinskall
Well, right now I'm using my own products. Right. Because I've been making my own products for the last five years. They're coming out on the 12th, which is insane. Yes. In a couple of days. Yeah.
Host 3
Next week by the time this airs.
Sarah Hinskall
Yes. Yeah. That's really wild. So what I do, I mean, I have kind of a crazy lifestyle. Have a lot of children.
Host 3
Wait, how many children do you have?
Sarah Hinskall
Four.
Host 3
Oh, my gosh.
Sarah Hinskall
And then I also have been having, you know, I've been developing these products and we have done Stranger Things Volume 5 at the same time. So my mornings are really, really fast. Like, my whole thing is like, you have to get ready in five minutes. So a lot of times I will, like, only shampoo once a week. I wish I had time for more. Maybe once in a while. I would do it one time in the middle of the week. But I really need to last to the next weekend because in the morning there's lunch boxes, there's a lot of stuff, or we go to set, and you go to set at 4 o' clock in the morning. So you. It really just has to be so, so easy. So I use a salt scrub on my scalp, so it's like a full reset when I do it, and then a hair mask. Because you still. After a salt scrub. The salt scrub will give me like a nice amount of volume and it will really cleanse it good. And. But then after that, you need like an amazing mask for flexibility in your hair to keep everything healthy.
Host 3
Both of those products are yours.
Sarah Hinskall
Yes. But it's a concept that I've been following for years. Right. And I've tried a lot of different salt scrubs and a lot of different hair masks and loved a lot of them, but there was just certain things that I felt should be a little bit different. It works better for me.
Host 3
Okay, so what are those things with the mask and with the scrub specifically?
Sarah Hinskall
First of all, I mean, one of my big things is like, is scent.
Host 4
Same with us.
Sarah Hinskall
I am like, I'm very. I think it's like working in small spaces. And some of these hair products are just very over perfumulated with scents I'm not crazy about. Right. And just seems overwhelming. And I don't want to be defined by my hair product. I want to choose my perfume. Like, I want a good perfumer to have that. And I still feel like a scent. I went and I worked with this guy. What is his name? He's this French perfumer. Well, he does Liz. Liz does this perfume line and those girls are my friends. So when I started this, actually I started this whole adventure of making my own product lines because I met these two girls at a party and they were talking about their new perfume line and I was absolutely obsessed with their perfume. I have never had a perfume that was just like, I always wanted that one perfume where I would be like, this is it for the rest of my life. But I've never been able to find it. And then I found this perfume floating and I was so obsessed and I was like, how do you even do that? And it turned out one of them was like a designer. She designed all the esthetic parts of the bottle. And the other one, she's been in development men in hair care and beauty for the last 25 years.
Host 5
Cool.
Sarah Hinskall
So she, they had all the right hookups, you know, the best factories, the best chemists, the best. And really gave me a very in depth help with what kind of hair products I wanted to make and what ingredients that is that I was looking for. Because I would, in the beginning I would be like, I love this. But it has, it's dragging my hair down. Like, I have big problems when there's like different oils and stuff. My hair can't do any kind of oils. It just looks wet, sadly. And I know in some hair it works beautifully, but for me it's just a disaster. So it was hard for me to find a hair mask that was rich enough because my hair is long, there's color in it. I need something that really is like full on, heavy, heavy, heavy, but without a full collapse. Right. So they helped me find a lot of the right proteins. I used some stuff that I sourced from Scandinavia, where I'm from. Just like a beautiful little knot to my home countries. Yeah, I mean, I am absolutely in Love with my own hair products, which is amazing. It's been just so fun to get to do something like that.
Host 3
You have beautiful hair.
Host 4
Totally. And obviously so many years of experience. I can't wait to try it.
Sarah Hinskall
What's his name, the French perfumer? Oh, it's Jerome Epinette.
Host 3
Okay, okay, okay. Yes, we're very familiar. Okay.
Host 4
Shout out Jerome.
Host 3
Shout out to Jerome.
Sarah Hinskall
Jerome.
Host 3
Shout out to Jerome.
Sarah Hinskall
There we go.
Host 4
Okay, Sarah, we need to talk more about Denmark and, you know, growing up around, you know, just what inspired you, like, what made you want to get into beauty and specifically hair?
Sarah Hinskall
I mean, I started so early. I loved painting, and I love people, so I think I love sculpting stuff. Right. So I started. And don't do this. I think I started when I was 15 or 16, which is. I don't even know. You know, that is not something I recommend.
Host 3
Yeah, okay. Have a childhood.
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah, exactly. But I was so eager. I remember everybody was like, no, stay in school. I actually loved school, too, and I had great grades, so people were like, why would you jump out? And I was like, well, I already decided what I'm going to do, and I'm not ever going to change my mind, so it's a waste of my time. I mean, you're very arrogant when you're young. Thank God I was right. I didn't ever change my mind. I really did have just such a passion for doing this. So I started working under this woman, Lina Densko, in Copenhagen, and she was under the old Videl Sassoon training. Videl Sassoon was not in Copenhagen at that time, so you kind of had Vidal Sassoon people there. And I worked under her for four years. And that's your training. So you go to school for six months, and then you go to the salon for six months until you're done. And she was on all kind of creative teams. We would do photo shoots at night, photo shoots in the weekend, and I would just follow her around and hand her hairbrushes. Later on. I mean, pretty early on, I started doing my own photo shoots, and they started using my photo shoots instead of some of their senior artists. And I got really excited. So when I was done, I moved directly to New York City because I was like, I am ready to fly and get out.
Host 5
Yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
And I felt like I had a great portfolio, and, you know, that's where you go. I was 20 years old, and you're a little bit sassy. And I landed in New York, and that was a little bit of a Hard wake up call. I mean, Denmark is a very specific country when it comes to fashion and hair. First of all, our hair is, you know, very specific to one tiny area of the world. So I kind of had to come out and learn hair again.
Host 5
Yeah.
Host 4
Different textures, types.
Sarah Hinskall
Yes. And a new language also. I had kind of forgotten about that. I was like packing my suitcases. I remember I started in this hair salon and I was like, why are they not letting me cut hair? I'm so great. And they were like, Sarah, you can't even have a consultation. People don't understand what you're saying. So it's never gonna work. You'll stay here, you'll sweep the floors, you'll do the shampoo, and we'll teach you everything again. And while that's going on, your language skills is gonna be, you know, getting better. So you the biggest mistakes that happen in hair salons and I think we all know that it's because you have a bad consultation.
Host 5
If you've listened to us before, you know that we love say we even recently had their founder Laney on. But if you haven't listened to that episode and you're not familiar, Saie is a makeup brand whose formulas don't just look amazing on, but they feel great on your skin too. No matter your your skin type. If you're into that effortless, no makeup makeup look, you will love Saie. One of their fan favorite bestsellers is the Glowy super gel. It's lightweight, non comedogenic and it's the easiest first step to that lit from within glow. I love it on its own under makeup mixed in it just makes skin look alive. And if you want a little coverage that still looks like skin. The slip tint tinted moisturizer gives this sheer dewy finish and it has broad spectrum SPF 35. It's one of those throw it on and instantly look more put together products which I need. Don't forget your cheeks though. The Dew blush is super blendable and buildable. It melts in seamlessly so you're not dealing with harsh lines or patchiness. It is so, so good. You can find saie@sephora.com and every Sephora store across the United States and Canada and@sayhello.com that's S A I E hello.com.
Host 3
You may recall that we had Tatcha's founder Vicky Tsai on the show a little bit earlier this year for the second time and I'm still thinking about how she builds rituals of daily self love. Little Pauses that restore calm and joy.
Host 4
And honestly, the product that nails that feeling for moi is the Dewy Skin Cream. It is this decadently rich moisturizer that.
Host 5
Plumps the look of fine lines and.
Host 4
Seals in moisture for that signature dewy glow.
Host 5
Glow.
Host 3
I gotta say, when you said moi, you said plump, you said glow. There was someone that came to mind. There was someone came to mind. And I'll let y' all figure out who that is. It literally cocoons my skin in a comforting, replenishing feeling. And the glow lasts, like, even under makeup.
Host 4
It's truly the best. And no wonder. It is their best selling moisturizer. A Dewy Skin Cream is sold every 30 seconds.
Host 3
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Host 5
That's GLOSSANGELAS15 for 15 off your first order@tatcha.com.
Host 3
Yeah, misunderstandings.
Sarah Hinskall
And it's kind of the same with what I do now in the trailer. That has all always stuck with me because I think if you're going to land something, the most important part is that we are on the same page when we are going in. So I start my consultations with the actors six months out, sometimes a year ahead of time. Because you need time. When you're doing something like what we're doing with Stranger Things, you need a lot of time to just think stuff through. And they need to know where the character is kind of landing and where they want to go and what they feel like they've been through and what that means for them. So there's even a lot of extra layer to this consultation. Yeah.
Host 3
You were telling me that in between takes you're putting a wig on Natalia to be like, okay, I think this is the vibe we're going for for the flash Forward.
Sarah Hinskall
Well, the Flash Forwards was something that had been talked about for years, but in the end of the day, before we really got time with them, it was. It was very close to call time, let's put it like that. We were very, very close to shooting it and they were very tired. We had already been shooting for almost an entire year, so it was difficult to get any testing time out of anybody, basically, which is very understandably so. At one point I was like doing fit ins in this room where they're also playing ping pong. Right. Without a mirror. And you're just like trying to just do I need to do the base cuts on them for it to. Because otherwise I don't really have a sense of where their neckline starts and how it's going to swoop around their face.
Host 3
So.
Sarah Hinskall
And then I can take it afterwards and I can go and use hours with it by myself and refine everything. But the rough cut needs to happen on them. So maybe I was chasing them around a little bit at the end. Like, please sit down, Please sit down.
Host 5
There's so many of them.
Sarah Hinskall
There's so many of them. But I think the beautiful thing that we were able to do this year was to actually remove a lot of the wigs, right. And use their own hair at the very end, which gave a very. It felt very honest and light.
Host 4
So if you were to describe what it means to be like the Denmark girl or like a Danish girl in terms of, you know, beauty and the aesthetic, like, what is that vibe?
Sarah Hinskall
I mean, I think, and I, I feel like this strongly is that anything overdone just makes you look super uncool. Right. And I think the Danish people have gotten that down. I don't care how long time it takes for you to get ready in the morning, but maybe you just want to fuck it up a little bit just so it looks like you don't care that much.
Host 3
I could never be Danish girl. You can't be like, I walk over there. They're like, that girl's from America. Maybe Texas specifically, now lives in la.
Sarah Hinskall
I think you can see that in all of my work, actually, that I love stuff that is just a little bit off, right. I will walk through the trailer and I'll. People do these amazing hairstyles and I'll take my hands and I just. Yeah, I just destroy it.
Host 3
You need a shirt that says fuck it up.
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah, fuck it up. Yeah, I do. I really think that it's like, it's. It's just this other way of living, right. There is a lightness to it where sometimes the American style can be a little bit heavy handed. And it has a freeing casual. Like you're just. You're bicycling in your heels. Yeah. In the rain.
Host 3
Max in the Cave is Danish and Karen Wheeler is American. American girl.
Host 4
But it's just, I follow so many like, influencers who are from like, you know, the Scandi girls, these Danish girls, because they are just so effortlessly chic. And it's something that like I, you, you can try to copy, but it's like innate.
Host 3
You know what I mean?
Sarah Hinskall
No, you grow up with it. Yeah. And it's like, okay, I get dressed and then you always make sure that you wear something that is just Completely out of place. Right? It's break it. Yeah, you gotta like you, you do everything perfectly and then you break it. And it's the same with the hair. Makeup is a little bit different, I think, I think we're just, we wear a lot less makeup. It's a little bit of a lighter hand, more natural. But the hair, you do the hair right and then you break it.
Host 4
I love that, I love that.
Host 3
I would attempt. You'll have to try it on me sometime. But there's no way I could actually do it to myself.
Sarah Hinskall
But I think it's also something about like, you know, you want to look like you just got ready in 10 minutes.
Host 3
Yeah, totally. I wish I could be that girl.
Host 4
You're sexy as the youth say my nieces and nephews. You're not a try hard. You're not trying hard. It just comes to you.
Host 3
Such a try hard. I, I, I put so much effort. I'm earnest. It's just, I can't do it. I, I wish to be this girl.
Sarah Hinskall
I do, I do.
Host 3
But it is how I am. Sarah could maybe, I mean, cuz I'm.
Host 4
Literally running out the door in 10 minutes.
Sarah Hinskall
That's why. But I also think, you know, life will also put it on you. Like if you have a lifestyle where you're on stage set and all of these things. A lot of stuff I had to think about and why I made a product line was because of when we shoot for 16 hours a day, a lot of the products I was working with was just too heavy. I could not layer them because it started dragging the hair down. And I was like, why can I not find something? I wanted a dry shampoo with no texture in it and I could not find it. I was like, how is a no dry shampoo? There's just a dry shampoo.
Host 3
Yeah, you're so right.
Host 4
Because I use my dry shampoos for the texturizing element, but then use the texturizing spray. No, totally. You're like, what's the difference?
Sarah Hinskall
Why dry shampoo?
Host 5
Yeah.
Host 4
What about the foam ones? Is that still too heavy?
Sarah Hinskall
I think they're too heavy.
Host 4
Too crunchy?
Host 5
Yeah, yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
I don't want to feel it. And that's what I like in hair products. I like my hair to feel like I just shampoo it.
Host 5
Yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
I want to feel super clean all the time. I don't want to feel any kind of crunch. I want, I want it to be soft. Because that's why we shampoo every day, right? Is to get all that stuff out of it. So if we can actually use products and build it in the right way, then yeah, then you can skip a couple of days. Maybe not like a week, but a couple of days. Right. And then it should fit your own program, basically.
Host 4
Is there a dry shampoo that you love or are you developing one?
Sarah Hinskall
I made my own.
Host 3
Oh, you did? Sarah, I love this. I love this. You're speaking to me. I cannot do oils. I really wish I could do an oil. I tried doing the Abby Young hair method recently, which has taken over my entire feed, and she has like a whole step by step process. It was just simply too many products for my hair. And she does say, build it towards your own hair type. So I'm. I'm kind of learning, like, okay, yeah, I can't do all of this, but the one thing I definitely have to leave out is the oil.
Host 4
I just like a wet sweat and.
Host 3
I have these bangs and it just me makes. It makes my hair look wet. Yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
What I did was just, I made just like, I wanted like a clean canvas because that's what I want at work. Right. So when I was working, I was like, I just need these guys to be clean once a week at least so I can, like layer it correctly and I can, you know, take control. So it was. I just wanted a product line that is very, very simple that everybody can understand. Because I get confused when there's 400 different kind of shampoos. I am, Yes. I feel like I have dry hair. I feel like I want more volume. I feel like, you know, there's like so many, it can be quite overwhelming. So it's just a good foundational product line of like a full reset for once a week and then something to touch it up with, which is like my dry shampoo. Then I made a hair mousse because I love a mousse.
Host 4
I love mousse.
Sarah Hinskall
And I wanted a mousse that's not sticky. Right. So I wanted a mousse that I cannot feel in my hair after it's blow dried. So a mousse should just like be non existent and just hold your shape.
Host 5
Yes.
Sarah Hinskall
So that's my mousse. And then I think when you have that foundation in there, then you can go in with all your sexy products and be whatever you want to be that day. There's a million really, really fun products out there that you can be sleek, you can be texturized, you can be all of the things. I just wanted that perfect foundation for it.
Host 3
I think that your experience working on set Specifically, is such a great promotion for your brand because, like, everything you're saying, I'm like, yeah, like, if I put more product in my hair, I don't want it to feel like I have more product in my hair. Like, you have to be able to layer things, especially with everybody's lifestyles now, so that you don't feel like you're just constantly building things up.
Sarah Hinskall
I don't want to scratch stuff out of my scalp. Like, I. If. If I start putting too many things in, I will start you know, picking at it until it's.
Host 5
Well, I feel like that's one of.
Host 4
The reasons why all these, like, scalp spas are so popular, because there's so much buildup on our scalps from overuse of all these really heavy products.
Sarah Hinskall
Really heavy.
Host 4
And then also when our hair is not growing as quickly and then we're all taking these supplements, like, it's all very cyclical, right?
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah. You know, then there was another thing. I mean, I have a pretty hardcore clientele. Right. So they would complain if there's too much perfume in anything. Young people today, they go and they scan the products and they're like, sarah, maybe this is working for you, but, like, I don't want this on me. What's in this? So I've learned a lot about, you know, our young actors taught. Taught me a lot about trying to be as clean as you can and also try to make everything as environmental as possible. So I don't have anything spraying out. Everything is pumping. Everything is very, you know, I mean, that's work in progress, of course, because all of those steps are so expensive. But I try to do what. What I can, especially after a lifetime of having sprayed stuff directly. And, you know, that's my job.
Host 5
Yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
But I was like, if I'm going to do something, I'm going to try to do it as consistent, considerate as you can be with hair care.
Host 3
So, Sarah, you had the honor of shaving Millie Bobby Brown's head for season one.
Sarah Hinskall
Yes.
Host 3
No one else can say that. And I went to the Season 5 premiere at the Chinese Theater, and Matt said you were gleefully shaving off Millie's hair.
Sarah Hinskall
Gleefully?
Host 3
He said gleefully. He said there was. He talked about how you guys fell in love, and he was like, she was just this wonderful woman gleefully shaving. And I thought about this a lot after I left because there must have been some considerations for you, right? Like, Millie was what, nine, ten?
Sarah Hinskall
Yes.
Host 3
You're shaving a young girl's hair off. So what were some of the things you. Matt, Ross, her parents discussed? Like, was there a psychology behind, like, how were you making sure she felt safe in that moment?
Sarah Hinskall
I was absolutely terrified. I knew it was in the script mad. And Ross and the producers were like, this has been talked with the parents about. And, you know, the child, which is Millie, knows about what's happening in the script. So she was bald. I think it was, like, all the way shaven. Shaven. And I was like, that. That was a little bit concerning. Like, I was like, that's going to make her look ill in the hospital gown. Like, you know, and they were like, oh, we're not exactly sure about where it should land. Like, it's something that should be filled out. And I had meetings with her parents, and then I met Millie. Millie was absolutely, you know, excited about it. But of course, like, her mom could barely talk about it. She was. It was pretty hard. And the dad was just. They were like, we'll come with you. It's gonna be okay. She is excited about this happening. So when I came into the trailer, of course I spent some time with Millie before we did that, but it was the very top of the show. It was probably one of the first things I did on Stranger Things. Matt and Ross was in the trailer, and they were filming it on their iPhones, I remember. And I think I kept it really long. Like, I was really scared. So we kind of took it bit by bit. We saved her hair in case she. We should make, like, a wig out of it or something like that, which I realize now would have been absolutely impossible.
Host 4
Was it long? Her hair?
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah, but baby hair. You can't make anything out of it, but I hope she still has it. But it was a thought. We had plans. We. I bought her little fun wigs to wear. She never wore them. Like, she was so okay. And had actually a blast while I was cutting it off. So that gave me a little bit of relief. Right? Like, I could, like, breathe into it, because you just don't want to hurt a child. Like, I was like, oh, my God, I hope this is not.
Host 4
You don't want to traumatize.
Host 5
No.
Host 3
Well, because you hear about young actresses, child actresses who see themselves on screen in one way or another, and then they completely lose it because they've lost touch with reality. They say, see, this is how I'm projected to the world. I don't like the way that I look. This is living forever.
Sarah Hinskall
I do think, though, that she was just young enough.
Host 3
Yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
Does that make sense? I think it had. Because I think in the. After we were done shooting, she told me awareness started setting in. People asked if she was a boy. Stuff like this started having. When we sent her back into the world. So that was kind of where everything started happening. But at that point, it was already, you know, a little bit longer. And before anybody knew it, she looks like she was in Rosemary's Baby with that little. And that was actually really, really beautiful.
Host 4
Really cute.
Sarah Hinskall
But, yeah, I do think she had a couple of weeks after we were done shooting season one where she realized, oh, this is making me look a little bit like a little boy. But she was great at just wearing dresses. And Millie has. Millie is hardcore.
Host 4
She's like an artist.
Sarah Hinskall
Yes.
Host 3
She said she would shave her head again if you hadn't. You had to make the wigs for her in season four because she actually couldn't shave her head again.
Sarah Hinskall
Exactly. She wanted to shave her head, but she had so many things lined up already that it was like. Which is also for Netflix.
Host 3
As she should. As she should.
Sarah Hinskall
Exactly. So it was like, well, maybe there's another way to go about this. I think we can agree that Millie, the way she holds herself, and even in season five, I scrape her hair back. We put her in a scooper diving suit. Anybody did that to me, I would cry. Right. And took my makeup off. That is hardcore. That girl is not fearless when she gets into character.
Host 5
Yeah. Yeah.
Host 3
I love it.
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah.
Host 3
I was watching a video where Gaten said that wardrobe gave all the boys tighty whities to wear underneath their actual wardrobe and that he wore them every day, but the other boys didn't. They're like, you're crazy. They were like. It was like Caleb and Finn were making fun of him, and he's like, but what if we, like, bent over and you saw, you know, a boxer brief line or whatever? Who do you think played most by the rules on set? And who was the rule breaker?
Sarah Hinskall
I can tell you the rule breaker. That's definitely. No, no, no. Snap. No Snap was such a little rule breaker. Oh. I would call him, be like, have you grown your hair out? You know, he had to have this bowl cut and he would just straight up say, yeah, yeah. And then he would come in with, like, a fresh haircut when we were shooting episode four. I mean, that is a tough bowl cut he got.
Host 3
You mean season four? Yes, the season four bowl cut is. God bless him.
Sarah Hinskall
This is the worst that happens. You know, we've been dealing with this bowl cut for so many years, putting wicks on him and extensions and trying to make it longer, but I need him to have a little bit of length to do this. And he's. He's great at getting into characters. I mean, he understand. It's not that he doesn't want them, but he wants to look good when he's home, which is completely fair. They're young people. But he would just tell me, you just lie. You just lie. And then to really get him on season four, he came in with this short haircut. And I was like, okay, that's fine. And I took it and I cut him like this. Like, dumb and dumber. And I was like, all right, go to set now. And he was like, you're not. You're not. I was like, yeah, but we cut. You cut it short, Right? So here's the ball. Cut for short, looks like this. And I was like, just kidding. We got a week for you. Sit back.
Host 1
But I.
Host 3
Love it.
Sarah Hinskall
Who plays by the rules, right? Before. Yeah. Because he got mistreated so many times. Yeah. Right. And you guys are so close at.
Host 4
This point that you can joke around.
Sarah Hinskall
It was a joke. Yeah. I was just like, I just want to see his face when I say, have a good day of shooting.
Host 3
Okay. So would you say that the most difficult decision you had to make as hair designer over the five seasons was Noah's hair in general?
Sarah Hinskall
No. I think that had to happen just because of story. So that was pretty locked in. That was not really my. I didn't have to push for that. And we also needed him to feel. We needed him to not feel maybe at his best. Right. So the awkwardness that that bowl cut makes you feel before you go on screen, we needed that. But we didn't need him to actually look like he's in Dumb and Dumb. No.
Host 3
Oh, my God, no. That movie didn't even come out yet at that point. Like, it wouldn't even have been an homage. Okay, Sarah, welcome to the Rapid Hellfire.
Sarah Hinskall
Let's do it.
Host 3
Let's do it round. Okay. Does Heroes at the end of the final episode indicate anything you really try?
Sarah Hinskall
What? For me, personally, for the Hera related. For me, it's. Yeah, they're all heroes.
Host 4
There you go. Very good answer, very piece, very PC.
Host 3
Okay.
Host 4
What is the strangest prop in your home from set?
Sarah Hinskall
I think we gave most of the really good props to the cast.
Host 4
Oh, that's so nice.
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah, you got to keep everything.
Host 4
There's what's.
Sarah Hinskall
But, like, I might have taken something from myself.
Host 4
Okay, what is that?
Host 3
Which may Rhyme with schmig.
Sarah Hinskall
Yes, exactly.
Host 3
But for all intents and purposes, Netflix has that in an archive somewhere.
Sarah Hinskall
Got it.
Host 3
Who loved their hair the most? It's obvious Noah hated his hair, right? Like, he hated his hair.
Sarah Hinskall
Yes, but he appreciated it.
Host 3
Yes, but who loved their hair?
Sarah Hinskall
Who loved their hair? Nancy.
Host 4
She had some rainbow.
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah.
Host 3
Rambo nails.
Host 1
Yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
And Karen. I mean, it's fun. I mean, and I think, you know, of course they love their hair. They're like, right in the 80s. They get full makeup. They get full hair. Like, it is kind of. Yeah, exactly. And also. But can also talk about how Natalia looks in wigs.
Host 3
Oh, her wigs are incredible.
Sarah Hinskall
Because when you wear that wig on, like, I look. I look like I was going to be on the Golden Girls. Okay. Yeah.
Host 4
Would not look like that on anyone else.
Sarah Hinskall
It looks so great. I know. But actually, it is a great hairstyle. I just think when you're in your 20s and 30s and all these haircuts that's happening right now, it looks so great. I absolutely love it.
Host 5
Yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
But at a certain point, it just looks like the Golden Girls.
Host 4
Okay. Revive one of these characters from the dead.
Host 5
Barb.
Host 4
Billy or Eddie?
Sarah Hinskall
Eddie.
Host 4
Wow, that was fast.
Host 5
Why?
Sarah Hinskall
Because I love him. Yeah. And I also just love working with him. I just thought that was such a fun process working with Joe. I mean, he is an amazing actor.
Host 4
Also, the hair, iconic.
Host 3
Who would you revive?
Host 4
I would probably have said Eddie. Although, you know, Bill.
Host 3
Am I the only Billy?
Sarah Hinskall
Truth. What is wrong with you? You need, like, help if you want.
Host 3
To bring back Billy.
Host 4
It's because he's Billy.
Sarah Hinskall
It's.
Host 3
Is it? I always mispronounce his name. Doc. Is it Dockery? Dacre.
Host 5
Dacre.
Host 3
Dacre Montgomery is truly, I think, one of the most spectacular actors.
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah.
Host 3
Him and Sadie, I loved watching them together. I would watch Billy walking, and he has the tear in his eye that's not come down.
Host 2
Hello.
Host 3
Where were the Emmy noms for that? I. I don't know.
Sarah Hinskall
He is amazing. He's absolutely amazing. He's also an abuser.
Host 3
No, no, he's okay. That was the thing that people were. I'm like, of course I'm an abusive supporter in real life. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Sarah Hinskall
Oh, that guy's the sweetest.
Host 3
Billy always canceled as Billy in Stranger Things. He is an amazing.
Sarah Hinskall
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Host 3
And we do not promote that.
Sarah Hinskall
But that.
Host 3
That is why he is such a good actor, because you hate him so much. I just see him as, like, this incredible actor, and it's not like I want a nasty Billy storyline to come back. I just want to see. Right, okay. You're just talking about. You're just talking about.
Sarah Hinskall
Can we talk about, like, Eddie, though? Like, true. To sell that character and actually make that character likable, because that is really, really tricky.
Host 5
Right.
Host 3
Like, he was cool. Yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
People were, like, in love with him. And I'm like, when you.
Host 3
I got my haircut to look like Eddie.
Sarah Hinskall
Yes.
Host 3
Yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
That's incred. Incredible. I actually. Kudos to you for doing that. I loved it. I was like. When I saw that, I was like, well, there she goes. Yeah. That is a brave woman.
Host 3
I'm like Steve from Journey, you know? Like, that's what I'm going for. This is like the Eddie, you know.
Sarah Hinskall
Months and so cool. I mean, I'm so scared when it comes to my own hair. But I saw, like, I was like, she's going for layers. She's going in for the layers.
Host 3
I do the damn thing.
Sarah Hinskall
Okay.
Host 3
Did Purple. Okay, this is another conspiracy. Did the. And we brought this up earlier. Did the Purple Rain lyrics have any tie to the storyline? For example, people are saying Elle's favorite color is purple and that she met Mike in the rain, and that's why the song was chosen. And when you listen to the lyrics of the song, it seems to be fitting for that exact moment between Mike and Elle.
Sarah Hinskall
Wow. She's. Yeah.
Host 3
I mean, the Duffer connection really screws you on.
Sarah Hinskall
You can't.
Host 3
It really does. Because you can't say anything. No, you really can't. But in my humble opinion, no, it was just the perfect record because it started with When Dubs Cry, and it ended with Purple.
Sarah Hinskall
Actually, you know, Purple Rain started playing in my house, like, years ago. Like, he was obsessed with Purple Rain, and I feel like Purple Rain was already on the table before the writing was finalized. But I could be wrong. Like, it was very, very early in.
Host 3
A lofty dream to try to get Prince.
Sarah Hinskall
Yeah. But also just such a beautiful, beautiful nostalgic moment.
Host 3
Yeah.
Host 4
And I just think, too, like, the. Like the year in which, you know, everything was happening in that episode. It was just the perfect song.
Sarah Hinskall
And it's epic.
Host 3
The guitar chord. And then it cuts to the flashback. I said, matt and Ross, Duffer, you will be paying for my therapy bills.
Sarah Hinskall
I think they're paying for my. We might move in here in the annex.
Host 3
No, I'm like, how traumatized are you.
Sarah Hinskall
By Prince music now?
Host 3
Can you even listen to it?
Sarah Hinskall
I was traumatized when I watched the show when I went to see it, I saved it, and I was like, I'm going to see it in the theater with everybody else. Like, I want to be there. I don't want to have, like, pre watched it at home. Right. It's going to take something away from it. And I. As soon as those. I just midway into the theater, I was just like, oh, God, what have I done? What have I done? I was just crying, and then I just didn't care anymore. And then when we came out afterwards with so many people and they were all going for Matt, and I was just standing there crying until Kate, one of the writers, just came and helped me and she said, you're going to be okay. And I was like, thank you. And then I went home and got 103 in fever. Like, it just destroyed.
Host 4
It really did destroy you.
Host 3
Okay.
Sarah Hinskall
And that's even happened. But even when you read something, it is not the same as seeing it.
Host 3
Yeah, Yeah.
Sarah Hinskall
I was like, this is.
Host 3
I can't even imagine one of the.
Sarah Hinskall
First shows ever that I have worked on where I'm not just looking at my own work. Normally I just sit there and I look at my own work and I'm in so much pain, screaming at the television, why didn't I do this? Why didn't I do this? But this has so much story and so much heart that I completely forget about what I actually contributed to the show with. Who cares about the fucking hair?
Host 3
Which is amazing considering this is like a family affair for you, right?
Host 4
Like, you're just like watching it, like, almost as a fan at the end of the day.
Sarah Hinskall
I am a fan.
Host 4
Yeah. Okay, last question. Kirby is really trying to get you to talk. Can you tease anything from the documentary?
Sarah Hinskall
Yes, I think I can. We had this woman, Martina, on set for an entire year with her crew being everywhere. Like, I was like, every time I was on set, she was there. That woman worked 17 hours a day with her little camera filming. I mean, when I saw the documentary, I was. It is so pure and so honest. Actually, you. You know, how many hours she had on tape is absolutely ridiculous. And I don't even understand how you can then shape a one and a half hour little movie out of it. How do you pick? It was crazy. Crazy stuff happened all the time, nonstop. But instead of going with a lot of that, I think she just went with the everyday kind of making of Stranger Things and the honesty in it, and it feels really, really real and not manicured. I kind of hope she'll make another 10 movies out of it because she feels followed every single department and there was just not enough space in there. I want to, I want an hour and a half with the production designer Chris and his team just looking at these sets. Like I want an hour and a half with props, right? It's too little, it's too short. That's what I can say.
Host 3
Can you say anything People should be on the lookout for? Like you see what people are saying online. So is there anything that you can tease to see?
Sarah Hinskall
Well, they're going to get a lot more of Matt and Ross, so there will be a lot more to analyze and pull apart. Oh my God. All the theories and all the things, but at least I can. You can see, you know, just people making a show and I think they go with their emotions and who they are. I think at the end of the day, the show is what it is because of them. I think they were not very popular in high school, right. And they were like those odd twin boys that would like eat their lunch in the car because they didn't want to get picked at maybe or made fun of. And I think you really see them in this show, how they work together and how brilliant they are in just their absolute honest little world. And what everything they want to see, say, is always lifting up the little people, right? They have such a love for people and I think that really comes through amazing.
Host 3
Sarah, thank you for coming on Los Angeles.
Host 5
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Host 1
Hey listeners, meet Russell.
Host 5
Hey.
Host 1
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Episode Title: Stranger Things Set Stories and "Cool Danish Girl” Style With Hair Designer Sarah Hindsgaul
Hosts: Kirbie Johnson & Sara Tan
Guest: Sarah Hindsgaul (Emmy-nominated hair designer, Stranger Things)
Release Date: January 9, 2026
This episode dives deep into the behind-the-scenes of Stranger Things with its acclaimed hair designer Sarah Hindsgaul. The conversation unpacks everything from fan conspiracy theories to emotional farewells, set stories, the launch of Sarah’s new haircare line, and the philosophy of “cool Danish girl” style. The episode’s tone is warm, witty, and candid, blending industry insight with personal moments.
If you’re a Stranger Things fan, hair-obsessed, or just love a great set story—this episode is a gem.