So, Merkins . . . What’s Up With That?

Yes, Different Bushes Mean Different Time Periods

One of the reasons we love movies and television so much is that they often transport us to different times. Olivia Wilde was outspoken about her pubic enhancement on the latest episode of Vinyl.

We get to peek back in time, when people spoke differently, had crazy haircuts, wore clothes different from us, and the ladies had pubic hair. And thanks to movie magic—or should I say merkin magic—big fluffy bushes make watching that movie about the 1940s look incredibly realistic.  

Amanda Miller is a wig maker for movies, television, and even some live stage productions, and while she’s had to make a number of wigs, she also had to make a merkin for the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. It was for the pilot episode of the show and as she put it: 

“Nicki Ledermann, who was head of the makeup department, brought me in with a team of SFX men who were recreating a woman’s entire torso to represent a cadaver of the era. The type of autopsy that was done then was much different than how they cut into a body now, so they did a whole mold of her torso, which was then going to have the appropriate autopsy markings. When viewers would see her naked body, she needed to have an appropriate era bush, and they simply couldn’t find an actress with a full bush. It’s just gone out of fashion. They didn’t use a dummy. They used an actual actress, and they re-created the torso. They just put the special effects piece [for the autopsy] over her own torso, and then the merkin over that area.”  

Now, you might have some other questions about merkins, so here are the answers to question you might be thinking right now:  

How does one apply a merkin?

“It’s just glued to the skin if the person’s own body hair is shaved back, [but] the one I made was glued over the edge of a prosthetic torso. I put it on her for the fitting, but not the shoot. The actress was pretty great. It was definitely treated like a professional fitting. The special effects team was with me, and they were all male, and I think the actress was really relieved to have a female in the room. We cleared it out for my fitting with her and just got down to business. We had great humor about it, and I don’t think it was as awkward as it sounds.”  

If you get a merkin for a movie or television show do you get to keep it?

“I don’t think so, no. Usually the wigs and hairpieces are considered assets by the production company.”  

And lastly, can you tell if someone is wearing a merkin if you make them?

“No, I don’t, ever. I’ve never actually looked to see if there’s a merkin or not. I do look at wigs that way.”  

Amanda Miller answers a couple more questions about wig and merkin making, which I have to admit is kind of interesting. If you want to read more about Amanda Miller and merkins check out the article on Refinery 29.