Cynthia asked Wicked ’s director, Jon M. Chu, if they could “reimagine” Elphaba’s traditionally long, wavy hair as micro braids in the movie.

Cynthia Erivo had one request when it came to Elphaba’s hair.

When Wicked star Cynthia Erivo set about bringing the stage character of Elphaba Thropp, a.k.a. the future Wicked Witch of the West, to life for the film, she had a few ideas for her character — including a few very important beauty details.

Elphaba in the original Wicked novel by Gregory McGuire either wears her long hair straight down or her hair is covered by her huge black hat.

Cynthia Erivo explains why she chose for her "Wicked" character to have micro-braids, using the hairstyle to honor Black women.

Alongside popstar Ariana Grande - who plays Glinda the 'Good Witch', the pair portray Elphaba and Glinda's relationship as youngsters, prior to their colossal 'falling out', which is celebrated in the 1939 blockbuster.

How and why did the kind-hearted, smart and green Elphaba Thropp become such a nasty, powerful, dare we say wicked witch of the classic tale "The Wizard of Oz"? The big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical "Wicked" uses subtle nuances to hint at Elphaba's growing powers,

I asked if we could reimagine that hair as micro-braids because I knew you’d still have the movement, and you could still have the length, but there was a texture that was slightly different to what you would normally see on stage,