Many hairstylists will let you know how hectic a salon can get, but Lucy Betancourt sees the salon floor busyness and raises you the chaotic hustle and bustle of a movie set – where she was tasked with keeping 100 actors from burning within the desert sun in Mexico. Temperatures there can reach 91 degrees, not exactly ideal for long shoot days. For the past few months, the Mexican-born hairstylist and makeup artist has been immersed on the earth of Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, an upcoming Netflix film that follows journalist Silverio Gama through the lens of several trippy dreams that blur into reality as he navigates fame, criticism, and identity. Betancourt, the film’s lead hairstylist and makeup artist, says it’s probably the most difficult project she’s ever worked on.

The movie, set in Mexico City, gives a peek into the intimate details of life in the town, and Betancourt made sure the hairstyles played a job in bringing that narrative to life. Lots of the female characters and extras had beautiful curly and wavy hair, a selection that was intentional — to reflect curl patterns which are common to Mexican people — but in addition completely authentic. Betancourt didn’t manipulate the actors’ natural textures an excessive amount of because she “wanted every thing to reflect a variety of movement and feel very natural so we could get a full expression of what every character was.” A scene towards the top of the movie features replications of indigenous haircuts and hairstyles including a blunt bowl cut, and “pays tribute to our wealthy culture,” Betancourt shares. “The entire movie is a Mexican expression in every way.”