Riverdale's Most Underrated Beauty Look Belongs To A Southside Serpent

Riverdale may be known for its core four characters — Betty, Jughead, Veronica, and Archie — but the teen drama has a full supply of supporting roles we love just as much (if not more). In season one, we got Cheryl Blossom (Madelaine Petsch), the rich, mean girl turned badass. Then in season two, we were introduced to Toni Topaz (Vanessa Morgan), Jughead's new Serpent friend at Southside High who, incidentally, ends up becoming Cheryl's girlfriend by season three.

And while fans of the CW hit might root for Choni now, it wasn't that long ago that the addition of Topaz was causing all types of drama (on the show and in real life). Still, even the Bughead shippers who disliked Topaz couldn't deny that she stood out in a way we hadn't seen on the show before — and not just because she was the first openly bisexual character.

Compared to Cheryl, Betty, and Veronica's polished, unchanging looks (seriously, they never change), Topaz was the edgy, cool girl from the wrong side of the tracks who dyed her hair pink and actually experimented with styles like braided pigtails. For that, we — and about every other viewer — became infatuated with the Southside Serpent and her rosy highlights.

Turns out, the on-screen Topaz looks radically different from the original Archie Comics' character. In the comics, Topaz is a food-loving, pixie cut-sporting teen who rocks a purple jumpsuit to match her fuchsia hair color. But Morgan, who plays Topaz on TV, didn't have to chop off all her hair to bring the character to life. Instead, Rosa Terracciano, former head of the Riverdale hair department, decided to give the small screen version of Topaz belly-grazing pink waves.

"I was given the freedom by the creative team to create [Topaz's] look and have fun with it," Terracciano tells Refinery29. Similar to other cast members, Morgan had to dye her real hair for the role — and she was all for it. The actress told Cosmopolitan that the hair team originally planned to dye clip-in extensions for her to wear while filming, but she requested Terracciano dye her real hair instead. What's more, Morgan liked Topaz's hair color so much, she kept asking for more highlights.

Luckily, this pink look requires less maintenance than others on the show. Unlike KJ Apa who has to touch up his hair with bleach and red dye every two weeks to play Archie, Terracciano partially dyes Morgan's hair every three or four weeks. "I've become very fond of L'Oréal Colorista for fun colors," Terracciano explains. "The color is pretty vibrant [on Morgan], so I incorporated special techniques to achieve the balance of the pink in her natural hair." You can get the exact same product for under $10, so this look is one you can easily try at home. And with the pink hair trend constantly on the rise, we wouldn't blame you if you did.