As your wedding day draws closer, it’s time to start devoting some extra love and attention to your locks ahead of your big day. I've put together a list of my top tips for creating perfect bridal hair to help get you started.
Hair care is super important. From the moment you start planning your wedding you should start thinking about getting your locks into optimum condition.
1. Get regular trims
I would recommend roughly every 6 weeks, especially if you have coloured hair. You'll also want to start thinking about what colour you'd like your hair to be on your wedding day. It can take months to perfect the exact colour and you don't want to be making any drastic changes too close to the big day.
Find and then stick with one stylist that you trust and let them know your vision for your bridal hair. They will help you to achieve the perfect cut and colour that will enhance your hairstyle and maintain it up until your big day.
Tip: If you are blonde, make use of toners and purple shampoo to avoid any yellow/ brassiness in your wedding photos, and if you’re darker haired or red, think about some fine, subtle highlights to help your hairstyle show up better.
2. Create a hair care routine
The same way you have a daily skin care routine, it's important to have one for your hair also. There are a dizzying array of options out there when it comes to products so it’s important to find what works best for you.
My go to product is the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Conditioning mask. It is theee best treatment to get your hair into amazing condition and get some elasticity back in those locks.
I always recommend trying out a couple of products and decide for yourself what feels right for you, as some people don't want to feel like there is any product in their hair, while others like a bit of hold or smoothing going on. A good leave-in conditioner spray is ideal for a light heat protection. Everyone should use something every time you wash your hair! You moisturise your face everyday so treat your hair with the same respect too.
Tip: I would advise using a sulphate free shampoo and conditioner, they are a lot more gentle on the hair and scalp meaning less colour fading and no flaky scalp issues which harsh chemicals can cause.
3. Protect your hair
A heat protection product is a MUST in everyone's hair, especially coloured hair. After washing your hair, apply a spray, serum or balm of your choice to wet hair and comb through gently. Then, dry and style your hair. This will protect from heat causing less damage and also protects your colour for longer too.
Tip: A spray is suitable for anyone's hair, where as a serum or balm can be a bit more heavy/oily and act more like a smoothing product for slightly dry or coarse hair.
4. Hair Trials
Now for the fun and exciting part, hair trials. It’s a good idea to have a few different ideas in mind that you like and be open to trying new styles as well. Just like finding the right wedding dress, you may go with an idea and end up choosing something completely different. Your dress, hair type and wedding vibe should all be taken into consideration when choosing the perfect hairstyle.
A lot of brides grow their hair long for their wedding, but don't realise that too much hair can actually be the wrong thing for certain styles too. Sometimes I advise brides to have some length off to enhance their bridal style, especially hair down styles as too much length can cover too much of the dress and also cause the hair to drop too much because of the weight.
Layers also work well, to allow more volume and texture in the hairstyle. Your bridal stylist should advise on all these things while styling your hair at the trial, so you will know how to alter your haircut and colour to achieve the very best version of your dream bridal hair.
Tip: I advise all my brides to avoid having a trial before your hen night or going out afterwards, as you don't want people to see your bridal hairstyle before the big day.
5. Personalise Your Own Style
A comment I hear all the time is "I just want to feel like myself" or "it isn't how I'd usually wear my hair". And as much as no one wants to look like a completely different person on their wedding day, you will be most likely wearing a knock out long white dress that will make you stand out from the crowd like never before so your hairstyle should tie in with the dress and not how you would normally wear your hair.
You should go for something different but that also you love and feel good in. Just like your wedding dress is not your usual Saturday night attire, but you will feel a million bucks wearing, the same goes for your hair. If this isn't the day for you to try something new, then when is?
I love sharing my advice with you and if you have any other bridal hair questions, feel free to contact me.