It sounds like a cliche, but your hair on your wedding day really should feel like your crowning glory! Whether you are going for a formal up-do or a more casual look, your hair is the finishing touch and it should be in peak condition.
Perfect wedding hair is all about preparation and maintenance in the weeks and months running up to the main event. Your hair needs to be in the best condition it can be for photographs on the day, so you need to make sure you protect it in the weeks leading up to the big day.
Starting line
Make sure you are eating well and drinking plenty of water in the run up to your wedding to keep you and your hair healthy. It’s easy to skip meals when you have wedding plans on your mind, but your hair will benefit from a well-balanced diet that includes enough iron and zinc, as well as protein, Vitamin D and Omega 3 fatty acids.
Squeaky clean
Choosing a shampoo and conditioner is more important than you might think – the right product will work to treat specific concerns. If, for example, you have thick, dry hair, you will need extra hydration, while finer, oilier strands need to be balanced. Redken’s Smooth Lock Shampoo for Dry and Unruly Hair is great for hair that may need extra hydration and a little bit of taming, it will gently cleanse hair and combat frizz at the same time. The Smooth Lock Conditioner is super-smoothing and works to seal in moisture as well as fight frizz.
Peak condition
Toni&Guy’s Cleanse Shampoo and Nourish Conditioner for Fine Hair work well together on hair that needs gentle cleansing and added body. Fine hair, as many of you will know, can be tricky to deal with. You want products that won’t weigh your hair down, but are still nourishing and will help to prevent split ends. Don’t overload the roots of your hair with conditioner, concentrate on the drier ends, and when it comes to drying fine hair, rough dry your hair with your hands before styling with a brush and try to avoid brushing it too much.
Colour crush
If you have coloured hair, it is particularly important to use a shampoo and conditioner suited to hair that has been colour treated. Using the right products will help to boost the moisture levels your treated hair requires and help to protect against colour fade. L’Oreal’s Hair Expertise Everpure Colour Care & Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner work well to enrich dry, coloured hair.
Moisture boost
Using a hair mask once a week in the lead-up to your wedding is great for giving hair an extra nourishment boost. Phyto’s Phytokeratine Extreme Hair Mask is one of my favourites. Designed to repair and replenish damaged locks, it combines keratin and baobab oil to leave hair soft and sleek. This particular mask works well on both fine and thicker hair, simply leave it on for longer - up to 10 minutes - the thicker your hair is, before rinsing thoroughly.
I wouldn’t advise using any deep conditioning treatments too close to the wedding day. You should aim to wash your hair the day before the wedding, so it will have a full 24 hours to settle before your stylist arrives. Your hair will still be clean, but it won’t be too slippery or soft to style: too much conditioner can make styling more difficult.
Protect and preserve
To make sure you protect your hair through the whole hairstyle trialling process, arm yourself with Bumble And Bumble’s Repair Blowdry Hair Serum. Designed to protect against heat and breakage, and seal split ends, you simply use it on damp hair to protect against the damaging effects of blowdrying. And to keep frizz at bay, John Frieda’s Frizz Ease Original 6 Effects Serum will tame flyaways while boosting shine.
Fabulous finish
If you are having your hair coloured for your wedding, get it done around 1-2 weeks before the big day, so your hair has a chance to settle. When it comes to the cut, most brides have been growing their hair for months before the big day, so I would usually just recommend a trim to get rid of any split ends, ensuring hair looks as healthy as possible.
I would advise against any last-minute decisions or a totally new look just before the wedding. You could end up regretting something dramatically different that would then be tricky to change. Best to save any dramatic style and colour changes for after the wedding pics!
If you are wearing a veil for your ceremony, but plan to remove it for the evening, ask a bridesmaid to take along a little touch-up kit with a mini serum to smooth flyaways, a travel-sized hairspray and a stash of Kirby grips if you have an up-do - they always come in handy!