The flowers, the DJ, the catering, the dress; when it comes to weddings, it’s common knowledge that the earlier you plan ahead, the better. So why do we assume the wedding hair prep starts – and finishes – on the big day? To get your best ever hair on the day it really matters, it’s useful to consider your hair in line with how you would your nails – do you want it to be longer for the wedding? Do you require a colour? Do you need longer term treatments in the run up?
The first step is to communicate with your stylist and colourist: getting to know them, and informing them of your time scale will help them curate a customised hair plan for you. As good-looking hair is always healthy hair, your stylist should then recommend treatments to improve the quality of your hair. The treatments will start with helping you create a stronger protein base, before moving onto moisture and shine, and then finally smoothness or volume. This can be a mix of in-salon and at-home treatments, and the earlier you start improving the texture of your hair, the better. If you're looking for an at-home mask to top up your treatments, the Josh Wood Colour Miracle Mask is your hair's perfect weekly dose of shine and moisture.
Once your hair is looking healthy, it’s time to think about styling. The sooner you start thinking about this the better, as you may want to look at growing your hair to give the stylist more flexibility. Whether you decide to grow it or not, you need to keep to a regular trimming schedule (every six to 10 weeks) to keep your hair looking fresh and split-end free, and to secure the goodness the treatments provided.
If you’ve opted for a longer look, regular trims will also keep the ends strong enough to grow. A similar rule applies to the colour of your hair: if you want to change the colour, do it gradually over time so that you don’t feel like a different person on the big day. No one wants to look back at their wedding photos and hardly recognise the woman in them. Changing the tone over a period of a few months, or simply adding a base of highlights and building them over time, allows you to build up colour, and tie the knot with a hair colour you feel 100% comfortable with.
Peter Burkill, Advocate Stylist at Josh Wood Colour, suggests booking two wedding hair trials, rather than just one. This gives yourself time between trials to allow your ideas to change and advance, and potentially gives the stylist time to create a whole new look.
He also recommends doing the final trial as if it were a dress rehearsal; full hair, makeup and gown in tow. This way you can tweak anything that doesn’t quite work, to avoid any mass panic on the day.
Finally, Peter suggests scheduling your final cut and colour for ten days before the wedding, a time frame which means the look will be fresh, but also allows the hair time to soften and settle, as to not look too ‘done’.
