How to wash and prep your hair for the wedding day
Please note: I get commission for purchases or clicks made through the below links.
Prepping your hair for your wedding day can make or break a style, especially if you plan to wear it down. Your stylist needs a clean slate to work with in order to make your hair vision come to life. Below are some tips and product recommendations to ensure your hair is prepped and ready for your wedding day.
Plan Ahead
During your bridal hair preview appointment, your bridal hairstylist will determine when the best time to wash your hair will be based on your hair type and wedding hair style. For medium to thick, curly or wavy hair types, I recommend washing your hair the day before the wedding day. Especially if your hair is frizz-prone or you are getting married in the summer! For fine, straight hair types, I recommend washing your hair on wedding morning to remove excess oil as close to styling as possible.
“Pro tip: Exfoliate your scalp with Virtues’ exfoliating scalp treatment, the month leading up until the wedding day to help balance and condition your scalp while removing access serum and product buildup. ”
Double Cleanse
Did you know you should be shampooing your hair twice? The first shampoo removes any residues that builds up on your hair throughout the day, like natural oils, product build up (thank you dry shampoo), sweat, dead skin cells, and pollutants in the air. Now that all that grease and grim has been washed away, the second wash will lather up much better allowing the shampoo to fully cleanse and nourish the hair.
I recommend using either a volumizing shampoo, like Living Proof’s full shampoo, or clarifying shampoo, like Ouai’s detox shampoo, when prepping for your wedding day. These formulas are light allowing your hair to be as squeaky clean as possible without weighting it down.
Condition The Ends
Your natural hair oils are the most concentrated at your scalp and this is why we get the most oily there. This is also the reason why the ends of our hair are the most dry, as they are the furthest away from your scalp. Leading up to the wedding day, it is important to only condition from the mid-point of your strands through to the ends. Otherwise, this can lead to more product buildup that will weight your hair down.
I recommend using Living Proof’s no frizz conditioner for thick, frizz-prone curly or wavy hair. For fine, oily hair, I recommend using Ouai’s fine hair conditioner. During the months leading up until your wedding week, I recommend incorporating a hair mask into your routine. For thick curly or wavy hair, I recommend swapping a mask in place of your conditioner all together, like Ouai’s thick hair masque. For fine, hair I recommend using Ouai’s fine to medium hair masque once or twice a month.
Blow-dry Finish
“Pro Tip: Do not part your hair before blow-drying it. Instead, blow-dry the top sections of your hair forward for extra volume and lift at the root.”
Although it may be tempting to let your hair air dry or toss it up in a messy bun, don’t! It is important you comb out your hair using a wet brush or wide tooth comb. It is okay to use a little detangling spray on the ends if you hair tends to tangle. If you hair tends to frizz, use a little un-frizz cream by Virtue. Then, blow-dry your hair as smooth as possible using either a blowdryer and paddle brush or a blow-dryer brush, like Drybar’s single shot blow-dryer brush (my favorite at home blowout tool!).
Follow these tips and product recommendations and your hair will be wedding day ready!