Do you find yourself scrolling through Pinterest, overwhelmed with how many beautiful wedding hairstyles are out there. It's such a minefield isn't it? You are probably asking... "Can my hair do that?", "Will this suit me?", Will this hold in my hair?" All valid questions and ones you should be discussing with your bridal hairstylist in the lead up to your wedding day and trial.
To help with these questions, here are my top tips on how you can narrow down your hairstyle choices so they feel right for you so you can have a more successful hair trial.
(Photo by KMGS Photography)
Tip 1 -Wedding dress style
This plays quite a vital role in deciding hairstyles. Reason being, dress structure, detail and its overall "style" will also come into play when deciphering a look for your hair. Are there any details on the dress that you wish to show off? A beautiful detail on the back perhaps? If so then you may wish to have your hair up so you can maximise the emphasis on that part of the dress. Is your dress quite structured, or classical? Then perhaps a more elegant hair choice would work best for this style of dress. Equally if your dress is more bohemian then a more free flowing hairstyle with waves for instance may be more of the "look" you are going for to best compliment it.
Tip 2- Hair colour and length
Hair colour and length are key factors to consider as well. It is almost pointless finding a hairstyle on a blonde model when you are brunette... Why? Because of a little thing called light. Light naturally bounces off of blonde or highlighted hair, making twists, texture and waves more apparent. So if you are brunette and have the very same "style" the appearance can look very different as the texture won't show up as much. So it is really important to search for hair images that relate to your colour of hair to avoid any disappointment.
Equally length is important, maybe this is an obvious one, but we do have to me mindful and realistic about what can be done with the length of your hair. We can add padding and extensions to help with volume and an illusion of more hair in certain styles, but we do have to still be realistic about what will work and what won't.
Tip 3- Hair up or hair down?
Always the dilemma and I have copious amount of clients who come to me with no idea of which to go for. We can of course trial both at our trial , but the more the hair gets played with, the more flyaway, static and messy the hair becomes. Making it harder to visualise what a hairstyle will look like. I usually advise trying 2 hairstyle options with room for subtle tweaks such as parting changes, loose hair pieces pulled out or more volume. To help, here are some questions to ask yourself before starting to look for some images...
-Do you ever wear your hair up ever for work or meals out? (not the gym that doesn't count!) How does it make you feel? Are you comfortable?
-Do you like height or volume on top and/or throughout the hair?
-Do you like some hair left out around the face? (This can give softness, but for some people its an irritation)
-Do you have a parting? Do you wish to keep it as it is, change it or lose it altogether?
-When looking at up-do's think of its positioning. Do you like it at the nape of the neck, above the neck or high up on the top of your head?
Hopefully this can help narrow down some options on hair up/ hair down choices making it easier to pick one of each for your trial.
Tip 4-Does your hair hold a curl?
Often I have clients wanting luscious waves or curls but their hair is either fine and/ or really doesn't hold a curl well. There are 3 options in this scenario which can help.
1) We opt for some layering to be cut into the hair. So often I have clients with long hair, but it's all one length. However they want curls or waves that run the whole length of the hair. Well without layering, the hair will only curl from a certain point from the root, as gravity will naturally pull it down. Adding layers means that the curls/waves have a higher ending point and are lighter meaning you get more curls/ waves into the hair.
2) We opt for an alternative hairstyle option rather than a hair down/ or half up. We can create a lovely hair up with softness and looseness to add a feeling of hair down but knowing it's pinned and will hold all day.
3) We add hair extensions which will help in holding a curl and allow styles like hollywood waves to stay in place all day long. They also aid volume and are brilliant for adding a touch more length as well.
(Photo by Natalie Stevenson)
Tip 5- Adding detail
We all want something interesting about our hairstyle choice, but we do have to consider a few things (mentioned below) when thinking about detail to the hairstyle:
- Plaits are often requested, and can look gorgeous, but usually on fuller/ thicker hairs. Reason being is plaits tend to take away volume of the hair. So if your hair is particularly fine, perhaps looking at twists would be a better option for you as they retain or even gain volume to a hairstyle.
-Texture in my option is always a good thing in a hairstyle, but what type is more "you". We tend to see two types of texture going on here in 2023 trends. That is a smooth, pulled out texture like below:
Or more of a twisted, undone, messier texture like the photo below:
- Hair accessories (only if you have purchased them already- otherwise find the hairstyle and then the accessory) are also a factor to consider in your hairstyle options.
(Photo by Natalie Stevenson, Hair Accessories by Rachel Sokhal)
Obviously the accessory will only look great on certain hairstyles. A hair comb may only work with something pinned up for instance. But we should also consider that if we have a slightly larger or sparkly piece that you want to be the focal point of a hairstyle, then too much texture, detail within the hairstyle itself may look too busy and detract away from the hair accessory.
(Photo by Hannah Duffy)
Tip 6 - Hair from the front
The amount of times my clients only bring me hair images from the back is almost 98% of the time. I can't stress enough that finding images of the front (albeit it's harder to find them on the internet) is just as important as the back. This is what YOU see and thus what actually becomes the part that most of my clients are more particular about. It's what will be in most of your wedding images as well. Key things to look for and think about:
- How do you want your parting?
- How much height do you want at the front?
- Do you want some of your hair left around your face, or more swept away?
- Do you want your ears covered?
Trials are so important to book with your hairstylist, so that you can really envision what these hairstyles you have found look like on you. Let me know if you found these little tips helpful in your hunt for the perfect hairstyle? I have also created a Pinterest board with various hairstyle options for you to have a look at right here- do feel free to save them to your boards. Don't forget to also save the images on my instagram/ website if you love them, as it's always great to see your own work for when we have our trial together.
Happy hair style hunting!
Amanda x
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