How to Get Perfect Wedding Hair and Nails Before the Big Day

After you’ve sorted the wedding dress, booked the beautiful wedding venue and chosen the caterers, it’s time to get down to the real business… Bridal beauty!

Perfecting your make-up is very important, but another aspect of bridal beauty which needs a lot of pre-wedding attention is your hair and nails.

Here are our ultimate bridal beauty hacks to perfect your nails and hair for your wedding.

Improving Your Hair Before the Wedding

If you want to get the perfect luscious locks without opting for wedding hair extensions, make sure you follow these top tips. 

Avoid Excessive Colouring

If you usually colour your hair, try to reduce the amount in the lead up to your wedding to keep the condition as perfect as possible. If you have block colour, just get root touch ups and if you get highlights, opt for half-head or a T-section instead of a full head. The difference will be barely noticeable but the condition of your hair will stay fresh for your wedding day.

Don’t Wash Your Hair Every Day

Washing your hair every day may seem like a good thing but it can actually be worse for your hair. Daily hair washing can remove the natural oils and proteins from your hair and cause it to dry out. Shampooing less frequently can also decrease the need for you to use taming products on your hair which also strip the goodness from it. If your hair tends to get greasy quite quickly, invest in a good dry shampoo that works for you as an alternative for daily shampooing.

Watch Your Water Temperature

As much as a hot shower is relaxing, using very hot water on your hair can cause hair loss as it damages the scalp and causes the hair follicles to become weaker. Normal warm temperature is fine to use but a good bridal beauty hack is to rinse your hair with cold water at the end of your wash as it helps to close up the ends of your hair and prevents your chances of getting split ends.

Use Soft Brushes

Using tangle teaser brushes instead of firm bristled ones can really help the health of your hair as they are more gentle and refrain from breaking the hair strands. This is especially important for brides who have long or thick hair that is prone to knotting. It can make the world of difference and will have your hair looking gorgeous whether you wear it in a simple wedding hair style or something extravagent!

Be Careful With Heat Appliances

We can comfortably assume that most women are pretty friendly with their hairdryer and straighteners, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Although any heat to your hair will damage it, there are ways to lessen the damage. Opt for appliances with lower heat settings to give you a choice of a more lukewarm heat as opposed to a really high temperature that will burn and frazzle the ends of your hair. It may take longer to style, but it will help your hair a lot. Also try to use heat protection sprays and serums where you can. They protect the hair follicles and also make it appear softer and shinier – winning.

Get Regular Hair Cuts

It’s the oldest trick in the book but it really does work. Having your hair trimmed regularly stimulates growth and in turn will actually make it grow quicker. Make visits to your hairdressers more often than you normally would as cuts of little amounts, but often, will give the best results and give you long luscious hair for your wedding day.

Condition your Hair Properly

Conditioning your hair is something we all think we do, but doing it properly and more thoroughly is something that every bride should have in her hair-washing routine. Before you put your conditioner on, squeeze all of the excess water from your hair so the conditioner doesn’t get diluted. Add plenty onto your hair and massage it in, then comb through to make sure every single hair strand gets good coverage. Once a week do a deep conditioning where you leave the conditioner on overnight or for an hour or two. The difference you will feel is crazy.

Talk to your Hairdresser

If your hair is in real need of some TLC and you are worried about it, speak to your hairdresser about professional conditioning treatments, change of product or change of style as this can really help. Make sure you have this conversation with good time left before your wedding. Improving the condition of your hair can be a longer process than other beauty aspects but it can be done, and that will solve all of your hair problems. 

Improving Your Nails Before the Wedding

Having the perfect wedding nails that match your bouquet is easy, if you have the perfect nails to work with. Want them? This is how…

Moisturise Your Hands and Nails

Having gorgeous nails is all well and good but you want your hands to look just as nice. Using a Vaseline rub or moisturising liquid will soften your nails and cuticles making them stronger and healthier looking and it will also leave your skin soft and moisturised – perfect.

Protect Your Nails

Planning a wedding doesn’t mean you get out of housework (unfortunately) but the chemicals and bacteria in the cleaning products and dirt from the house can really affect your nails. Make sure you wear cotton-lined rubber gloves when carrying out these duties to give your nails the highest level of protection.

Use Nail Massagers and Buffers

Nails naturally grow quicker when they have a higher level of blood supply to them and one way of making this happen is to massage them. Shops like Boots and Superdrug sell 4-in-1 nail buffers which have a side for each stage of the process: File, Buff, Smooth and Shine. This will give your nails plenty of blood supply and have them growing fast in no time.

Tip: Be sure to replace your nail buffer once every two months for cleanliness reasons.

Avoid Quick Dry Nail Polish

Quick-drying nail polishes tend to contain more acetone, formaldehyde and alcohol than normal nail products. Whilst this may mean nothing to the average person, science suggests that these fluids can split your nails and dry them out. This isn’t the case for all quick-drying products but look out for those two ingredients when buying polishes in the lead up to your wedding to ensure healthy and happy nails. There are plenty of products available with non-damaging ingredients that will help you create stunning wedding nail art. 

Beware of Certain Nail Polish Removers

Another thing that can contain high levels of formaldehyde and also acetone is certain brands of nail polish removers. These chemicals will leave your nails weak with less natural protection and again, can really dry them out. Acetate-based removers are your best option for keeping your nails healthy so look out for that when shopping for your beauty products. Avoiding these chemicals will prepare your nails and help you create the perfect bridal manicure. 

Trim Straight

When trimming your fingernails and toenails, trim them straight as a rule of thumb. This prevents ingrown nails that can be really painful and difficult to get rid of. Ingrown nails are much more common when nails are cut in a rounded shape or too close to the skin and can cause huge discomfort which is the last thing you need in the lead up to your wedding.

Take Vitamin B

We all used to moan when our parents told us to take our vitamins, but one type you need to be taking is vitamin B. It will give you strong nails that won’t break, chip or thin which is exactly what every bride needs for the perfect wedding day manicure. This vitamin is what veterinarians use to strengthen horses hoofs so if it works for the ponies, it can most definitely work for you and you can find them in your local supermarket – easy peasy!

Say hello to hitched.co.uk’s recommended product:

LucyBee is a qualified beauty therapist who specialises in coconut oil products and has a love for healthy living and excercise. She has spoken to hitched.co.uk and given her top tips and advice on ways that coconut oil can improve the quality of your nair and nails. 

READ MORE: The Beauty Benefits of Coconut Oil

Hair Mask

Using this product as a hair mask can leave your locks looking luscious and glossy. Massaging the oil into your scalp will penetrate your hair follicles and leaving it on overnight will create an even better beautiful look.

Cuticle Care

Using LucyBee’s coconut oil for your cuticles will change your life. Rub the coconut oil on your fingernails and cuticles every night before you go to bed. The product is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral which means it’s extra-nourishing.

Now you have the foundations for a flawless bridal look, it’s time for the finishing touches. Check out our guide to wedding eyelashes and our reviews of the best wedding day foundations for an all-day-lasting glow.