I hear the comment, “the dirtier your hair, the better” in relation to hair styling, all the time. But is this really true? Does the grease in your hair truly benefit your hair style? And should you wear your moisturiser or spf under your makeup?
Here is where you will find out the best ways to prepare for your hair and makeup styling appointment.
Hair
Clean or Dirty?
Far too often I get to a client’s house and one of the bridesmaids has deliberately not washed her hair for days, because she is under the belief the more grease the better. Unfortunately, this is not entirely true.
The fact is, a little bit of grease is great and helps with grip and holding your hair style. But, if your hair is so dirty that it looks stringy and greasy, it actually makes styling much harder and can minimise the duration of your style, so any down styling with curls for example, will be weighed down and stretch out your curls faster. Not to mention the film of goo left on your stylist’s hands and tools is kinda gross. Dry shampoo will only do so much. When in doubt, best to have clean hair rather than super dirty hair, as stylists can always dirty up the hair with product. But once the hair is too greasy, there’s not much we can do.
Wet or Dry?
The other tip is not to have wet hair, unless you are having a blow dry. Wet hair generally doesn’t hold well and needs to be dried before curling or straightening anyway. With long, thick hair, drying can add anywhere up to 30mins onto your booking time and still not be 100% dry. So best to wash your hair the day prior to your appointment to avoid this.
Makeup
Moisturise or not?
Good skin care and skin condition will most definitely affect the look of your makeup. If your skin is dry and flakey, this can cause the makeup to look the same too. However, don’t rely on your makeup artist to have the perfect moisturiser for your skin.
Mobile artists rarely have enough space in their kits for all their makeup, let alone stocking an entire range of skin care for every skin type. This is why most will recommend adhering to your usual tried and tested skin care routine. This will also eliminate the possibility of having a reaction to a moisturiser that you may never have tried before.
SPF or no SPF?
A good makeup artist will have high pigment professional products to reflect correctly in photos. This means there will be no SPF in their foundations but it will act as a physical UV blocker (kind of like wearing a tshirt, it will still protect, just not chemically).
However, you CAN wear SPF under your foundation as well, without any fear of ruining your photos, as long as it is NOT greasy. Many thick and greasy spf products will not allow makeup to adhere or sit well over the top.
In Australia this is Highly recommended to apply an spf, as you can never have too much sun protection!!
Waxing
Waxing is also something that can affect your makeup, that many people do not realise. If you wax your side burns off, or lip, chin and above your eyebrows, you can stop the makeup from adhering to the skin. This can make those areas very obvious.
The reason for this is you have tiny little invisible hairs (I like to call them Peach Fuzz) all over your face that grip makeup. Waxing takes all those hairs off as well as the hairs you want gone. Applying makeup to these no-hair areas is like applying makeup to a smooth tile, it just slides right off. Best to wax a week prior to the appointment, so those tiny hairs can start to grow back, otherwise threading and plucking are far better facial hair removal alternatives.
So, is that all you have to do to prep? For the most part yes. Clean and dry hair with no products in it for your hair styling and a clean and moisturised face with no makeup already on it for your makeup.
Some other things to keep in mind
Bring pictures of hair and makeup styles you like.
Bring any hair accessories you may have. Like combs, flowers, clips and including any clip in hair extensions you might want to use for thickness or length.
If you have a very specific style of false lash that you want, bring them with you to the appointment. Most artists have a small selection to choose from, but again, they can’t fit every option of lash in their kits. Pictures of your apparel is great too. This way your artist and stylist can see what you are wearing and help design the perfect hair and makeup to suit you and your outfit.
The rest is up to your artist.
If your artist is coming to your location, for makeup they will want to set up in an area with really good day light with a table for their products and a chair (or a stool is even better).
For hair, they will need somewhere with a power point, a table for their tools and a chair for you.
So there you have it. My best advice on how to prepare for your hair and makeup appointment.
