One of the most common questions I get asked as a Richmond + Charlottesville Virginia wedding makeup and hair team is if a bride’s hair should be clean or dirty for wedding day hairstyling. The short answer is that your hair should not be dirty for hairstyling. This a very common understanding for hairstyling on a wedding day, that you should have “dirty” hair. Here a few reasons why my team and I prefer to work with clean hair for wedding day hairstyling.
Reason #1: Clean Hair is Longer Lasting
I wish I had a reason for why there is a common knowledge of dirty hair holding better. I think it comes from the transition in trends, but this myth needs to end all in all! The only time dirty hair would ever come in handy for a hair appointment would be if you are doing a slicked-back updo with no movement. However, this is not a very common wedding day hairstyle. The more oil and product build-up on the hair, the heavier it is. When hair (especially fine) gets too heavy, it will not hold any physical change in pattern. This makes holding curl or any style that much more difficult for your hair.
Reason #2: Clean Hair has Movement
I love the trends of hairstyles now. We see these beautiful styles with a lot of movement. I hear so often from the people I style, “I just do not want anything slicked back.” A lot of brides prefer a more volumized look, and the best way to achieve this is through clean hair. Dirty hair does not move, so you will get a more stiff style with dirty hair. We have amazing texture products to give your hair grit and grip where needed. But other than that, clean hair gives you the most movement to create the style you desire.
Reason #3: Clean Hair is Prettier
Think of having clean hair as being a blank canvas, a pretty neutral canvas. The artist can try different textures to create the depth and details necessary. Dirty hair is a canvas with dirt and oil spilled on it, and the artist has to try to incorporate what is already on the canvas into the painting. Our goal is to give you a pretty, soft hairstyle, and the result does depend on having a blank canvas.
Arriving on your wedding day with clean hair is not only going to make the job easier for your stylist, but you are going to love your look that much more. You’ve spent so much time and energy planning your wedding day and making sure it turns out exactly how you want, so take the extra few minutes to wash your hair. We truly want nothing more than to create beautiful hairstyles and fulfill our mission of having everyone in our chair leave feeling like their best self!
