Wedding Hair 2009

Wedding season has come to an end for this year, and it's now time for next year's brides to start their planning. If you are getting married in 2009 it's time to find your wedding hairstylist and makeup artist, and start thinking about what kind of look you want to go for.

Hot Trend

When I'm trying to choose a style for a bride or her bridesmaids, I look to the red carpet. One trend that has been very popular on the red carpet lately is the messy french braid. What I like about this trend is that, unlike many other bridal hairstyles, the interest is in the front. I've seen so many brides choose styles with beautiful intricate patterns in the back, but from the front don't look like anything too special. When you are getting your wedding photos taken, they are of your face, not the back of your head, so it make sense to have a hairstyle that looks good from the front as well as the back.

The french braid can be worked into a variety of different styles depending on the type of look you are going for. Sarah Michelle Gellar (left), Amanda Bynes (centre), and Anne Hathaway (right) depict 3 different versions of this trend.
Gellar's style is the most modern, and my personal favorite, with messy curls pinned loosely in the back. This style works well with a formal or casual dress, and is appropriate for both daytime and evening weddings.

Bynes's style is soft and youthful, with the majority of the hair left down in loose waves. This style is best for outdoor daytime weddings, but by moving the part to the side, and with a little more finish on the hair that is left down, it can be transformed into a more sophisticated evening look.

Hathaway's style is the most polished, with a smoother braid and a neat bun in the back. This style is appropriate for a formal dress and formal settings, and works well with a veil.

Choosing A Style

Before choosing your wedding hairstyle and makeup, it is important to take into consideration: the theme of your wedding, the style of your dress, whether or not you are wearing a veil, and what kind of setting the wedding is taking place in. But above all you feel good about the way you look. If you choose a style that is too different from the way you would usually style your hair, or apply a lot more, or a lot less makeup than you're used to, you will only end up feeling uncomfortable. Meaning that if you never wear your hair up, then you probably aren't going to like the way it looks up on your wedding day either. The best wedding look for you is usually just a more glamorous version of the way you style your own hair, and do your own makeup everyday. If you really want to try something different then make sure you have a trial on a day that you can wear the hair and makeup out somewhere that you'll be seen, and see how it makes you feel. If you feel good, then you know it will be ok for the wedding, but if you do feel uncomfortable, then it's better to know it before the wedding day.

If you have any specific questions about wedding hair or makeup, don't hesitate to ask emily@emilyroop.com

Hair colour for men. How to do it right.

I thought it would be appropriate to follow up my last blog about hairstyles for men with a blog about hair colouring for men. Many men tend to shy away from colouring their hair, but colouring/highlighting can be great for blending away gray or enhancing your haircut. The best looking colours for men are the colours that look like they could be natural, so you want to stay away from anything too bright, or too different from your natural hair colour.

Blonde Hair

My personal opinion is that all lighter hair (every shade from light blonde to dark blonde or light brown, and every length) looks better when you add some highlights. To get a natural look you want thin evenly spaced highlights that are 2 or 3 shades lighter than your natural hair colour. The idea is to recreate the colour your hair turns after being in the sun, so it's ok to go a little lighter on the top of your head where the sun would naturally hit it.

Red Hair

Lighter more ginger coloured red heads also look great with highlights. By adding some blonde highlights to ginger hair you'll get an overall effect of a warm golden blonde. Those few men and women who have that true red hair colour usually look best keeping their natural colour at least until it starts tuning gray.

Dark Hair

For dark haired men (ranging from medium brown to black) it really depends on the hairstyle. Shorter haircuts generally look better left natural, or sometimes coloured darker. Short dark hair won't naturally lighten much in the sun, so lightening it looks unnatural, but for longer styles adding subtle highlights, staying within about 2 shades of your natural hair colour, will look fairly natural, and it will give depth and texture to the style.

Gray Hair

If your hair is under 40% gray, and you want to cover the gray, then doing an all over colour that is close to your natural hair colour is the best option. I would recommend using a semi-permanent colour that is one shade lighter than your natural hair, but in an ash tone (rather than a natural tone). Over time all colours will become warmer, so using an ash toned colour will help prevent your hair from turning red/orange. Using a semi-permanent colour will help prevent getting a root line, and using a slightly lighter colour will blend the gray in better and look more natural. If you have more than 40% gray then doing an all over colour will give you an obvious root line, even if you use a semi-permanent colour. At this stage I would suggest either letting it go natural, highlighting or lowlighting. If you natural colour is blonde, light brown or red then adding highlights will blend the gray into your hair and give you a blonde look overall. If your natural colour is medium brown to black then adding lowlights will give you an overall salt and pepper look (but more pepper than your current colour). When low-lighting your hair you want to use either black or dark ash brown.

Feel free to email me at emily@emilyroop.com if you have any specific questions regarding colour, or if you are thinking of colouring your hair for the first time and need some professional advice.