How to Get Healthy Hair for Your Wedding

A hairstylist shares her timeline to improve your tresses.

When it comes to your wedding-day hair, you want to start with a strong and healthy canvas that requires some work months leading up to the big day.

bride-in-white-strapless-dress-on-rooftop-garden
Photo: Images by Berit, Inc.

Getting married is an exciting time, but there’s also a lot of pressure to look the best you’ve ever looked. You’re expected to have the perfect dress, flawless makeup, and stunning hair. These are all achievable goals with the help of an expert stylist, but when it comes to your hair, you want to start with a strong and healthy canvas. This is not something you’ll want to leave to the last minute, unless you’re open to getting a big chop right before the wedding. That’s why Kali Ferrera, a hairstylist at Roy Teeluck Salon in New York City, is here to offer her advice. Read her timeline to get luscious locks below. 

timeline to get healthy, strong hair by wedding day

Photo by Kevin Weinstein; Planning & Design by Geller Events

1 Year to Wedding - Start with Healthy Hair

First things first; let’s get this hair long, thick, and healthy. For my brides to be I always recommend Vitafusion’s Gorgeous Hair Skin and Nails gummy vitamins. These are not only a multivitamin but contain biotin, a B vitamin that helps with hair growth, and hair needs to be nourished from the inside out. I recommend regular trims, every eight to 10 weeks. This will ensure any split ends that may be forming are cut off before they can cause any breakage. In conjunction with trims, I recommend conditioning treatments on a weekly basis as well as Oribe’s Split End Seal Treatment before styling.

8-10 Months to Wedding - Find Your Stylist

Pinterest and Instagram can be hard to navigate when looking for a hairstylist for your wedding day. If you aren't using your regular stylist and need to find someone close to your venue, ask your wedding coordinator if they have a preferred stylist or ask friends who have gotten married in the area. After you have pinned down a few viable options, make sure you are on the same page aesthetically by looking at their work from previous weddings.

4-6 Months to Wedding - Hair Trial

For my brides, I always recommend they bring multiple pictures of what they may be thinking. Pictures of the front, back, and sides of different hairstyles you like will help communicate what you are going for. Also bring pictures of your dress and décor so the stylist can get a full picture of your chosen aesthetic. If your first trial does not go as planned, it is always a great idea to have a second one. If you feel that your stylist doesn't understand what you are going for then don’t fret, there is time to find a new one! With multiple trials comes no surprises, and with all of the moving parts on your big day that is exactly what you need.

1-4 Weeks to Wedding - Keratin, Color, Extensions

If my bride-to-be doesn't already color or highlight her hair, I generally recommend a few highlights to show dimension in an updo, as well as a shine gloss to really make the pictures pop. These services, as well as any grey coverage, should be done one to two weeks prior to the big day, giving it time to settle in and for the future Mrs. to get used to it.

Many clients opt for a keratin treatment to fend off any frizz. This process can make the hair flat until after a few washes, so I recommend having it done one month prior to the wedding. Extensions are also often used by brides that really want to give their hairstyle an added oomph whether they have already mermaid-length locks and want more or have thin hair and want to fill out their dream style. Clip-in extensions are probably the most common and adaptable, but tape-ins and keratin-bonded extensions will keep your locks full and long all the way through your honeymoon. If you choose to go with some sort of extension for your big day, work closely with your colorist so that your extensions and natural hair flow together seamlessly.

For more beauty tips, discover a countdown to radiant skin and how to find hairstylists and makeup artists for your wedding.