Styling your hair to match that special outfit

Picture the scene: you’ve been planning this event for the last goodness knows how many months; every single day has been devoted to organising and prepping to ensure that nothing could possibly go wrong. It’s now the day of the event and although you’ve finally decided what to wear, you’re totally stuck in a hair rut. What on earth are you going to do with your hair today? It needs to look just the right side of elegant, without looking like you’ve spent about three hours fixing it. And of course, you’ll need to ensure that it holds the style for the entirety of the event; no-one wants to arrive at an important event only for their perfectly groomed do to have turned in to a limp, straggly mess. So how do you go about styling your hair to match your outfit, and make sure that it stays in place for the entire day? We’ve compiled a helpful guide to hairstyles that look great for special occasions but are easy enough to do at home yourself.

 

-          Don’t wash your hair on the day: it may sound silly, but washing your hair on the morning of an important event will make it really difficult to style. Freshly washed hair tends to be a bit flyaway and holds much more static than hair that’s been left a day. Day old hair has enough staying power to ensure that your do doesn’t fall out as soon as you leave the house.

 

-          Allow plenty of time to style: if you have naturally curly hair and you’re planning to straighten it, it’s important that you leave enough time to do a good job. Separate your hair into manageable sections and straighten in layers, ensuring you use a good spritz of heat protection spray first. Allow your hair to cool properly before you leave the house, otherwise the moisture in the air outside will only attack your still-quite-hot styled hair and leave it looking frizzy.

 

-          Hairspray is your knight in shining armour: once you’ve perfected your hairstyle, hold a can of hairspray above your head and spritz a few times and leave to settle on your hair. This will avoid hair hardening and going crispy, but will also make sure your do stays in place and is protected from the elements.

 

-          Up-dos are perfect for special occasions: if you’re going to a special event, you don’t want to spend all day playing with your hair, pushing it out of your face all the time. An up-do can look really feminine and classy, making it ideal for any special occasion. Trending up-do styles for 2013 are the classic chignon bun and side plaits.

 

-          Chic chignons: this is a look that works well with medium and long hair. To achieve it, simply gather hair up in to a ponytail and secure with an elastic band. Then twist the hair and pull in to a coil, fastening again with an elastic band. Secure any flyways with hairgrips and finish with a spritz of hairspray.

 

-          Perfect plaits: plaits generally work better with long hair but can also look great on medium length hair too. Create a deep side parting on one side of your head (hair should naturally fall to one side). Gather hair up and start to plait on the side with the most hair, leaving a small section towards the front of the head. Once you’ve reached the end of your hair, fasten with an elastic band. Taking the small front section, plait this too and secure around your crown with a hairgrip. Plaits make for a really romantic hairstyle, perfect for a feminine look.

 

-          If you’re planning to leave your hair down, loose waves look great pinned back with a few flower hair slides. If you have straight hair, wind large sections around your hair straighteners starting from midway down the length of your hair. Fix with hairspray to hold the wave in place for longer.

 

The best way to decide on the perfect hairstyle to match your outfit is by experimenting. Rather than leave it until the day of the event, practise different hairstyles about a week before and try on your outfit each time to help you decide which style gives the look you’re trying to achieve.