What To Expect From Your Hair Salon:
Updo's & Formal Styles

Updo/Formal style for special occasions (more catered towards special events, parties, etc.. not prom and wedding)

Up-do’s and formal styles aren’t just for weddings and prom. There are a lot of occasions that call for a more formal hairdo. I will give you a few examples so we’re on the same page.

Scenario 1: Office holiday party. It’s after hours and you don’t have time to go home to change or fix your hair, so you bring your party dress to work and hope your style works. Why not hit up a salon close to work and stop by for 20 to 30 minutes? If your hair is already curled or straightened, it shouldn’t take a stylist that long to create something special. Not only will you look fabulous, you will feel it too. And once you feel it, everyone else will be blown away. It gives you confidence and puts a spring in your step. The added benefit is that you will also look more polished. So yes, you may be out 25-50 bucks, but in the end you will feel pampered and more festive.

Scenario 2: Hot date. Every once in a while, a girl is lucky enough to go on a date with someone smokin’ hot and you want to look amazing for the theater or whatever. Getting your hair done in a salon in an up-do or formal style doesn’t mean it has to look like you are going to a wedding. It may be that you just get a shampoo (which will relax you and make you feel so fantastic) and a roller set for some volume and curls. Having it done at a salon will look completely different than if you did it at home. It’s like trying to massage your own feet. You get the job done, but is it really the same as it would be if you had a professional do it for you? Plus, if you let a pro do it, you’ll feel just a bit sassier and more like a princess.
Scenario 3: Dinner with the in-laws. Even if you aren’t married, going to dinner with your partners parents can be a traumatizing experience. Why not indulge and get your hair swept up into a hairdo that says “I’m confident and in control.” Maybe you’re just going to a rib joint. Doesn’t matter. The way you look to yourself and others affects the way you act. If you look downright show-stopping, that’s the way you will act.

You get the idea. Having your hair done at a salon just for a day or night event doesn’t just have to be for senior prom or weddings. The act of going in to get your hair done always makes you feel better. Up-do’s or formal hairdo’s are no exception. What you will want to do in advance (if you can) is grab a few pics of hairdo’s you like. If you don’t have the time or just plain forget, have a more detailed discussion with your stylist about what you are wearing and if your hair would look better up or down or even half and half. Talk about curls versus straight and lots of volume or very little. If you can determine what you don’t want or what you don’t feel comfortable with, it’s a lot easier for your stylist to come up with something that is most appropriate for the situation.
Other events you may want to consider getting a formal style or up-do for: funerals, honeymoon, blind date, girls’ night out, church (when you’re too tired or don’t feel like doing it yourself), on-vacation-so-splurge-for-fun, recitals (music or dance), local screenings or theater events, going to the symphony or ballet, gallery openings or showings. You can see the list is long and random. There are a ton more ideas, but you get the general idea. There really isn’t a bad time to get your hair done. The best time? When you’ve got the blues. It’s an instant pick-me-up and you don’t have to stress about color or length, you just roll with it and wash it out when you’re done!
Tips – make sure you are wearing a very open necked shirt or a button up shirt. You don’t want to have to fight your collar to save your hair. Don’t wash your hair the same day unless you are willing to add more money to the service and get your hair shampooed at the salon. Stylists generally prefer just a bit of grit they get when you have day-old hair. On the flip side, don’t have icky hair. If you have tons of product in your hair, go ahead and wash that out. If you show up to get your hair done with icky hair, it won’t matter how amazing your stylist is – your hair will still look tragic. Be a little flexible with the end result. If it doesn’t look 100% like the picture you brought in, remember that you aren’t the model either and the stylist did the best they could with what they had to work with. Doesn’t mean you can’t ask for little changes here or there, but respect that your hair isn’t the same as the person in the pic.