12 Tips For Your Wedding Hair

If you didn't already know, I started a wedding hair company. Check us out WedLocks Bridal Hair

Planning my wedding was one of the most difficult experiences I have ever been through. For those of you who have yet to go through this life changing experience, let me tell you, it is incredibly overwhelming! I mean where do you start? Food, silverware, plates, music, napkins, venue, vows, tents, lights, the list goes on and on. I took solace in knowing that there were people around me who were taking care of a lot of those little details for me, but there was one thing that I would do myself... my own hair! I am a hairstylist after all. And in my case, I knew that I would be the only person to do it the way I like it. I am a firm believer that if there's a professional for it, then let them do it. So I did! I did, however, take it one step farther and I also styled my mom and my sister's (maid of honor/my only bridesmaid) hair. Hair is my therapy and I honestly believe that being able to do some hair on the big day, kept me calm, cool, and collected. So here are a few suggestions that you may or may not have thought of when it comes to your hair and wedding planning.

Me doing my Merm's hair. Yes, that is my mom, not my sister. 

1. If you haven't already, set up a Pinterest account with a "Wedding Board." It's the best way to gather your thoughts, collect pictures, and give you an idea of what you like and what you want.

Speaking of Pinterest, Follow us!

2. Always consider your face shape!

3. Always have a hair and makeup trial to make sure your hairstyle is the look you a going for.

4. Consider scheduling a trial right before a dress fitting, that way, you can see the whole vision of your hair with your dress!

My bestie's hair for her wedding! ((Photography by: Suzanne and Ryan Houchin))

5. Be open to your stylist's advice! Remember, they're professionals.

6. Wear a button-down shirt or a robe when getting ready so you don't ruin your gorgeous hair and makeup!

7. Consider having the bride get ready first, that way she can have a last minute touch-up and finishing spritz of hairspray just before walking down the aisle!

8. If you wear your hair down on a regular basis and that is what makes you feel the prettiest, then wear your hair down! You do not have to go with an up-do to look beautiful and elegant.

The Lovely Katie (and Josh)  ((Photography by: Suzanne and Ryan Houchin))

9. People change their dresses from the ceremony to the reception, why not do it with your hair? Have an Elegant up-do for the ceremony and sexy tousled curls for the reception!

10. Veil? Bring it to your trial!

11. No veil, no problem! There are so many alternatives to wearing a veil, like a sparkly headband, tiara, braid crown. If you do have any alternative head attire, bring it to the trial!

12. You do not have to have dirty hair on your wedding day. Yes, some stylists prefer it, but for my ladies who have scalps that are more on the oily spectrum, go ahead and wash!

Bonus!!! Do you! Nothing is more frustrating for a stylist than when someone else is telling the bride what to do with her hair. Do what you want! You are a grown a$$ woman who is getting married, you are entitled to make your own decisions on YOUR day!

Check out my Bridal Hair Company WedLocks Bridal Hair!

Follow me on Instagram @ninemorrison 

I hope you learned a lot! What else would you like to read? Comment below!

Transformation Tuesday

This little darling has been coming to me for a long time! I remember the first time I did her hair! Anyways, she usually goes a few months in between appointments, so it's always a pretty good transformation and a fun project!

Base Bump & Balayage

Base Bump & Balayage

My New Business Venture!

Hello dolls! I've missed you! I apologize for being M.I.A., but I have so many crazy, exciting things going on right now. Not that, that is an excuse, but I definitely think the mini hiatus has rejuvenated and refreshed me to get back into the blogging game! Here are some of the things I've got going on:

1. I'm already starting to plan my 9.5 month-old daughter's first birthday!!!

2. My husband and I have started house hunting to buy our first home! (It's not going too great, but our hopes are still high.)

3. And the most exciting thing... I started a new business with a couple of friends!!!

If you couldn't tell, it's an on-location bridal hair company called WedLocks, (get it?)!

The idea behind it and what sets us apart is that we have included all of the travel fees and gratuity into the price, that way there are no surprises or confusion! Anyone who has planned a wedding, (and for those of you who haven't yet, get ready!) knows that there are so many choices and (financial) decisions that everyone wants you to make and we are just trying to make it as easy as possible for the bride(s). A big thing for me is transparency! I love when I can get all of the information about pricing from just visiting the website. That is what a website is for, right? So for right now, we are just getting started, and we have just launched the website, (I worked super hard on it, but I'm not a professional!) I would love for you to go and take a look at it, and give me your feedback.

wedlocksbridalhair.com

If you are in Colorado and would like to collaborate on a project, book us for a wedding or event, or want to be part of our wedding network, we want to be meet you! You can contact us on the website!

Now that I am back on the blogging band wagon, what do you want to know? What do you want to read? Maybe tips about wedding hair? Comment below and let me know!

Follow me on Instagram @ninemorrison 

Adventures In Blonding Part Deux

For those of you just joining us, this is a follow-up of Adventures In Blonding, so take a gander at that first, so you're not lost.

...And the journey continues! So Stephanie tackled the beast again.

It has been six weeks since our first adventure together and this time we got my hair even blonder! And I'm so in love!

This time around, we had to fight against every blonde's arch nemesis, Roots! So we started there, since that hair is the darkest and needs the most time to process. We applied lightener all over my regrowth area (AKA Roots) first.

Photos: Lightener on regrowth (roots); Lightener all over

Then we pulled a more gentle lightener through the rest of my hair to get it even lighter. 

And then we waited, and waited...

And waited.

Finally, we rinse!

Photos: Hair after rinsing; Hair with toner on

Again, we have some not-so-lovely highlighter yellow hair. For that, we call in every blonde's handy-dandy sidekick, Toner! Remember him? Toner is what neutralizes unwanted tones using complementary colors on the color wheel. It is also something that is custom to each person. So remember kids, don't try this at home! You could easily turn your hair green! EW!

Photos: After! All work done by Stephanie Pion!

After styling and a much needed trim, Voila! Its gorgeous!

Photo: Olaplex!

This whole process would not have been possible without Olaplex. Olaplex is a bond multiplier used to prevent damage or breakage caused by lighteners. It is an added on service that take almost no extra time and is a complete life saver!

Photos: The whole enchilada!

Thanks again Stephanie!

Want To See More?

For Adventures In Blonding Part One

For my Beachy Wave Tutorial

For Confessions Of A Hairstylist's Bad Day

Transformation Tuesday

Had an amazingly busy week with some gorgeous hair! I swear, not only was every woman who sat in my chair Victoria's Secret model worthy, but they already had beautiful hair! I was in heaven!

Balayaged Ombre going a little lighter.

This darling was referred to me from one of my existing extension addicts. She needed her hair colored to match her new Bellami Clip-In Extensions. (I loved playing with these extensions, they were amazing!)

Once again, gorgeous from the beginning! Another beautiful balayaged ombre going a little lighter.

For more before and after inspirations check out my Before & After page.

Follow me on Instagram @ninemorrison.

How To Curl With A Flatiron

Well folks, I finally did it! I made a curling tutorial! I have probably been asked a hundred times to make a tutorial on how to curl with a flatiron. Curling with a flatiron is by far, my favorite way to curl to achieve the perfect beachy waves. I don't even use a curling iron anymore, like ever. There are so many benefits to curling this way:

Faster

Smoother

Less Damaging

More Control

Photography By Stephanie Pion

What other tutorials you would like to see?

Comment below and let me know. 

Transformation Tuesday

I love extensions! They are so much fun and instant gratification! No more waiting 5 years for your hair to grow back because you can have it now! This lovely lady has tried a couple different types of extensions over the past few months: Tape-Ins and Keratin Bond (Hot Fusion).

For more information about different kinds of extensions. Take a look at my post Hair Extensions 101.

Before & After Keratin Bond Extensions (Hot Fusion)

Left: Tape Extension; Right: Keratin Extensions

Which one do you like better on her? Tape or Keratin?

Confessions of a Hairstylist's Bad Day

This post has been hard for me to write, and it took me a couple of weeks to get over the events that led up to this.

Let's start from the beginning. I walked up to the front and introduced myself to my new client. She had requested to see me because she had seen the blog and loved my work! Naturally, I was elated that the blog had actually reached people and that she liked my work enough to request me! This was extremely validating for me as a blogger and a stylist.

We talked about what she wanted to do with her hair, and she had said that she liked the natural, balayage look. She already had highlights, so all we needed to do was touch up her roots with a little hand painting to match her color on the ends. I was very confident that we had a full consultation, and that both of us were on the same page. We had great conversation over the next two hours and she absolutely loved her hair when we were done and I was extremely satisfied with how it had turned out! I made sure that the receptionist got her all checked out, including her product and she was on her way. I got started on my next client and 15 minutes later, my previous client was back... and very upset. She claimed that her hair was red, the color was flat, and that it wasn't what she asked for at all! Because I was with another client and she wasn't able to come back in a couple hours, she had to see another stylist to have the color adjusted. She sat in the other stylist's chair and she was so upset that she proceeded to tear me down and the work I had just done. Luckily, my co-worker diffused the situation and told her that our salon is a team, and that she would make sure she would leave happy. It ended up being an easy adjustment. My co-worker toned her hair with a slightly darker color than I had, and her hair, in my opinion, looked pretty much the same as what I had done. 

Before & After of My Work

I will always be the first one to admit when I have made a mistake, but when things like this happen, it really breaks my heart.  Especially since this client had seen my work, sought me out and probably had high expectations for me. The fact that she left extremely satisfied with her hair, and came back 15 minutes later, completely hating it, really made me wonder: What happened in those 15 minutes?

Did she go home and see her hair in some horrible bathroom lighting?

Did her boyfriend say something?

Maybe he said that he didn't like it.

Perhaps she was nervous about meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time over the holidays.

Regardless of the reason, I don't know who was more upset, her or me? I obsessed over the ordeal for days, trying to figure out what I could have done differently, and I realized that there wasn't anything. Consultations can always get longer and you can go through pictures of hair together for hours. But I really thought we were on the same page. Besides, had I done more, I still feel the outcome would have been the same, because nothing I could have done would have changed what she saw in her mirror.

Before & After of My Work

I guess what I am trying to get at is; no matter how much you love your job and no matter how good you are at it, you're bound to have a rough day from time to time. It keeps us humble and reminds us that we don't know it all. On the bright side, I loved the work I did and I stand by it. I can even say that I am proud of the work I did that day!

Before & After of My Work

What To Do If You Need An Adjustment:

-Lighting is so important! Fluorescent, LED, sunlight, black light. There are so many different kinds of lighting and your hair will look different in every single one. If your hair looks dull or brassy in your bathroom or bedroom, go outside and see it in the sunlight. You might be surprised.

-Live with it for a couple days! Sometimes your color just needs to settle or soften up. Or maybe it will take a couple of washes too.

- Your hairstylist is here for you! Always communicate with your stylist! We want you to look good, we want you too be happy, It's our job! So give your hairstylist the opportunity to adjust the cut or color before you seek any outside help. Communication is key!

For more adventures, check out Adventures in Blonding & Adventures in Blonding Part Deux

Thanks Jo!

New Year New You Transformations!

I hope everyone had an amazing holiday season. Now that it is a new year, many people are looking for a new look. So take a gander at some of these daring ladies's new do's for a little inspiration. 

Th long bob, also know as the "Lob." The before picture is actually from the last time I highlighted her hair. We didn't do the color this time, but you can see how beautifully it lightened up and has faded!

This is the Before & After of a Deva Curl Cut. The Deva Curl Cut is a haircut specifically designed for anyone with any type of curl pattern.

This particular guest came to me with quite a crazy story. The stylist she had been going to for years was in the middle of lightening all of her hair from dark brown and was unable to finish for personal reasons. The top left picture is what she came to me with. I got her hair as even as I could  in the bottom left. And the finished product on the right!

Beginning to end.

And again.