Perfect Wedding Hair: How to Create it at Home

The little birdie that is Nicholas Penna, Jr., (the Owner and Lead Stylist of SalonCapri in Newton and Dedham, MA) sent me an amazing email yesterday! I had to share these styles. They’re perfect for a wedding, whether you’re the bride, a bridesmaid or just a guest. Which one is your favorite?

• Evenly distribute your favorite volumizing mousse (Nick’s is Shu Uemura’s Ample Angora Volumizing Mousse) throughout damp locks.

• Blow-dry hair with a large, round, boar bristle brush for a voluminous finish.

• Using a 1.5-2” curling iron, curl the ends of your hair. Take two inch sections and keeping the iron vertical, wrap the sections around the wand in an upwards spiral until you reach just above your ears.
TIP: keep the iron on medium heat.

• Add a spritz of heat activated hair spray and hold the iron in place for about 20 seconds.

• Using a wide-tooth comb (or your fingers!), gently brush out the ends of your hair; this will get rid of the stickiness that hairspray can cause and also loosens up the curls.

• Next, part your hair down the middle.

• Take a two or three inch strand from both sides of your head, near the temple, twist lightly and pull behind your head.

• When the twists meet at the back of your head, begin to weave them around one another so as to create a “crown,” making sure each twist reaches its opposite side.

• Secure with bobby pins beneath the opposite twist’s origin.

• Finish the look with Shu Uemura’s Sheer Lacquer spray.

• Apply a shape paste or gel to towel-dried hair. Nick recommends L’Oreal Professionnel Artec Texturline Texture Paste to keep the twist in place and stop pieces from falling out as you begin to create the style.

• Blow-dry hair with a large, round, boar bristle brush for a voluminous finish.

• Part your hair in the middle. Take the layers at the crown and top of your head and tease them by combing against the grain with a fine tooth comb. Add hairspray for more lift and volume (try L’Oreal Professionnel Texture Expert Infinium Spray).

• On either side of the part, grab about three inches of your hair and begin twisting it back, one side at a time.

• As you twist your hair, mimic the technique you would use for a French braid and grab pieces of hair as you continue to twist. Keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be perfect, the look you’re going for is loose and whimsical.

• Once your twists meet at the nape of your neck, tie the ends in a knot and spritz with hairspray.

• Take the loose ends and twist them so as to create a messy bun, tucking the remaining ends underneath the heap and into the side twists.

• Secure with bobby pins and more hairspray.

• Evenly distribute your favorite volumizing mousse (Nick’s is Shu Uemura’s Ample Angora Volumizing Mousse) throughout damp locks.

• Blow-dry hair with a large, round, boar bristle brush for a voluminous finish.

• Begin a French braid on either side of the natural part, just above your ears.

• Begin with small portions of hair, and as the braid begins to form, start incorporating generous sections from beneath the braid.

• Pin both braids at the back of your head, making sure to tuck one into the other so it appears a continuous crown around your head.

• Gently pull out a few wisps of hair around your face to soften the look.

• Finish with Shu Uemura Sheer Lacquer.

Nicholas Penna, Jr., is the Owner and Lead Stylist of SalonCapri in Newton and Dedham, MA. Nick has received international recognition with awards from Vidal Sassoon (for “Excellence in New Design.”) and the Guillaume Award in Berlin, Germany. Nick is routinely called on her expert hair tips and tricks and his advice has been featured in countless beauty magazines. He regularly styles hair for photo shoots and high-profile events such as New York City Fashion Week.

SalonCapri to be one of only 12 salons in the country to house the L’Oreal Professionnel Haircolor Center on premise. SalonCapri is also one of three L’Oreal expert teaching centers in the country, along with Fred Segal Beauty in Santa Monica, CA and L’Oreal’s own headquarters in New York’s SoHo neighborhood.

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