Brushing de mariée: le planning de la veille au jour J

On a wedding day, everything is timed to the minute, except, often, the hair. Yet a bridal blow-dry is prepared like everything else: a booking at the right moment, a trial, a calm day before and a well-ordered morning.

Here is the countdown, step by step, to arrive before the registrar or at the altar with curls that will last until the dancing.

What the House offers

Better to know this before you build your schedule. Manel, a qualified hairdresser, knows the trade inside out, but bridal hair, cutting and colour are not on the M BRUSH menu.

The menu therefore includes no cut, no colour, no chignon and no updo. If you dream of a high bun or a crown braid, you will need another solution.

If you want to wear your hair down, on the other hand, a blow-dry is exactly what you need. The five finishes on the menu range from the sleekest straight to the most defined curls.

For a bride, it is often iron curls that win the day: a voluminous blow-dry, then curls worked with an iron, more defined and longer-lasting than with a brush.

A few months before: book

As soon as the wedding date is set, book. Only one date matters, and it would be a shame to miss it because a slot has already gone.

Booking is done online: you choose your length using three markers (the nape, the shoulders, the bottom of the ribs), then your finish, then a free slot.

Nothing is payable online, and no deposit is required: everything is settled on the day of the appointment.

Should anything come up, cancellation or postponement is possible by giving at least 24 hours' notice.

A few weeks before: the trial

Before the big day, have a first blow-dry with the finish you have in mind. It is not a separate service: it is an ordinary appointment, booked in the same way. It lets you answer some practical questions:

• Does the finish feel like you? Iron curls, brush curls or a more discreet soft finish.
• How long does it last on your hair? Look at it in the evening, then the next day.
• Does it work with your veil or accessory? Bring it along if you can, or a photo.

If you are torn between the two curl finishes, our article brush curls or iron curls sets out the difference in detail.

The week of the wedding

That week, the rule is simple: nothing new.

• No new shampoo or new mask. An unfamiliar product can weigh the hair down or irritate the scalp at the worst possible moment.
• No last-minute colour change. If there is to be one, it happens well before, and elsewhere, since colour is not on the M BRUSH menu.
• Heat protection if you style your own hair in the days before, so that you arrive with your lengths in good condition.

The day before and the morning

The day before

Wash your hair the evening before or that same morning, as you usually do, with your usual shampoo and conditioner.

The essential point: no oil, no serum, no styling product. These products stop the shape from forming and holding. Shampoo + optional conditioning on site; otherwise, the whole appointment goes into the blow-dry.

The morning of the big day

The order matters. Here is the one that works best.

1. I

   Breakfast.A proper one, the day will be long.

2. II

   Blow-dry.Wear a top that opens at the front: a buttoned shirt comes off without touching the hair, a roll-neck jumper would ruin everything.

3. III

   Home, make-up and dressing.The dress goes on, if possible, from the bottom up.

4. IV

   The veil or accessory last.Pins slide under the curls, never through them.

Iron curls take a little longer than the other finishes. Choose a slot that leaves some margin, so that the morning stays a calm moment. During the appointment, all you have to do is sit back: a chance to breathe before the day begins.

On a wedding morning, the best margin is the one nobody sees.

During the celebration

Iron curls last longer than brush curls, but a wedding day puts any hairstyle to the test: embraces, wind, the heat of the room, dancing. Entrust a small pouch to one of your bridesmaids:

• two flat pins without teeth;
• a wide-tooth comb;
• a silk scarf for car journeys or a walk in the wind.

As the evening goes on, the curls relax into waves. That is normal, and it often looks beautiful in the late-evening photos.

If you are marrying around Lausanne or in the Lavaux, our article on wedding hair in Lausanne and the Lavaux covers wind and outdoor photos.

The countdown in brief

• As soon as the date is set: book your slot.
• A few weeks before: a trial blow-dry and some photos.
• The week of the wedding: nothing new.
• The day before or that morning: hair washed, no product.
• The big day: blow-dry early, buttoned top, veil last.

Are your bridesmaids and your family also looking for their hair? Our article on the finish to choose as a guest will help them. For you, only one step remains: book your iron curls for the morning of the big day.