The Vogue guide to the perfect pre-wedding hair treatment plan

NINA MIYASHITA26 JUNE 2025

Looking to tailor your pre-wedding hair care plan? Here’s everything you need to know.

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Image credit: Dear Vincent

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So much of a wedding starts months before the big day. A location must be locked, a bevy of vendors booked, a date set in advance, and a dress procured and fitted—though, a last minute wardrobe find is certainly known to occur from time to time. But, for the most part, the planning of a wedding day simply cannot be rushed. And this is no truer than with a bride’s hair care routine.

Just like your skincare and beauty rituals, hair care is one of those routines that benefits from time. Time spent investing in your hair’s health, tailoring the treatments to be just right for your hair type, and allowing consistent care over weeks, and even months, produce the kind of results you can’t fake at the last minute.

And what does this care look like, you ask? From hair cuts to colour touch ups, strengthening hair treatments and moisturising masks, there are a number of steps to a pre-wedding hair care plan that begins months before a bride walks down the aisle. But when exactly is a bride supposed to get started on her nuptial hair care? And what treatments suit different hair types? And how does diet and supplements fit into the picture? To answer all these questions—and more—for all brides to be, Vogue speaks to hair stylist and founder of Raw Hair, Anthony Nader.

Ahead, everything you need to know about pre-wedding hair treatments, according to the experts.

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Image credits: Dear Vincent

How many months—and weeks—before the wedding should a bride begin a tailored hair-care plan, and what specific treatments belong at each checkpoint?

Like so many other details and elements of a bride’s special day, a hair care plan should start in the months leading up to the wedding. The key to results by the end of it? Being able to lock in a clear timeline, with treatments along the way at different stages.

“Realistically, I always like to give my brides a 4 to 6 month outline of what we need to do, to target what needs to be worked on or maintained so when the big day comes, your hair will shine bright and have endurance,” Nader tells Vogue. “This 4 to 6 month time frame is purely to gain strength and shine with your hair strands.”

For those brides who regularly colour their hair, or want to get it coloured for the wedding, Nader says the earlier the better. “I like to go easy with colouring, especially if you’re a balayage or highlights bride to be,” he explains. “There is no need to go heavy with the bleaching and foils 4 to 6 months before the wedding. Then when you reach 1 to 2 weeks before the big day comes, your colour just needs a gentle touch up. There’s no shock value this way, and the hair’s condition will be at its best and won’t dry out or look lacklustre.”

Regular hair cuts, Nader says, are also an important part of the plan for every bride—even those who don’t want to lose length. “Keep your hair cuts maintained, even if you’re only having baby trims and every 6 to 8 weeks before the wedding,” he says. “Baby trims are the absolute secret for maintaining healthy hair strands.”

Then there’s masks, which all brides should add into their tailored routine. But the mask that is right for you, and when, ultimately depends on your hair type.

“If your hair is feeling fragile—think highly pre-lightened—ask your hairstylist what the best avenue to start with is those 4 to 6 months out,” Nader continues. “For instance, if your hair strands are frail and snapping you may need a good dose of protein. If your hair strands are lacking volume and elasticity—for finer, and oily hair types—you need to be looking at adding moisture masks to your routine. And if your hair is dull and lifeless—for those with excess colour services—and needs a hit of mirror shine, you want to add a luxe shine treatment to your routine.”

“The very last mask you treat yourself to, which should be the week of your big day, should be a gentle mask application that won’t weigh your strands down and will give maximum effect of shine and volume.”

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Image credits: Dear Vincent

For different hair types, which deep-conditioning or strengthening treatments deliver the best results, and how do the protocols change depending on the hair?

Strengthening and deep-conditioning treatments are another crucial, ongoing step in a bride’s pre-wedding hair care plan. But since what will work best for your depends on your hair, the treatments you opt for should be specifically tailored to your hair type.

“For fine or thin hair strands, look out for a light-weight hydrolysed protein mask and avoid heavy oils or butters as these guys will weigh your poor hair strands down,” Nader says. “Look out for keratin, silk or collagen in your treatment.”

“For wavy hair, you can apply a protein moisture treatment here for a mix of strengthening and replacing the moisture your strands have lost over time. Shea butter, Manuka honey, and yogurt are fab all-rounders for smoother days ahead.”

“As curly hair people know, you need to feed them with hydration and lots of it so those curls perform properly. Also curls can become dry and damaged due to the cuticle scales being rough compared to, say finer hair textures. Try caster oil, glycerin and shea butter for maximum moisturising.”

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Image credits: Morley & Lucie

What does a genuinely “healthy, balanced diet” for promoting hair growth look like, and are there evidence-backed supplements or foods you recommend brides add to their routine?

The food and vitamins you consume play a big part in naturally promoting hair growth, and as is the way with all things, Nader confirms a healthy diet for hair is a balanced one. “Honestly, I think 99 per cent of my female clients take supplements and they’re not all brides to be, either,” he says. “It’s just good, healthy living at the end of the day. Every woman focuses on a balanced diet and is not just a seasonal thing either. It’s all year round.”

Now relating this to the hair, yes, a balanced diet is vital for the ultimate hair growth from the inside out. This is the key! Brides to be are considerably under more stress understandably which is why, if you’re not on any supplements within the 3 to 6 month mark, start now. Your body is craving the extra nutrients.

Along with eating fresh fruit, steamed veggies, meat and chicken dishes, try B-complex vitamins, as this gives fuel to the metabolism of hair follicles; biotin B7 key in keratin for strengthening the follicle; and iron for thinning and hair loss. These three for instance are my biggest ‘finds’ when I’m chatting with my clients that they are neglecting in their morning routine to kick start healthy hair.”

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Image credits: Sav & Cam

In the last four to six weeks before the big day, what adjustments should brides make to their everyday hair-care routine to maintain healthy hair and avoid last-minute issues like frizz, breakage or dullness?

“Those 4 to 6 weeks before the wedding should never be like a CPR situation of, ‘lets shock the hair into a new playing field.’ Your playing field [should] be set and now it’s smooth sailing in this last sector, and really just all about finessing and detailing.” Meaning that at the latest, brides to be, you should start your hair care plan at least a month before to ensure that your hair is at its healthiest when the time comes.

“The ends just need a dusting so they appear clean and healthy, and your hair colour is on-point and shiny,” Nader says. “Your hair strands are actually breathing really beautifully at this stage, and ready for the big day with no surprises.”

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Image credits: Holly Blanshard and Faith Bulgin

What are the most frequent mistakes you see brides make when prepping their hair, and what expert hacks guarantee flawless results on wedding day?

When it comes to pre-wedding hair care, there’s plenty that you can do right. But are there things you can get wrong? According to Nader, to ensure picture-perfect strands on your wedding day, it all comes down to the person you choose to work with for those crucial months beforehand, who will act as the expert to make sure you don’t step a foot wrong along the way.

“When you find the right wedding hairstylist, you’ll never go wrong,” he confirms. “Search high and low, ask around and research their Instagram account as well… even ask if you can meet up with them for a coffee and in this way, you can see if you gel with them. Ask all the questions you need so you have reassurance and you feel 100 per cent confident you made the right decision.”

Shop Vogue’s top pre-wedding hair treatments below.