How far ahead should you straighten your hair before a wedding?

Short answer: smoothing goes in 2 weeks before the wedding. That is Straightment Semi and Demi. The hair needs time to settle. Colour comes after the smoothing, 1 week before the day. Straightment Permanent has a wider window: 2–3 weeks before is fine, and 3 weeks is perfect, with colour 1 week before still working. If you are having a perm, a brand-new one wants 3–4 weeks, and a re-curl 2–3 weeks.

Fulham and Battersea see a lot of weddings, from register offices up the King’s Road to parties by the river. The question I get is always the same: when?

Why not the day before

• The first wash. Most treatments come with a “don’t wash it until…” instruction. You don’t want that clashing with the hairdresser doing your wedding hair.
• Getting used to it. Hair that suddenly behaves differently takes a few days to learn. Where does it fall? How does it dry?
• Room for a fix. If anything needs adjusting, you want time to do it calmly.

What to book, and when

1. Consultation first, a month or more ahead. Online (a questionnaire and six photos so I can prepare, then I call you back within 72 hours, usually the same day) or in person. Your hair’s history decides the plan.
2. 2 weeks before: the smoothing. Straightment Semi or Demi goes in here. The hair needs time to settle, and a fortnight gives it that. If you are going Straightment Permanent, 2–3 weeks before is fine and 3 weeks is perfect, but Permanent is not something to try for the first time right before a wedding. Perms run on their own timing. A brand-new perm goes in about 3–4 weeks out, so you have time to get used to it and change the styling. A re-curl, the same curls put back, goes in about 2–3 weeks out.
3. 1 week before: the colour. Colour goes on after the smoothing, not before. That is the order I recommend. With Permanent done 3 weeks ahead, the colour still fits here.
4. Tell your wedding hairdresser. Smoothed or permed hair styles differently. Most will be pleased: less fighting on the morning.

Which treatment

• Frizz only, curl kept: Straightment Semi, back after 1–4 months.
• Less curl, easier styling: Straightment Demi, about 60% of the curl out, roots after 4–8 months.
• Want it straight long-term: Straightment Permanent, 80%+ of the curl out on treated hair. Not something to try for the first time right before a wedding.
• More movement: Wavement Cold or Wavement Hot. Plan it earlier still, because a perm needs the most time to settle.

Getting here

From Fulham Broadway, the District line runs to Victoria; change for the Victoria line to Oxford Circus. From Battersea Power Station, the Northern line runs to Tottenham Court Road, one stop from Oxford Circus on the Central line.

Book a consultation → · Straightment Demi →

For men

Sides that stick out, frizz, flat or thinning hair, grey gone wiry: most of it can be sorted, and nobody will know you’ve had it done. The men’s pages → · Coming in from nearby →