Hair or Makeup First on Your Wedding Day?

Here’s the Tea –

I may be a hairstylist, but I truly consider this an unbiased take on the answer to this question. Why? Because it really comes down to efficiency, and getting the best possible end result.

When your hair is completely out of your face, your makeup artist has a clear canvas to work on. Once hair is already styled—especially if you have face-framing pieces—that’s now an obstacle they have to work around. Even with a slicked-back style and no pieces left out, makeup brush strokes need to come as close to the hairline as possible. You definitely don’t want those brush strokes disrupting a sleek, finished style.

While we’re on the topic of makeup near the hairline—if you’re blonde (and especially if you’re a platinum blonde), there’s often a risk of foundation, bronzer, or blush being swiped into the fine hairs above your ears or around your temples. If your hair has already been styled, it’s nearly impossible to remove that makeup without disrupting the finished hairstyle.

Then there are liquid sprays—most commonly setting sprays—which are very necessary on a long wedding day. Wet sprays on someone with natural curl or frizz can cause the hair to revert back to its natural texture (hello, science). Once a style is finished, there’s really not much that can be done to fully correct that.

Efficiency on a wedding morning is a major priority when it comes to hair and makeup. Having to pause the flow to “fix” the front of someone’s hairstyle simply isn’t efficient. Not to mention, touching and combing a finished style—after it’s been layered with product, teased, and set with hairspray—is rarely going to make it look better the second time around.

A makeup artist might argue that they don’t want hair to come after makeup because of the risk of hairspray coating their beautiful makeup application—and that concern is completely fair. However, a seasoned professional should be taking precautions to prevent this, whether that’s using a face shield, covering the face with a carefully placed hand, or directing the spray away from the face. It’s absolutely doable to protect the makeup while styling hair.

Whatever order you choose for your wedding day, I hope this helps you make the best decision for yourself and your morning timeline.

I hope you have a wonderful wedding!