I’m Megan Stillinger, I’m a mom, wife and a hairstylist. I have been in the hair industry for almost 13 years, I opened my own salon after my daughter was born in 2015. Ever since I was in grade 9 I’ve had a passion for hair, it’s something that has always intrigued me. Shortly after I graduated high school, I registered at Marvel Beauty school, 2 months into full time school I landed my first Job at a local salon, this is where I completed my Apprenticeship. I was only at the salon for a month when I had the opportunity to do a wedding party, this is when I fell in love with Up-styles and evening hair. It was the first thing I was actually confident in doing in my career. Since then I have done numerous formal events from weddings, graduation, prom and Christmas parties.
What do you want brides to know?
When choosing your hairstyle for your big day, you always want to consider, the style of dress your wearing (is having your hair down going to cover some of the beautiful detail), is your venue indoor or outdoors, what is the climate going to be?
When is it best for an up do vs down?
If your wedding is going to be outdoors always consider what the temperature is going to be that day. If it’s going to be an extremely hot and humid day, I normally recommend putting your hair up as humidity can just make your curls fall out so quickly, no matter what kind of product we use. If it’s an extremely windy day you want to take that into consideration as well and think about having a more sleek look without any prices of hair hanging down. At the end of the day your hairstylist and yourself will know your hair best, if your hair hold curls very well through any kind of climate, don’t be afraid to wear it down.
Do you need a hair trial?
I highly recommend doing a trial for your wedding, this is your chance to see exactly what you want and this is the chance to communicate with your stylist if something is working or not. It also gives us as stylist a chance to see how your hair holds if we think you need extensions to achieve the look you are seeking. I also give us a good idea on how much time we will need for your hair on your big day.
Inspirational photos vs reality:
This is always a tricky one, as hairstylist we love to see pictures of what you want. We just ask that your realistic with your expectations. If someone has super fine hair and hands us a picture of this very thick braided Up do that more then likely has extensions added in as well and expects us to recreate it, it makes it hard on us as we don’t have a magic wand to give you more hair and we don’t want to upset you as well with saying it’s not possible. Please look for pictures that are similar to your hair style, texture and length.
How long does it take to do an up do vs down?
Formal styles are usually anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour however that being said timing is different with each specific client, it comes down to the amount of hair the client has how much hair they have and how long it is. This is why we always recommend a trial.
What should you do for your hair before your wedding?
I always recommend washing your hair the night before your wedding not the day of and use minimal conditioner from mid shaft to ends, avoid putting any product in after unless advised by your hair stylist. This is something that should be discussed at your trial and also depends on what style you are going with. I have had brides that we did a wash/blowout for their wedding day.
Should you do hair before make up?
In a perfect world, hairstyling should happen first because the hot styling tools might cause the client to sweat. As well the makeup artist can remove any overspray from the skin before starting.
How long before your wedding should you color your hair?
I always recommend having your hair colored the week before, if you are someone that does an all over color that’s guarantees you will not have any color stains and it will still be fresh on the day of. You are normally so busy the week of your wedding the last thing on your mind is sitting in a chair for 2 plus hours.
I also recommend if you are doing a wedding rehearsal the day before and have the time to go to your hairstylist for a wash and style, you should. That way you don’t have to worry about washing it yourself and your hairstylist will know it’s going to be in perfect condition to do the wedding style that morning.