What is your hair preparation for a special event?

[Rini]

Whenever I have an upcoming event to attend, I schedule "hair preparations" beforehand.

On the day before the event I make sure I do a CO wash, then use AVG leave-in for extra curls. I let it all air dry and try not to touch. Then, that night I sleep with it all scrunched up on the pillow (trying to keep some curl definition overnight) but never go to bed with it wet. The next morning, I spritz with Kimberlily's defrizz spray and let air dry again.

The reason I do it this way is because I know that second day curls will be so much better and it gives me the option of leaving it down/half down or doing an upstyle with hair that is much less slippery than it would be on wash day. Also, if I have to be somewhere early (like a wedding) then I don't have time to wait around for my hair to air dry on the day. My "hair preparations" also include test driving any new hair toys several days beforehand so that I don't have to be uncomfortable on the day. I usually have at least two upstyle options in mind in case one of them doesn't work with my particular curl pattern on the day.:rolleyes:

Does anyone else go through a similar process of preparation? Or am I just REALLY obsessive? :o I want to hear about what you do!

[Janka]

If it's obsession, then I'm obsessed too ;)
I think about the style I want to wear, try it in advance to see if it works for me and if I can do it. I also have one or two "emergency styles" in case the style I want does not work.
As my hair is straight, I only try to wash it the day before. If it's not possible, I try to reduce the slippiness by using a styling mousse. I also spray the finished style with a hair spray so that it holds as long as possible. As I only use hair spray for special occasions, I don't care about the effects, I wash the hair anyway as soon as possible afterwards.

[Isilme]

I would love to be as prepared as you are. My routine usually involves getting into the shower too late, sitting around hoping for my hair to magically dry and then just realize it isn't going to in time and throw it into one of my usual styles with a ficcare. Then they day after they party I have nice hair, lol.
And I can't use a blowdryer because that would mean having to get into the shower again to wash away the sweat from the blowdrying session;)
I think it would do me good to take some inspiration from you:)

[Amoretti]

I just throw mine into a bun and I'm ready to go. LOL. I do make sure it's nice and clean though. Since it's too long to wear down I don't have as many options as you do. :D

[sandigirl]

I jump into the shower, shampoo and condition, wrap it in a towel for a few minutes, blow dry with a brush for 6 minutes in 2-minute increments letting it air dry in-between. Then I use electric rollers on the bottom 5" for one minute. I brush out and it looks amazing.

[JamieLeigh]

Wow! I sooooo do not have time to do all of that! LOL :p Ever since joining LHC, I've learned and tried out a lot of new updos, and I'm starting to figure out which ones work for my hair length and type, and which ones don't. So I've got an arsenal of hairstyles that I can pick from...I just make sure my hair is clean, and then choose the updo I like best...and just go! Normally, I don't do a lot of things that the kids can't do, so I usually have 5 little heads to brush and arrange as well as my own. (6, if you count DH, LOL)

[loves2spin]

What a fabulous (and should be obvious, but wasn't to me) idea, to have an actual planned routine for special occasions! I will have to systematically work on that one. Mine is similar to Isilme's in that it's a last minute scrabble and finds me in front of the mirror moaning to my DH that I'm having a "bad hair day" and struggling to get it into a reasonably centered and tidy bun! Thanks for the inspiration, and BTW you ladies all have incredibly pretty hair!

[jojo]

I am obsessed to for me I do a medium oil overnight soak, i don't do a heavy one in case it doesn't all wash out. Then in the morning I use my soapunts and catnip rinse and follow with an ACV which I also leave in.

[Carolyn]

It depends on the occasion. If I planned to wear it down I'd wash it, air or blow dry depending on time and set it with big electric rollers or Carusos. If I planned to wear it up, I'd wash it that morning, air dry if I had time, and do a nice updp with a special hair toy.

[spidermom]

The last time I had a special occasion, I practiced several of my ideas for about a week and a half, deciding I was going to wear it in a low ponytail with hair wrapped around the base of it to hide the elastic, the ends curled. Then I got sick and didn't get to go. In the past, I've washed my hair the day before, then made a top-of-head ponytail at bedtime and rolled the ends on sponge rollers, wearing my hair down and curly for the event. My hair is too long for me to wear down very often now. It tangles badly, plus I always worry that somebody is going to get a shed 3-foot-long hair in their plate or on their clothing and be completely grossed out by it and me. (by the way, I love your sig pic, Rini)

[Curlsgirl]

I like to be able to prepare about 5 hours ahead of time and I just CWC the regular way and apply my normal leave-ins not touching until it's dry. I use gel if I want great curl so I just scrunch out the crunch when it's dry. I do blow dry my bangs and usually around the crown, just like the way it looks better. So I guess I just do it the way I usually do because I like it down better. If I do wear it up I make no special preparations, just put it up and clip it. :)

Rini, your hair is looking lovely!

[Rini]

Oh no, I'm feeling really bad now....I AM obsessed!!! Am I the only one who starts preparations the day before?? Oh dear :o hehehe Actually, I'm quite a systematic person in other areas of my life, so I guess hair shouldn't be any different.

Actually, I had a special occasion today and did my usual preparations, but the weather was sooooo hot today that my carefully planned upstyle drooped pretty badly. I did plan enough though so that I had extra bobby pins in my purse :eyebrows:

Spidermom, ditto on your sig pic.....your hair is sooooo long now!!! :thud:
Curlsgirl, thanks hon :flowers: I feel as if my hair is starting to "come back" now. I'm about a year away from the longest it was when it was hennaed, but it's starting to feel long now (not long in the sense of most ppl around here, but long for me!).

[Calanthe]

None, really. I may think about the style I'd like to wear but as I almost always mess it up when I want to do something planned or special I usually do whatever works on that particular day (which is never what I wanted but that's another problem :D).

[Copasetic]

I usually prepare the day before. I'll wash my hair in either the morning or early afternoon, and then braid it until it is dry so I get nice braid waves.

[Ranee]

I prepare the day before as well. I co wash, airdry and put up in a high bun at night for extra volume the next day.

[Rini]

Copasetic and Ranee.....I feel so much better now :cloud9:

[Girltron]

Oh, I plan ahead too! I schedule my henna for approximately 5 days ahead of the event. The way I henna, I don't shampoo my hair for quite awhile after the henna, so I wait until the day before the event to wash it off. I do an SMT or some other DT with that shampoo and make sure I do an acid rinse.

Then I often do 2 french braids while it's wet, with a little AVG/oil or B5 styling gel/oil and leave those braids in until it's time to style my hair for the event 24 hours later.

That way I have the tight waves in case I want to do some sort of half up style or loose look, and if I do a bun I have enough volume for a softer style to hold better. The treatments make my hair about as shiny as it ever gets.

The quick variation on the above is I just let my hair get extra specially dirty in the week leading up to the event, and only wash it the day before. That's less work and it still leaves my hair light and shiny.