An expert’s guide to trending hairstyles for this wedding season

It's that time of the year when the wedding season kicks in, and one is left with countless sartorial and grooming decisions to make. While brides have an army of stylists, and best friends to take care of them, attendees are often left to their own devices. From casual waves to intricate ponytails, there are numerous trendy hairstyles that one can wear with lehengas, sarees, gowns, or suits to ace your wedding look. If the thought of attending weddings makes you anxious, fret not.

We've got Amy Johnson, global lead stylist at Dyson to share a step-by-step guide to help you ace your up-do in no-time.

Straight and Sleek
The classic straight, sleek look is timeless and always elevates any outfit. "It's great for anyone who wishes to let their outfit speak more than their hairstyle. If you wish to level up, add hair accessories to add more colour and flair. This style does not need too much styling, which makes it perfect for those who want something simple yet chic," says Johnson.

To achieve this look:
1. After washing your hair, apply a styling cream and begin to blow dry your hair smooth with a hair dryer and blow dry the hair. Doing this step first will maximise the smoothness and help prolong the style.
2. Once dry, brush the hair through to remove any tangles.
3. Next, section the hair into manageable pieces, tying or clipping away the top sections first.
4. Prepare your hair straightener by choosing the desired heat setting for the hair type. You may start with the low setting first.
5. Take each section - sections should be a similar size to the plates to allow the strands to spread evenly across them - and place the straightener close to the roots and glide through to the ends at a medium speed.
6. Reduce the heat setting for hairline sections. To get closer to the roots, take sections at an angle.
7. Apply a holding styling product to fix the style in place and increase style longevity.
8. Add hair accessories such as butterfly clips on a few front pieces of your hair to amp up your look.

Curls and waves
In her illustrious career of over 15 years, Johnson says curls have never fallen out of favour. She says, "A classy curly style can be simply stunning if you find the right accessory. Show off your gorgeous curly hairstyle by wearing it down and adding a sparkly hair accessory, like a headband, tiara, or hair pins. Using a hair dryer and the diffuser attachment is an effortless way to create waves and curls that celebrate hair's natural shape."

1. After washing, gently squeeze the excess water from the hair.
2. Apply a moisturizing cream to hydrate your hair - be generous when doing this.
3. Next, take a wide tooth comb and smooth through the hair.
4. With the diffuser attachment, set the hair dryer to a low airflow. This will keep the hairs natural movement intact and defined, without disrupting the natural shape.
5. Select a heat setting based on the thickness of the hair - low for thin hair, medium for medium density and high for thick hair.
6. Dry the top off your hair first to maintain volume. This can be done by tipping the head upside down and rough drying at the roots.
7. Now take sections of the hair and place them into the diffuser. When placing the hair into the diffuser, hold the hair close to the scalp for minimal movement. Try not to rotate and move the diffuser once in place, this will cause excess frizz and disrupt the natural curls.
8. Repeat this all over the head until completely dry. Then repeat this technique using the cold shot to fix your waves and curls in place for maximum style retention.
9. Finally, use a light serum to define and position waves and curls into the final desired style.

Trendy 70s waves
If you wish to channel a vintage look, this is the style to follow according to Johnson. She explains, "Wear this free-flowing, powerful haircut with a throwback to 1970s fashion to stand out at any wedding. With gentle, sweeping curls that frame the face, you may achieve glossy volume while accentuating the movement of your hair naturally. This style is excellent for giving shoulder-length hair some bounce or for giving longer, straighter hair some intrigue."

How to achieve this:
1. Begin with freshly washed, towel-dried, and combed-through hair. When your hair is wet, be cautious with it because it is more brittle and susceptible to damage.
2. After detangling the hair, separate it and spray some volumising spray at the roots.
3. Next, start styling from the bottom of the hair section using a round volumizing brush and a medium-heat hair dryer. Dry the hair section by section as you begin to swirl the brush in an outward motion. As the hair dries, make sure the bristles are tensioned to shape it.
4. Lift each portion at the root as it dries for more volume. Before moving on to the next phase, make sure the previous one is completely dried. The style will fall out and the hard-earned volume will be lost if there is any moisture remaining in the hair.
5. Flip the brush over the top of the hair and flick the part outwards to style the ends.
6. After the part has dried, wrap it up and fasten it with a sectioning clip. This will enable the hair to cool completely and set with the most volume in a wavy form. Continue doing this on each part of hair until it is completely dry and rolled up in clips.
7. After allowing hair to cool for five minutes, or while finishing up party preparations, release each area of hair until all clips are out. Flick the hair over into a side parting and position into place after gently brushing it through using a paddle brush with short bristles.
8. To keep the style in place and lengthen the longevity of the style, finish with a holding styling product.

Quirky bangs and fringes
Bangs and fringes have an interesting reputation when it comes to pop-culture, but are quite popular off-screen. Johnson agrees, "While many people find that fringes give them a youthful touch, grown-out fringes and unruly bangs may become troublesome if they aren't taken care of. Additionally, maintaining a fringe may need more work than you initially think." Following are some tips for keeping fringes in focus throughout the wedding chaos:

1. After washing, always use a hair dryer to dry the fringe. Allowing it to dry naturally may result in irksome kinks or hair strands that are misdirected, creating a fringe that just won't sit properly.
2. Until the hair is nearly dry, try raising the roots with a brush while blow-drying. In order to relax and soften the contour, blow air downward on top of the fringe. The fringe will sit more organically and gain a little volume as a result. A round volumizing brush or any styling product will work well for this.
3. The fringe needs to be curved away from the face to give those magnificent sweeping bangs form and elegance. Bend the fringe's ends outward and sweep them to the sides of the face using a straightener.
4. As a substitute, you can also use a curling barrel that is pointed away from the face.

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