7 Bridal Style Tips from Stephanie Brinkerhoff

Kicking off the weekend at BTC’s COLOR, Cut & Style Show in New Orleans, Bridal Expert Stephanie Brinkerhoff (@hairandmakeupbysteph) took the stage in front of a sold-out crowd. She hosted her class “Updo & Bridal Techniques,” where she shared tips and tricks to building the right foundation for consistently great updos and bridal hair. Armed with her go-to products, Kenra Professional, and her trusty ghd tools, Steph created and shared 5 new looks, all while talking bridal business, braiding and updo maintenance! And BTC was there to take it all in. Here are the seven best bridal hair tips from the expert herself!

Need more Steph?!
See her onstage at BTC’s COLOR, Cut & Style!

See more amazing bridal styles in Steph’s book Elegant Upstyles for Today’s Bride—Buy it today!

Steph answers questions from the audience!

1. Near the end of a side updo, if you have any leftover hair you’re supposed to incorporate into the style but you don’t have enough hair left, backcomb! Lots of backcombing will spread the hair around, increasing volume and stylability.

2. “When it comes to expanding your business, work with other industry peers,” Steph shares. “A lot of what I did when I first started was emailing every photographer I could find, saying, ‘I’ll do hair and make-up for you for free!’ just to get photos for my portfolio. And that was good because I not only got photos, but I was able to network.”

An attendee takes notes and records 5 new bridal how-tos that Steph creates live on stage!

3. “Most brides go online for everything, even if it’s just Instagram. They go there for inspiration. So just put everything you have on social media—it’s good advertising and it’s free advertising,” says Steph.  

4. When using pins to secure braids to the head, don’t pin around the edges of the braid. That will risk the quality of the style. Go directly through the center—hiding the pin completely and promising a secure hold.

Steph perfects her model’s fab finger waves with Kenra Professional Volume Spray 25

5. Keep those wearable waves going strong by applying product after you’ve curled. Steph says, “Use something lightweight that doesn’t take out the curl. I try avoiding using any heavy products, maintaining the curl but not weighing it down.”

Need more Steph? Buy her book Elegant Upstyles for Today’s Bride today and learn all new styles and techniques!

6. When styling for a client with thicker hair, it’s important to really take your time creating good texture at the roots so it’s not just heavy. When you start to pin the hair, there should be something for your bobby pins to grab on to. A good way to help is by going through and slightly teasing all the hair by the crown to create a strong grip. Also consider using a texturizing powder!

7. Braiding skills don’t just develop over night!  “Practice, practice, practice!” says Steph. “Braiding is a hard thing to learn, because everyone holds their hands so differently. You have to do what feels comfortable and what works for you.”

See more pics and the finished looks HERE!