Riawna Capri has her loyal roster of celebrity clientele—Emma Roberts, Nina Dobrev and Julianne Hough, to name a few. So who better for one of these clients, and friends, to trust for their big day than the color, style, extension extraordinaire herself?
Last month, People shared the exclusive images from Hough and Brooks Laich's wedding and not to anyone's surprise, Hough looked beyond stunning. Aside from having what Capri says is naturally amazing hair, we will give the stylist all the credit where credit is due.
PREP
Prepping for Hough’s wedding color started months before her Idaho destination ceremony and reception. Hough’s color goal was a child-like beachy blonde, the natural hair color of her eight-year-old self.
Capri wanted her client’s hair to be at its healthiest possible state before lightening it. The timing was perfect because in the months leading up to her wedding, Hough was starring in her Move tour alongside her brother, Derek Hough. For more than three months, Hough didn’t touch heat tools to her hair because she would wear wigs each night on tour, and use treatment masks on her tresses often.
"I barely touched her hair the whole time she was on tour; and that allowed it to keep its integrity," Capri says, who wanted a canvas of "virgin" color for the big transformation.
As the wedding neared, right when she got off tour, Hough came into Capri's Nine Zero One Salon for her first of two appointments. The nearly seven-hour-long session meant getting Hough’s hair to that baby blonde childhood shade. Using Joico's new Blonde Life Lightener, which swiftly lifts nine+ levels while nourishing hair and hydrating, Capri was able to create a whole head of fine, dazzling highlights from the nape of the Hough’s neck all the way to her hairline.
“I took my time and did full-blown, baby-fine highlights, leaving no space in between the next foil—all baby highlights back to back,” Capri says.
HOW-TO FOR COLOR APPOINTMENT #1:
STEP 1: Using Joico Blonde Life Lightener, start at the nape of the neckline with 10 volume. Once up to the middle of the ears, I switch to 20 volume. Use 30 volume at the top of the crown, until an inch away from hairline.
STEP 2: Switch back to 20 volume, then use 10 volume on actual hairline. “I think I had to remix about seven full bowls of bleach total. No joke,” Capri adds.
STEP 3: Take out foils at the bottom that were ready to go, and remove the rest when they’re caught up.
STEP 4: Capri says the secret trick to make hair sparkle is painting 40 volume on the entire hairline at the bowl, leaving it on for five minutes.
STEP 5: Tone hair at the bowl—using 9NV+9V+Clear all equal parts of Joico LumiShine. “Not only was the tone perfection, but the condition and shine we got after leaving it on for 10 minutes was incredible,” Capri says.
STEP 6: Seal with K-PAK RevitaLuxe.
COLOR APPOINTMENT #2:
The second color appointment, the last before Hough hopped on a plane to the wedding destination of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, focused on preventing darker regrowth.
"I painted 20 volume directly on the hairline and fine baby hairs to cut out any root action," Capri explains. "It's a little last-minute trick of mine that makes blonde hair really natural-looking."
To maintain the bright blonde color, Capri sent Hough home with Joico Blonde Life Brightening Shampoo and Conditioner and had her use Joico K-PAK Color Therapy Luster Lock Shine and Repair Treatment on the morning of the wedding.
STYLING
Capri joined Hough in Idaho on her wedding day to style her hair as well.
“For me personally as a hairstylist, I love nothing more than to create the entire picture,” Capri says. “I know a lot of people have one stylist cutting and one coloring. But to me, that's like one artist drawing the picture and the other artist coloring in the picture. I want to create the whole, entire art piece. I want to create the whole masterpiece.”
Capri styled two polar-opposite looks on Hough for her ceremony and reception. At her ceremony, Hough wore a tight up style, while in contrast, she wore a loose faux-bob for the reception. So how was she able to take that tight, polished style into a more relaxed party look?
“My main game was smooth out the kinks with the curling iron, whatever the bun had done,” Capri says. “I utilized heat to smooth out the kinks and create a bend, which I teased underneath the nape of her neck. I did a ponytail tied with a rubber band underneath there, so that way it was strong enough to hold all the other bobby pins in.”
WEDDING HAIR TIPS FROM CAPRI
For your own wedding clientele, Capri leaves you with these tips.
- Advanced planning: Figure out what kind of hairstyle you're going to do and tailor your colors to that. Know where you are going to part hair depending on camera angles. Know if you’ll need to use extensions. Know how the bride wants her hair styled. “Are they going to wear it up? Because then you need to focus on the nape of the neck. Are they going to wear it back? Then focus on those side highlights.”
- Beware of the ombre: “If she’s going to end up wearing your hair up, but has a darker root, then she’ll be left with a blonde bun.”
- Pre-wedding trims: Nothing will ruin wedding pictures more than fried, straggly ends. “I see a lot of brides try not to cut their hair because they want it long, and that's the worst thing they could do. They really need to dock the ends, which is like a fourth of an inch, to keep the hair healthy. It keeps it from splitting and splitting upwards.”
- Incorporate treatments: Before coloring and styling, maintaining peak hair integrity is key. “I can't stress enough how important treatments are. If your hair isn't healthy, your hair isn't pretty. That's just the bottom line. It doesn't matter what color it is, it doesn't matter how much you paid for your haircut.” She recommends incorporating Joico’s K-PAK treatments at home or out in the sun to ensure beautiful hair for your client’s wedding day.
For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.
media brand