Getting the Best Summer Updo
It’s June and that means that it is intensely hot, but also that it’s the height of wedding season. Charles and I are going to two weddings this month. At an event where you know there’s going to be a ton of photos, I don’t want to worry about how I look. I am a huge fan of Hair and Makeup by Steph because she does the best undone but perfect updos for wedding season.
HMS has teamed up with Kenra to make a series of styling products specifically for wedding season. I hadn’t used anything in Kenra in a while, but I have some history with them. Their silkening gloss was my first non-drugstore haircare purchase.
I’ve recently been loving the kind of messy, looks-like-it-will fall apart braids and updos, and I’ve been wearing them this wedding season, and on regular hot days.
As a curly girl, a lot of the foundation of my hairstyling needs to happen while it’s still wet. A major issue that I have is that I have tons of volume at the ends of my hair, and none at the crown. The Whip Grip Mousse ($17) helps combat this. As far as mousses go, if you have wavy or curly hair, you know that finding something that’s not crunchy, sticky, or flaky is next to impossible. I find that this mousse gives my curls definition and volume, but no stickiness! My hair doesn’t feel heavy or gross, even on the second day after I’ve used this.
After moussing, I go straight into styling. The style in the thumbnail was a quick little chignon that I did for a trip to a local market. It’s fast, but I feel like I could dress it up or down for any occasion. After a ton of bobby pins (a ton), I like to tousle it a little bit. Give it that textured, piecy look that Steph has in every. Single. Updo. That she does. That’s when I like to use the Air Grip Spray ($17). I’m being totally honest when I say that this is my favorite product of the three. The dry wax spray has all the benefits of a pomade, but none of the mess. I like being able to touch my hair after it’s done, and it doesn’t make my hair crunchy or sticky (seeing a pattern here?) while still maintaining hold. Something that I did notice is that if you overapply, it can start to look kind of dusty. For a finish this beautiful, it’s easy to avoid this by using a little at a time and building up the product, as well as holding the can farther away from your head when spraying.
The last product I want to talk about is the High Grip Spray ($19). If you want your hair to stay in its place forever, this will do that. What I like about this is that, as a person who does not wash my hair every day, it will still look and feel good after I let my hair down – something I’ve ever had with another hairspray. This hairspray is also going to make sure that all of those looks-like-it’s-going-to-fall-out-but-doesn’t hairstyles stay in place all day and into the night. I really put this to a test last weekend at a wedding when we stayed until past final call. Everything stayed in place through dinner, drinks, photos, and dancing…so much dancing. Again, for best results, hold the can the full 12-18 inches away from the head. It will turn out better, and apply more evenly. I also like to tease my hair sometimes for extra volume, so I’m excited to put this to the test there too.
The last thing that I wanted to mention is that these products either have a cap or a locking nozzle. If you’re travelling, that’s probably the most important detail. And they smell awesome! All three of these Kenra Grip Collection products are available at Ulta now, or online at kenraprofessional.com
Hey! Thanks for still reading. Just letting you know that Kenra did send these haircare products along as a press sample. They didn't tell me what to say, and this post was not sponsored! If you have any questions on press samples or sponsorships, it's totally okay to ask. I want this to be a transparent place. :)