FESTIVAL HAIR: The Chapel's expert style guide!

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Main Image Credit:
Matthew Westrope


The sun is shining, you’ve got a cider in hand and your favourite artists are booming out all of their top hits - festival season is with us once again! Whether you’re heading to one of the UK’s homegrown festivals or jetting off for your fill of the festival spirit, there’s one thing for sure: it’s the perfect time to experiment and go wild with your hair. But, the sun, fun and wet wipe washes can all make for a rather disastrous environment for your locks. With this in mind, we asked our festival frequenting stylists to give us the lowdown on how to get Insta-perfect locks that don’t just add to your post-festival blues.

Preened, Prepped and Festival Ready

You no doubt have already got the festival basics covered to make your life all the easier, but so many of us often forget to give our hair the same TLC.

Top of the Trims

Our first top tip is to book yourself in for a trim and a conditioning treatment with your Chapel stylist just before setting off. In the heat and sun, your hair is much more prone to breakage and damage. By giving it a quick chop before you go you can ensure that your hair has the best chance of keeping style, shape and overall health.

Take Time to Treat

Secondly, invest in a nourishing pre-festival hair mask such as Frizz Dismiss by Redken. Pop this on the night before you leave for 5-15 minutes. It is jam-packed with nourishing ingredients including Brazilian pracaxi which smooths and adds strength to the hair. Paired with aquatoril, together they lock in moisture and resist humidity: the culprit of Festival frizz.

Perfect Packing

Lastly carefully consider what you pack. So many people think of festivals as a time to slack from their usual hair care routine, however, it’s even more important when conditions get tough. Choose a shampoo and conditioner that suit your hair type. They may not come in small bottles, but you can pick up small travel bottles which are perfect for a weekend festival. And of course, no festival bag is complete without a top-quality dry shampoo. One of our favourites is Kérastase’s Volume in Powder.

Feel the Festival Vibes

Now on to the main event. With a whole host of different options, you can mix and match throughout the festival, reinventing your look with every dive into your tent!

Go for Glitter

There’s no shying away from glitter at a festival. Our super-stylist Symon May recommends glitter gels to hold the hair in shape or a light sparkle mist, which is great for natural brunettes. Sarah takes it one step further by swearing by ‘space buns’. Split the hair into two equal bunches with a strong parting down the middle. Use a strong hair gel, sprinkle flakes of glitter up and down the parting. Finish with a strong hold spray such as Redken’s Triple Take 32 Extreme-Hold Hairspray.

Get Creative with Colour

Next up is colour. There are plenty of ways you can give your hair a colour pop without the commitment. Symon swears by paint sprays to add some fun colour “Loreal make a Colourista spray in pastel tones which will work great on blondes - and it washes out too!” However, for those feeling a little bolder, you, of course, have the option to try a temporary colour. However, Rebecca adds a word of caution “If you do use any crazy temporary or semi-permanent colours over blonde stay away from deep greens because they never want to leave your locks!”

Accessorise, Accessorise, Accessorise!

Getting into the festival zone is easy with all of the amazing accessories out there at the moment. Sevenoaks stylist Laura suggests adding jewellery like small rings to your finished braid to add a touch of gipsy glamour. Whilst Sarah recommends adding classic festival flowers by pinning into a loose fishtail braid for a beautiful boho look. If all else fails, and you’re really struggling to keep your hair in shape, headscarves are a great option. Choose silk or sparkly material and tie around the front of the head with the knot at the nape of your neck to keep your hair off your face.

Stay Protected

Finally, we have sun protection – and no it’s not just for your skin. It can do some severe damage to your hair, making it dry and straw-like if it’s not looked after. Tunbridge Wells stylist James recommends Vo5’s latest offering, a cheap and cheerful way to keep UV damage at bay!

Post-festival rehab

Tired, sleepy and needing a shower the post-festival blues are sure to be hitting hard. But whilst you can never go back to those amazing moments, your hair doesn’t have to suffer as a result of your festival antics!

Give it a rest

Just like you’ll need to rest your tired body, so too will your hair. We’d recommend steering clear from styling products and colour for at least a couple of weeks to give your hair the full detox it needs.

Cleanse away your sins

A sure-fire way to get every last bit of festival grime and dry shampoo out of your locks is to invest in a hair cleansing mask which deeply penetrates the hair such as Kerastase Resistance Therapiste Masque. This will work to drive out the impurities that are more deep-rooted in your hair, which is especially important for those of you who have porous locks. This is also a great way to draw out any unwanted temporary colour you may have applied pre-festival and help bring your hair back down to your natural colouring.

Make the cut

After your festival, Symon recommends revisiting the salon but this time for more than just a trim. Tell your stylist at The Chapel about your festival experience, the products you used and the truth about your hair care routine (don’t worry they won’t judge), and this way they’ll be able to curate the perfect treatments to get your hair back to tip top pre-festival condition.

Whatever festival you’re hitting up this year, we hope our stylists’ top tips have helped you rock out in style! Let us know if you try any and tag us in any festival snaps you take @thechapelplace and remember to look back at our Expert Advice section for more educational info from our stylists! 

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