12 Common Wedding Beauty Emergencies (and How to Solve Them)

Nightmare scenario #9: Your hair gets frizzy and pouf-y on the big day.

Crisis control: “Even if you start the day with perfectly coiled hair, there’s a good chance that it won’t stand up against humidity. Your locks need to be in prime condition for a long day, usually at least eight hours,” says Naté Bova, a senior celebrity stylist at Warren Tricomi NYC. If you have naturally curly or wavy hair, she recommends avoiding sleek blowouts since they can easily frizz up with weather changes. Natural 'dos like beach-y waves or a chignon can actually work better with a little frizz, rather than leaving you looking messy. To tame any hairstyle, apply a hair serum or mousse formulated with keratin, such as Aviva Keratin Renewal Anti-Frizz Serum, which leaves hair noticeably more hydrated and healthy-looking. It’s also important to shield the hair with a serum that provides protection against the drying effects of UV rays and hairstyling tools.

Prevention pointer: If you have thicker, wavier hair, minimize frizz by getting a blowout the day before so that your hair and scalp has time to release their natural oils. However, if your hair is fine, you should wash it and get it styled the morning of the wedding.

Nightmare scenario #10: You hate the highlights or hair color that you just had done.

Crisis control: Did your color fall short of what you were expecting? Take it from drab to fab using the following remedies:

• If your hair is too dark: Shampoo the darkest area several times with shampoo NOT intended for use on color-treated hair. Follow with a very rich conditioner or treatment formulated for color-treated hair.
• If your hair is too light: Apply a darker shade of the same brand to your hair but keep it on for about half of the recommended time. Check your color every five minutes. Rinse when you feel your hair is dark enough.
• If your hair is too red: To tone down the red, you can try coloring your hair with a shade of brown that’s the same color level as the red shade you used. Apply the color first to the area that’s most red and keep it on for five to 10 minutes at most. Check your color every five minutes. Rinse it out when your hair is dark enough.
• If your blond locks turn green: When this disaster happens, wash your hair with ketchup. Believe it or not, the red in the tomatoes counteracts the green tint!
• If your hair has too much color: Lifting up unwanted color can be done with a simple DIY recipe. Crush a few vitamin C tablets, mix with shampoo using a 1:2 ratio, apply and let it sit on your head for at least an hour. Shampoo off, condition and repeated in a few days if necessary.

Prevention pointer: Have your hair colored a week or two before the wedding so that there’s ample time to fix any mistakes or make changes if you just don’t like the way it turns out.

Nightmare scenario #11: Your hair comes out differently on the big day than it did during your practice trial.

Crisis control: “Refer to pictures that you took on the day of your trial since you can explain much better with a visual. Always try to stay calm — the less tension between you and your stylist, the better,” Bova says. Explain what it is about the style that isn’t working for you, and how you envision the final look. A good stylist will be able to make adjustments and make it work.

Prevention pointer: You should always take pictures of your hairstyle from different angles during your trial, so that you can reference on the big day.

Nightmare scenario #12: Your nails chip or, in the case of gel, break off.

Crisis control: For a severe chipping situation, try trimming your nails down a bit, then buffing them with a buffing block to smooth them out. Apply regular polish to help cover for a short-term solution.

Prevention pointer: Do a manicure in a light color, so breaks are less obvious to begin with and have your maid of honor keep a bottle of a similar color handy in case of emergency.