Introducing nature into beauty: Flowers add a playful elegance to your hairstyle

One of nature's most beautiful gifts -- flowers of every hue and shade of the rainbow -- offer countless opportunities to create the most unique and delicately beautiful hairstyles around. For a casual event, you can go as simple as tucking a tropical flower behind your ear to accent your sundress.

If you want to take it to a more formal level, consider asking your hairdresser to weave your favorite flowers into your up-do for the prom, a wedding, or other formal event.

Prom flirty vs wedding fancy

Stylists and florists concur: flowers in the hair are still widely popular for proms and weddings. Despite the shared popularity, both types of formal events call for somewhat different styling and presentation when it comes to hairstyles.

Choose colors that complement

Flowers can truly serve as an eye-catching accessory for any formal event. Depending on the color of your hair, your gown, and your bouquet, some flowers may look better than others. With your overall prom or wedding experience in mind, you will definitely want to coordinate your hair accessories with the rest of your outfit.

"The color of the flower should be more complementary to the color of the hair," said Larry Dunlap, operating partner and artistic director / general manager of Haircolorxperts. "Flowers with green centers/stems should be paired with red hair, flowers with blue undertones for blondes, light-color flowers for dark hair, bright red flowers for black-colored hair."

But don't overdo it. Julien Farel at Julien Farel Salon on Madison Avenue in New York, suggests, "Flowers can be used for special events -- weddings, in particular -- but should be strategically placed and remain discreet."

Vibrant colors, vibrant life

Meredith Boyd, founder of Mere Cosmetics, encourages the use of fresh, live, natural flowers in formal hairstyles. "Using flowers with hairstyles is my favorite for brides and formal events. I love flowers like lilies or roses with brilliant vibrant color -- just remember to keep them 'living' in their natural environment for as long as possible prior to use," Boyd said. How to manage that? "Just clip off flower cluster from stem right before use. Flowers keep best when cut with a sharp knife (un-serrated) and plunged immediately into water,: she says. "Always make a cut on a slant, as it exposes more stem surface area," she said.

Preserve your look

strong> When the party just doesn't stop, you don't want your hair to call it quits before you do. Get a little creative with your hairstyling tricks and accessories, and you'll be ready to rock and roll all night long.

"Just as it preserves your hairstyle, a spritz of hair spray can preserve your cut flowers in your hair," says Boyd, the founder of Mere Cosmetics. "Stand a foot away from the flowers and give them a quick spray -- just on the undersides of the leaves and petals. That way, it will last all day and night long for your event." Boyd also suggests keeping cut flowers away from fruit, which often causes them to age quicker due to a gas released by the fruit.

"Fresh is always better, but for a very long night, use a fake flower," said Donna Foster, director of salon operations at Spa Bellagio in Las Vegas. She added that medium-sized flowers and headbands are hot commodities for social events, parties and barbeques, while the top hairstyles are either sleek or wavy.

Lots of options

"For both proms and weddings, flowers can be added in many different ways," she explains. "Loosely hairsprayed in, on combs, barrettes, halos, headbands, and on hair scrunchies for ponytails."

And just because you originally were thinking of fresh flowers, don't rule out hair accessories -- like barrettes, combs or ponytail holders -- that boast flower design adornments created from other materials. Sometimes a simple style with a really beautiful accent piece can make all the difference! For example, look at the delicate Georgia small floral comb at right, with glass pearls & Swarovski crystals.

Frederic Fekkai and other top designers also offer upscale leather or embroidered flowers as the perfect ornament for your locks.

Floral wedding hairstyles

When it comes to your wedding day, you want every teeny little detail to be perfect. From the taste of the food to the petals in the flower girl's basket, each component of your special day holds so much weight. When it comes to your hairstyle, we're sure you feel the same way -- each and every hair must be in its perfect place.

With that concept in mind, consider the options available to you when it comes to creating your ideal wedding hairdo.

• Will you wear your hair up or down?
  
• Will you have a veil and a tiara, or just one or the other?
  
• Will adding a flower to your hair add elegance, or detract from the beautiful design you already have in mind?

With the bride all decked out in white (or, with today's modern styles of wedding gowns, light gold, champagne, pink, purple, red and so on), a colorful flower adorning the tresses can make a very bold and beautiful statement.

"Less is more -- smaller flowers that are less obtrusive and don't pull the eye from the overall effect," says Michael Blomsterberg, a self-proclaimed "Hairipist" and author of the book Hairapy: Deeper than the Roots. "I enjoy pulling one's hair back into individual, soft pieces so that all is off the face, then wrapping all of the pieces from the ear back in the most elegant medium-sized pin curls, and then adding my flowers in the center of many of the pin curls to top it off. It's a very gorgeous elegant look... a definite crowd favorite. The flowers absolutely enhance the silhouette."

Reinert-Smith says that one of the most popular styles employing flowers in hairstyles for weddings is actually adorning the comb on the bride's veil, using the same flowers arranged in her bouquet. "Stephanotis, sweetheart roses, and dendrobium orchids are all popular choices," Reinert-Smith notes.

But, he adds, "It is not too common for bridesmaids to have flowers in their hair. When they do request them, it is more of a prom style, just a few small filler flowers that the hairdresser would add while she is doing the up-do."

She also says that mothers of the bride rarely include flowers in their own hairstyles. Flower girls, however, often sport beautiful buds of sweetheart roses, baby's breath or even ivy in their hairpieces. Reinert-Smith adds that age does not seem to be a factor, with flower girls ranging from only a few months old to eight, nine or even 10 years old.

Prom tips for floral hairstyles

"For proms, it seems like the majority of girls prefer tiny pieces of baby's breath (white), limonium (lavender), sometimes even solidago (yellow), small pieces of 'filler' flowers that they would take to the hairdresser to spray in as she does their up-do," says florist Kandice Reinert-Smith, who owns Garden of Eden Florist in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

"At the same time though, there are girls that like a single large flower to tuck behind their ear, almost a tropical style. Those seem to be the most requested for proms." (See author Alexandra Fuller above with a flower tucked behind her ear.)