Average Wedding Hair & Makeup Services cost | How much do Wedding Hair & Makeup Services cost?

Wedding hair and makeup services cost guide

Every bride-to-be dreams of having the perfect wedding day and the perfect appearance for it. While a wedding planner can take care of the setting, music, and even the groom, the bride has to look stunning on her own. She is the very center of every photo and anything that happens on this special day. To look gorgeous, most brides opt for the professional wedding hair and makeup services to take the load off and ensure that their face is shining. An expert can help create the perfect style, correct some drawbacks of the appearance and at the same time highlight the advantages, such as plumpy lips or big eyes. Entrust your appearance into the hands of the experts and only enjoy your special day!

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Average wedding hair and makeup services

Professional wedding hair and makeup services include the creation and design of a hairstyle for the bride on a wedding day and makeup service. Most frequently, MUAH artists meet with the bride-to-be before the special day to try out several hair and makeup styles and ensure that the best one is chosen for the wedding day. However, this is an optional service and doesn’t have to be included into the price list. Besides the bride’s makeup and hair, MUAH experts can also take care of the bridesmaids and bride’s mother as well as the groom, yet this service depends on the budget a bride-to-be is willing to spend. The average cost of wedding hair and makeup services lies between $100 and $180 with the lowest cost ranging at $60 in total and the high-end price being $500.

Cost-related questions

What is included in the price of a bridal hair and makeup package?

Two main cost-affecting elements of the wedding hair and makeup service is the time an expert spends on you and the materials involved. The more time, the higher the price. The higher the quality of the materials, the better the makeup and the more long-lasting hairstyle a bride has, yet the higher will be the final cost. It’s that simple. Be ready that most artists work on the per-hour basis, so the longer the service takes, the more you will need to pay.

Keep also in mind that in terms of hairstyles, wedding updos usually cost more than blowouts, for instance, updos on average cost $75-$105 while blowouts about $45-$60.

What additional wedding hair and makeup services can I expect?

Besides the standard makeup and hairstyle, a MUAH artist can also offer a number of additional services before as well as during the preparation period.

Extra services: some techniques and styles of hairstyling, hair coloring, makeup application, etc. may cost higher than the average price. For instance, airbrush makeup tends to cost about $50-$70 more than the traditional application method.
Lashes: false lashes are frequently seen as an additional service as well. In most cases, you will pay a flat fee for the whole bridal party. The price tends to fall into $15-$20 price range.
Travel distance and time: if you’re planning to invite your wedding hair and makeup artist to your home (which is a standard way to do so), then be ready to pay for the travel expenses. Most artists require a flat fee for short trips, but you will need to cover the mileage and gas for the long-distance travels.
Additional people: in case you want the MUAH artist to help your bridesmaids, mother, and mother-in-law to look stunning on your special day, then every additional person will be covered on her own. On average, you will pay 1.5 times more for two people, about 2 times more for three people, etc. The cost is related to the additional work, and sometimes even an assistant required.
Additional hours: if you would like the makeup artist and the hairstylist to be present throughout the day to ensure that you look stunning all day long, be ready to cover those additional hours.
Full-day booking: some hair and makeup artists have special full-day prices for wedding days. Generally, they lower their per-hour cost and so become more affordable for the full-service day. Sometimes the full-day booking can be negotiated in terms of per-hour rates while in other cases you will only need to pay a flat fee.
Trial: trial runs are most often charged extra since they require additional time and materials. Sometimes trial runs may cost even more than the final MUAH work, but only if your trial lasts for too long and requires too many materials.

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What is the average cost of the trial?

A trial is a time when you come to the artist for a consultation to choose and try the best makeup and hairstyle for the real wedding day. As it has already been mentioned, most wedding hair and makeup artists charge additional fees for the trials. The average cost of trials falls into $50 to $150 cost frame with most brides-to-be paying about $75 per service.

How much do bridesmaid hair and makeup cost?

Since this service is paid for as an extra, you can expect to pay about $65-$110 per bridesmaid for makeup only. Hairstyles cost can vary significantly depending on the complexity of work to be performed. The average cost of bridesmaids’ hairstyles is $50-$75 per person.

Is there a deposit to be paid?

Be ready that most makeup and hairstyle artists require brides-to-be to put in some deposit upon booking the date. Generally, it costs about $60-$100 in total for the full range of services required. However, some experts may require you to pay up to 50% as a deposit.

Are there pre-bridal services performed by the hair and makeup artists?

Besides the trial, you can also opt for some additional hair and makeup services, such as:

Haircut: $50-$160
Hair dying: $75-$180
Eyebrows treatment: $20-$50
Eyelash extensions: $40-$100
Facial treatment: from $100

How much does wedding grooming cost?

Since in the present day men grooming has become essential, man haircut and beard grooming are important before the wedding day. Be ready that not all wedding hair stylists can groom men properly, you might need to hire a separate expert for the groom-to-be. However, if your stylist can do both, then you will need to pay about $100-$150 for the on-the-day grooming; pre-wedding treatments tend to cost about $50-$75.

Tips to hire a reliable hair and makeup artist

There is nothing secretive or unusual in hiring a reliable wedding hair and makeup artist. The most important thing among all the tips is to like the work an expert does. It’s essential since it doesn’t matter how great someone performs the duties if you don’t like their work. Yet, here are a couple of tips to help you.

Reviews. Reviews signify customer satisfaction after the performed services. They will tell you whether the job was done at high standards, whether the makeup lasted long and the curls in the hairstyle looked nice after a couple of dancing hours. Carefully read online reviews of any expert since they are the greatest sign of quality and experience.
Portfolio. Every wedding hair and makeup artist has a particular style and taste, and your own preferences have to match the qualifications of your artist. Check the portfolio to see if you like the style and overall appearance of the brides and grooms in the pictures.
Products used. This is essential to ensure that the makeup cosmetics will last till the end of the day and that hair treatment won’t destroy your hair after a day. It’s also especially important for people with sensitive skin and allergies to particular products or components.
Trial run. Trial runs should traditionally cost less. That is why you can sign up for a test run with a particular MUAH artist to evaluate whether you like their work and are ready to cooperate or it’s better to look around. You can do a makeup trial before you commit to your bridal makeup.

How much do Wedding Hair & Makeup Services cost?