Get A Grip On Your Updos
Posted by Cool Blades | 12th May 2026
Formal hairstyles can be tricky, but with the right tools at your disposal you can master the most complex styles and add them to your salon repertoire. With prom season on the approach, it’s important to get some practise in before those clients come flooding in with ten drastically different inspiration pictures to choose from. Every head of hair behaves in different ways, but with the right products you can approach every assignment with confidence. So what are the most essential items to have on your trolley?
Without a fully prepared base to work with, hair can quickly fall flat and can be detrimental to the finished style. Some styles require some volume whipping up so that the style makes a statement, plus creating a base for your pins to sit – otherwise they’re going to slide right out.
To create this base, hair often requires curling with a straightener or curling wand so that the hair is more pliable and behaves better when you’re trying to form your shape. Un-curled hair doesn’t always sit properly and can be awkward to pin in place.
Using a fine-toothed comb to backcomb hair from root to tip creates a cushion of hair that grips and pins can be secured in better. This also creates height in areas that the client wishes to be accentuated.
If the hair that you’re working on is particularly soft, then you may want to apply a root powder or texture spray to give you prepared hair a little hold. This ensures the hair won’t slip out of the pins and can lend itself well to the ‘undone’ look rather than smooth and sleek.
These help to secure the style in the intended shape, but it’s important to have them in a range of different colours to blend in with different hair shades. Bobbles and bands should be small and subtle to separate sections of hair and can be useful for forming buns and braids. Grips are your best friend in occasion hair but are very different than pins. A grip can hold hair in place a lot better than a pin, so are ideal to use when forming your base shape. Pins can then be used to secure smaller sections of hair for the more delicate elements of the style. The aim is to make sure that all your grips are camouflaged, making your style look like a seamless work of art!
These are fantastic to have for more dramatic styles that require height, as they can make it appear as though your client has more hair than they do. Clients with fine hair could then benefit from a heavier updo by wrapping hair around the rings or pads to bulk out the style. They’re also great for securing pins and grips so your base won’t budge.
With some styles it can be helpful to spray as you go – as long as you’re using a light spray that you can brush out if need be. Avoid sticky strong-hold sprays initially, just in case your style needs modifying. Once you’ve made your finishing touches, you can happily spray away with something stronger to set the style in place.
As long as you have each of these tools at your disposal, you can create any style that comes your way. However, if you think your updos could do with some practise, Cool Blades have a range of training heads on our website, so you can perfect those French twists and chignon buns without skipping a beat.