Holiday parties are just around the corner and while you might be keeping your eyes open for new holiday attire, it’s time to start taking care of your hair so that when it comes time to show everything off, your hair looks just as shiny as your new dress!

Below are some great tips and trends from NYC Hair Stylist, Lucy Garcia Planck, from Salon Bergdorf Goodman, on how to make sure your hair stands out this holiday season:

• Moisturizing is Key: Keeping hair moisturized will help all of your holiday hairstyles look great. The dry winter air will quickly zap your hair of any moisture it has. Try not to shampoo often. If you have oily hair wash it every other day, and if you have dry hair, aim at washing it one to two times a week maximum.
• Hair Masks are a Must: Another great way to keep hair hydrated is by using hair masks 1-2 times a week depending on your hair’s texture. I like to use 1 tsp of coconut oil directly on your hair, starting on the ends of the hair and working it up towards the scalp. Go to work out or run an errand and leave in for 30-60 min then shampoo with the treatment still in the head and then rinse. This locks in the natural oils in the hair and keeps it looking shiny.
• Take Care of Yourself From the Inside: I always say ‘you are what you eat.’ Whatever you put into your body reflects your outsides. Be sure to drink plenty of water, and eat proper foods such as fish, nuts and eggs helps to keep hair shiny. Taking a biotin supplement will also help. Biotin is a natural supplement that many people don’t get enough of and that could be a contributing factor to dry, brittle hair. I always tell my clients to take biotin year round to maintain a strong, healthy glow to their hair and it also helps with split ends. I love using and always recommend vitafusion Gorgeous Hair, Skin and Nails is a great-tasting gummy multivitamin containing 12 key nutrients, including Biotin and Vitamins C and E to help nourish beautiful hair, skin, and nails from the inside out.
• Keep Static Away:  Dry winter months always create lots of hair static, which can ruin a great hairstyle. I always sleep on a silk pillowcase, which can help to eliminate this issue. Unlike cotton, the silk pillowcase doesn’t have any wrinkles in it and won’t mess up our hair. To maintain your hair or hairstyle (a fresh salon blowout), sleeping on silk helps with the static as well during the winter when your hair is depleted of moisture. Argan oil moisturizes the ends of your hair without leaving your hair oily. Use only a very tiny amount (pea-sized). If your hair is fine, stay away from the oils, instead use static guard sprayed in your hairbrush and brush your hair. For those with thicker hair, the argan oil will help keep your hair moisturized and reduce static and flyways.

Like many beginning entrepreneurs, you may be primed and ready to open up a bar in the United States in your neck of the woods. This could be a lifelong dream that you’ve had or it could be a more recent idea. No matter what, just know that some aspects of opening a bar are going to be easy while other parts might be really difficult.

As an example, if you’re opening a bar in Texas you’ll need to understand liquor laws and other legal aspects of business. Monshaugen & Van Huff can help you get all of your legal ducks in a row.

Or maybe you have a tough time keeping track of employee hours and you’re tracking things manually in a book. Clockspot can help you digitize the process and let employees clock in and clock out online.

Besides the areas we’ve already mentioned, we’ll share some other tips to make it easier than ever to open a bar. Please use this information to your advantage sooner rather than later.

Tip #1: Discover Your Target Audience

Depending on where you happen to open your bar, you’ll need to discover your target audience to figure out how to decorate and market your business. Yes, this is a crucial step that many successful bar owners often overlook. They open their bar and never think about the neighborhood it’s in. They create something that they might find appealing but doesn’t necessarily appeal to the rest of the people living and working in the neighborhood.

As an example, if you plan to open up a new bar in the business district in your community, you’ll probably have many young professionals with money coming into your establishment on a fairly regular basis. So you obviously do not want to open a biker bar in this neighborhood because it just doesn’t fit.

So think about your location and pay close attention to the people in the community. You want to create a theme based on your ideal customer in the area and then completely run with it.

Tip #2: Be Consistent with Your Business Concept

Now that you’ve discovered your target market, it’s time to create the right environment to make them feel at home in your establishment. This way you’ll have everything you need to attract your ideal customer.

As an example, if you plan to open up a sports bar, one of the biggest things you’ll need is the best TV screens. If you have huge TV screens all over the bar with many games from the most popular sports on them, you’ll definitely attract your target audience.

On the other hand, if you plan on opening up a dive bar based on your target audience, you do not need to have the latest technology and you probably don’t want to have humongous TVs either. This is a totally different audience and you need to have the right decor and functionality to give them what they expect.

Tip #3: Pay Attention to the Competition

Simply put, your competitors have already been down the road that you currently travel so it’s best to pay attention of them. See what they do and see how they manage their bar because you could come up with some excellent tips and tricks this way.

By watching your competitors, you are giving yourself an advantage by learning the ropes from people who have already been there and done that. This will help you cut down on your learning curve and make it easier for you to survive and thrive in a difficult industry.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are definitely going to be some challenges to opening up a bar and making it successful. But if you use the tips and information we shared today, you’ll put yourself in a better position to survive and thrive in this industry.

Weddings are supposed to be fun, right? Yet so often so many weddings seem to be stuffy and conservative affairs.

This can be a real crying shame because you want your wedding to be absolutely amazing and you want all of your guests to have a wonderful time. If the event is too stuffy and conservative, people will have an okay time but you aren’t going to win any awards for having the wedding of the year.

If you’re having trouble finding the ideal wedding gown, take a moment to consider a collection of simple dresses. These can be easier to choose from and easier to fit into the entire theme. Take a look more about this here: https://www.azazie.com/all/collections/simple-wedding-gown/216

Once you’ve gotten many of your wedding ideas on paper, like personalized candy wrappers for parties as an example, you should also take a moment to come up with fun and exciting things to make the wedding a little bit more enjoyable, fresh, and absolutely entertaining.

With that said, we’ll now take a look at four fun wedding ideas to consider. Definitely keep them in mind if you’re looking to liven up your reception during this once-in-a-lifetime event.

1. Wear Comfortable Running Shoes under Your Wedding Gown

It’s your wedding and you can do whatever you want. Nobody said you have to wear gaudy and extravagant shoes under your wedding gown. On the contrary, if you want to wear a pair of bright pink Chuck Taylor’s or funky running shoes under your gown you absolutely have the right to do so.

Remember, you’re going to be spending time out on the dance floor. So you’re going to want your feet to be comfortable. That’s why you should feel fine putting on sneakers or running shoes because you’re the bride and your comfort means everything on your big day.

2. Superhero Groomsmen Anyone?

If the groom loves superheroes, you could always incorporate these amazing characters into the wedding. Have all of the groomsmen including the groom put on their tuxedos but wear superhero T-shirts under their button-down white shirts.

So when it comes time to take pictures, you can have all of the men open up their white shirts to reveal their superhero shirts under them. It will look like they are about to spring into action to save the reception from evildoers. This will make a funny picture for everyone to enjoy, and it will add a measure of levity to the wedding reception that’ll make the entire event a lot more fun.

3. Hire a Celebrity Impersonator for Your Wedding Reception

Believe it or not, celebrity impersonators are always a big hit at weddings. Have you ever wanted Michael Jackson to dance at your wedding while doing the moonwalk? Well, you can get the next best thing by a hiring a Michael Jackson impersonator to strut his stuff on the dance floor for you and your guests.

Or if you’d rather have a celebrity guest impersonator that’s still part of the land of the living, you can hire an impersonator to represent your favorite celebrity no matter who he or she may happen to be.

Just know that your guests are going to absolutely love this person when it comes time to take pictures. Everybody is going to get up to have their picture taken with the “famous celebrity”, so consider this added expense as a way to bring fun to your wedding reception in a unique and exciting way.

4. Turn Your Favorite Pooch into the Ring Bearer

If your dog is trained, you can tie the wedding rings around his or her neck and have your favorite pooch walk down the aisle to deliver the rings. Your guests will absolutely love seeing your pup become a part of the proceedings and you’ll create an amazing memory that’ll last a lifetime too.

Final Thoughts

Do you like any of the fun ideas we’ve shared today? If so, think about using them for your wedding. By preparing for your wedding in advance, these ideas will help liven up the festivities and bring huge smiles to the faces of your family, friends, and guests.