Art Basel Miami Beach: Hair for a Week of Openings

Art Basel week is the most demanding five days of the South Florida social year. A fair floor in the morning, a gallery dinner at eight, a beach party that starts at eleven and a brunch the next morning that everyone pretends is casual. Hair is the first thing to fail and the last thing anyone has time to fix.

The mistake I see is planning each event as if it were the only one. You cannot style five separate blowouts in five days and have hair that still behaves on day five. What works is a base: one good blowout on the Monday or Tuesday, then styling on top of it, not from scratch.

Day one, smooth and down, finished so it will take a curl later. Day two, a low chignon built on the same base. Day three, a ponytail, which is the reset that does not require water. Day four, dry shampoo at the root, a light re-curl at the face, and a deep side part. By day five you want an updo, because the ends have given what they are going to give.

Miami in December is not cool. Humidity sits around seventy percent and the walk from a car to a door is enough to lift a smooth finish. I use a humidity-resistant setting spray and I keep the front section set separately so it can be re-pinned in a bathroom mirror in ninety seconds.

If you want a professional on the ground for a few of those nights, that is what I do. Private events run $225 per person per service, and an engagement or portrait session is $500. The rest is on the investment page.

Fair week books early and I can only take a handful of evenings. Inquire with your dates before Thanksgiving.