Getting married in June? Renée Rouleau shares skin tips for the bride.
6 MONTHS BEFORE THE WEDDING
Find a reputable skin care professional. Six months is the perfect amount of time to ensure that your skin is clear, smooth and glowing for the big day. It’s important to find a skin care spa or clinic that offers a wide range of skin care services to give your skin everything it needs.
Schedule a consultation. What may be fabulous for your friend may not be right for you. Be sure to ask a lot of questions; particularly the cost of treatments, side-effects and the results they can guarantee.
Fit it in the budget. Generally, a good skin care plan (both professional and home-care products) can range from $1000-$2000. Tip: If the budget is tight, let your maid of honor know that getting your skin in good condition for your wedding day is a priority and she may plan a shower where everyone pitches in to give your skin care services as a gift.
Patch test your skin. When starting a new skin care
program, be sure to do a patch test if you’re trying out new skin care
products as allergic reactions can take up to four weeks to heal. Rub a
small amount of product on the side of your neck and wait 24 hours. If
redness or irritation occurs, avoid using the product.
Follow the plan set forth by your skin care professional.
A variety of skin care procedures such as ultrasonic exfoliation,
microdermabrasion, light therapy, facials, oxygen treatments, micro
current and chemical peels will all be beneficial in getting your
bridal glow.
FOR BREAKOUTS:
–Exfoliate well.
This will keep off dry skin cells to lessen clogged pores and
blemishes, and help fade post-breakout scars. Look for products with
exfoliating acids and enzymes.
–Keep the skin clear of bacteria.
Products using ingredients such as Benzoyl Peroxide and Tea Tree help
to eliminate bacteria and prevent the spread of breakouts.
–Be sure to keep the skin hydrated.
If you’re prone to blemishes, your skin needs water-based moisture to
keep cells healthy to discourage dead skin cell buildup. Make sure to
use an oil-free lotion.
FOR DISCOLORATION AND BROWN SPOTS:
–Use a skin lightener.
By combining exfoliation, skin lighteners and daily use of sunscreen,
the pigmented cells will slowly start break down and fade their color.
Exfoliation is beneficial for breaking up the pigmented cells while a
skin-lightening agent like Vitamin C or Kojic Acid will suppress the
melanin cells and accelerate the fading process.
FOR REDNESS AND ROSACEA:
–Avoid washing your skin with hot water. Cooler temperatures will keep reduce redness and keep the skin calm.
–Use soothing ingredients in your products. Chamomile, Azulene and Sea Whip all help to comfort the skin and reduce redness.
–Make sure you get facials that cater to sensitive skin.
Although facials can be extremely calming for red skins, you must make
sure that your esthetician has experience in caring for this very
delicate type of skin. Avoid strong chemical peels as they will only
exacerbate redness.
3 MONTHS BEFORE THE WEDDING
Make a commitment to not pick at your skin. Acne
breakouts usually last just 3-5 days, but when you pick at a blemish,
the red mark that lingers can be there for three months! We know it’s
tempting, but you can make problem skin much worse by forcing bacteria
deeper into the skin, resulting in scarring and further break outs. A
better solution for problem skin is a regular facial schedule, where
your pores can be cleaned professionally.
Cut back on the invasive skin treatments. If you have
been having laser treatments or a series of skin peels, now is the time
to start cutting back on those. You need to start going into
maintenance mode. Hopefully, those aggressive procedures helped to
clear up break outs, post-breakout acne scars and discoloration and now
the focus is on maintaining the results. Get a professional facial
every 3-4 weeks for the remaining three months.
1 MONTH BEFORE THE WEDDING
Go easy. Now that you’re on the home stretch, it’s not
the time to be experimenting with new products or services. Keep
everything gentle by backing off aggressive professional treatments.
Avoid dairy products if you’re prone to acne cysts.
Many people have heard that greasy foods and chocolate cause breakouts.
Breakouts, especially those that are cyst-like in the chin and jaw line
area, most often are related to too much ice cream, yogurt, milk and
cheese. Try cutting back and watch your skin clear up!
Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Sleep is not
only important to keep dark circles at bay, but it is also the time
when your body is most metabolically active, ridding itself of toxins
which would otherwise wreak havoc with your skin. Sleep also reduces
stress, the #1 aggravator of acne! Keep your skin care products cold.
When nerves are at their highest, it can cause increased blood flow to
the skin. Try keeping your skin care products in the refrigerator.
Cleansing, toning and moisturizing with cool temperature products keep
the skin calm and soothed.
3 DAYS BEFORE THE WEDDING
Get your final facial. The facial should focus on skin
smoothing via exfoliation and hydration. Keep extractions to a minimum
to avoid unnecessary redness.
Don’t experiment with any new products. You don’t want to risk having an adverse reaction to anything–stick with tried and true.
Avoid shell fish. Especially for those who have
travelled to a tropical island for their wedding, you’ll be tempted
with all the wonderful seafood that is there. Many people are allergic
to iodine commonly found in shell fish which can result in very serious
skin and body reactions, so now is not the time to be eating foods you
have not tried before.
Limit your intake of alcohol. Alcohol leads to skin
and under eye puffiness, so for every alcoholic drink, follow it with a
4-8 oz glass of water. This will help prevent unnecessary morning
puffiness.
Avoid crying (if possible). With all of the
celebratory speeches that are given, it’s only normal that a few tears
may be shed. If at all possible, try to avoid crying since it causes
the eyes to swell resulting in excessive morning under eye puffiness.
WEDDING DAY
Apply a gel mask. Gel masks are water-based so they
won’t add any oil to the skin and interfere with wedding day makeup.
They calm the skin from wedding day nerves, and gives your skin a
smooth, healthy glow.
Drink a lot of water. To prevent skin from puffiness
due to shedding tears or alcohol intake the night before, drink cold
ice water throughout the day. This will also help prevent your mouth
from getting dry due to nerves.
Practice deep breathing. There is nothing better to calm the nerves than frequent deep breathing. Relax. Enjoy. Your day is here.