If you want to have a flawless, smooth, glowing healthy skin on your Wedding Day with all eyes on you, no dry skin, blemishes or other skin impurities, I recommend you to start prepping your skin months(6) in advance prior to your Wedding Day.
Starting your skincare regime this far in advance will give you the opportunity to test different products to see which ones are the most suitable for your complexion and once you found it, stick to it.
Beginning a daily routine by cleansing, toning, and moisturizing morning and night, also use a serum at least overnight, to clean your pores, tone skin and leave a radiant glow on your face. Use face masks according to your complexion’s needs once a week and exfoliate your face once a week as well.
If professional facials don’t fit your budget, have a consultation with a skincare professional who can advise you with tips and products for you to use on your own at home.
Your wedding gown may cover a lot of area, that’s all the more reason to highlight the visible zones like your neck, chest, back, and shoulders that requires similar maintenance. When washing, exfoliating, and moisturizing, make sure you’re not neglecting these crucial areas.
You can also consider incorporating a dry body brush into your routine. Dry body brushing has so many benefits including improving blood circulation, getting rid of dry, dead skin, helping prevent ingrown hairs, eliminating toxins, and unclogging pores, , it also revs up the flow of lymph, the all-important fluid that whisks toxins out of our systems.
On dry skin before bathing, start on the front of your body with your ankles and work upwards in a circular motion toward your heart. When you move to your back, brush from the neck down to the lower back. Follow with a shower to wash away dead skin and when you’re done make sure you moisturize so the end result is smooth, soft skin. This is great to keep your hands, elbow and feet moisturized also.(Don’t forget to get mani-pedi trials also prior to the wedding.)
Maintain healthy, clear skin that lasts:
-Drink plenty of water, at least 2 L per day. Water firms your skin and flushes toxins from the body, and given enough time, will aid in the fight against breakouts.
-Also you can heal the skin from the inside out if you adopt a real, whole foods diet and lifestyle (super foods, fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, and lean meats), limit sugar intake and reduce drinking alcohol to the very minimum. You can consider taking supplements for skin like biotin, omega-3, and vitamin E. Just consult your doctor before you start any supplement intake.
-A great sleeping pattern is also crucial, we produce the highest amounts of natural HGH (human growth hormone) while we sleep, which is responsible for regenerating and creating new cells of all our body tissues—skin, muscle, hair. When we sleep, it’s the only time our brain can repair and reorganize. And the relaxed breathing state during sleep reduces stress by calming our central nervous system.
-Manage stress, try to consciously stress less, many inflammatory conditions, including eczema, psoriasis, and keratosis pilaris, may be at least partially caused by stress, as stress weakens the immune system, worsens chronic inflammation.
-Also, if you are on the sun often, make sure you’re wearing sunscreen with at least an SPF of 30 or higher and wearing appropriate clothing. Brides often want to rock a beautiful bronze, but baking in the sun or in an artificial tanning bed is not worth potential drying out, wrinkles, and age spots. If you want a great-looking tan, opt for spray or self-tanners.
-Lastly, if a blemish, spot or other skin emergency appears, please do not irritate it further by poking and prodding, just gently exfoliate and cleanse before makeup, and follow with an anti-blemish cream, or my absolute and ultimate favourite is the actual aloe vera plant, within 1-2 days clears the skin. Just cut a small piece of the leaf and massage the gel around the face, leave it on for a few hours and wash it off, or leave it overnight,works magic.
Make sure to use light consistency and very minimum of makeup on blemishes, and if you can, just leave it to rest without any makeup.
Overall, take care of your skin, mind and body: start a great skincare regime, eat well, drink a lot, don’t stress, sleep more but most importantly enjoy and have plenty of fun along this amazing journey.