Every bride wants to look beautiful on her wedding day. Most women painstakingly plan every detail of their big day and wedding look, from the dress to hair and makeup. So it’s no wonder that all brides panic when a blemish appears right before the wedding day.
Here’s the good news. You don’t have to suffer from breakouts, blemishes, or other skin challenges on your big day. Like other wedding details, preparing your skin requires a lot of planning and care beginning months in advance. By making a few simple changes to your current beauty routine, you set yourself up for radiant, healthy-looking, glowing skin on your big day.
Pre-Wedding Skin Care
Wedding skin prep starts with establishing a premium skincare regimen that includes a few steps and products. If you’re new to the idea of incorporating a routine day and night for your skin, start slow, adding in more steps as you feel comfortable. Here are the building blocks of a daily routine:
Cleanse
Daily cleansing has been shown to help reduce breakouts and signs of premature aging [1]. And when it comes to washing your face, you have two options: an oil-based cleanser or a water-based cleanser. Both types of product will help gently remove excess dirt, oil, makeup, and other environmental pollutants from your face without over-drying your skin. Oil-based products, in particular, can be a great choice for those with sensitive or oily skin, which is sometimes the result of excessive removal of the skin’s natural oils. This is a necessary step in your skincare routine and should be done both morning and night.
Exfoliate
Be honest. Does the thought of exfoliating regularly seem unnecessary or even harsh? It doesn’t have to be when you choose the right exfoliation product. It helps clear your pores of dirt and debris that would otherwise result in breakouts [2]. It also helps prep your skin to better absorb the rest of your regimen and products. And… you literally see brighter skin within minutes!
Having said that, those with active breakouts or sensitive skin should avoid using products that will be too harsh. Try a gentle exfoliation product months before the big day and see how your skin reacts. Adjust your exfoliation frequency accordingly.
Hydrate
Hydration is the most misunderstood and undervalued step in your daily regimen. It’s also the #1 way to combat premature aging and prep for wedding-worthy skin. Unlike moisturizers that simply seal in moisture, hydration pumps skin full of water, visibly plumping it to smooth fine lines and wrinkles. As a leading Skin Health Expert, our founder Kate believes that hydration is essential to visibly improve skin. Her entire DermalQuench collection was inspired by the #1 hydration treatment in her Los Angeles clinic and can be used daily from the comfort of home. It’s the ultimate boost of hydration for thirsty skin and can be used day or night - even moments before you walk down the aisle!
Treat/Moisturize
Treat specific skin concerns with signature serums formulated for maximum results. If you’ve got acneic skin, Kate’s EradiKate® product line is clinically perfected to not just dry out pimples like competitor products do. It also cleans, clears, and balances oil production, bacteria, and blemishes to heal skin on multiple levels.
Seal in your skin transformation with the right moisturizer for your skin type. As a Skin Health Expert, Kate’s formulated her entire moisturizer line to meet the needs of unique skin types/concerns, including oily skin, maturing skin, sensitive skin, and more. Her newest moisturizer +Retinol Vitamin C Moisturizer is ideally suited for brides as it delivers a trio of benefits, firming, brightening, and smoothing skin while you sleep.
Lastly, don’t forget to finalize your morning routine with a broad spectrum SPF. Sunscreen isn’t just for summer. It’s a way to protect skin health and combat premature aging.
Establishing a daily routine early on in your wedding planning ensures your skin will look picture perfect on the big day. Here are some other practices to put in place along your journey.
One Year Out
Visit a Professional
Whether it is with an esthetician or a dermatologist, making an appointment with a skin care professional can help in two big ways. First, they will be able to assess the current state of your complexion. They will then be able to use this information to devise a complete plan for achieving all your skincare goals. Some of the strategies and treatments they suggest can take several months to work, which is why it is best to make these appointments at least a year before your wedding.
Manage Your Stress
Planning a wedding can cause many women to experience extra stress especially in the months leading up to your big day. Stress hormones are known to wreak havoc on the skin so it is important to begin implementing healthy habits early on. Regular exercise is a great way to help minimize skin conditions or reactions that may be exacerbated by stress such as acne breakouts or eczema.
Implement Double Cleansing
A skincare practice popularized by Korean beauty advocates, double cleansing is the process of washing your face two times in a row. Usually, the initial cleanse is done using an oil-based product while the second wash uses a water-based cleanser. Using a cleansing oil strips away dirt, grime, and dead skin from the surface of your face in addition to functioning as a gentle makeup remover. This helps to clear your pores and allows the second face wash to penetrate deeper into the skin and cleanse more effectively. When selecting this second cleanser, try to find something that is designed for your skin type and aimed at addressing your primary skin concern.
Nine Months Out
Add Retinol & Hyaluronic Acid
If your routine does not already include products featuring retinol and hyaluronic acid, now is the time to add them in. These ingredients are widely considered as two of the most powerful in skincare ingredients. A derivative of vitamin A, retinol helps to combat the natural loss of facial fullness [3] by increasing the skin’s ability to retain moisture. And with consistent use, retinol can help soften age spots and even your skin tone as it smooths away layers of dead skin and unclogs pores over time. Kate’s +Retinol Collection features powerful hydration, serums, moisturizers, and more for every skin need.
Hyaluronic acid is a sugar found naturally in the body. As we age, our levels of this acid decrease over time. Applying it topically helps your skin retain water and regulate its moisture levels [4] to keep it balanced and hydrated. It also improves skin resilience [5] to restore volume and fullness while also working to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Kate’s Wrinkle Warrior® Collection is specially formulated with Hyaluronic Acid to deliver instant and long term hydration while plumping and firming skin.
Get Regular Facials
Working with your esthetician, begin implementing regular facial treatments to your routine. These treatments will utilize higher concentrations of active ingredients to deliver more intense results. Typically, receiving a treatment every two to three months will help maintain your skin’s appearance and health while helping address any lingering skin concerns.
Six Months Out
Drink More Water
Glowing skin starts from the inside out. At this point, you should start cutting out your unhealthy habits and adding in a few good ones. Increasing your water intake can have a dramatic impact on your skin. Though scientists can’t seem to figure out exactly why water consumption improves skin health, they all agree that it does. One school of thought is that water consumption increases blood flow through the capillaries of the skin [6] while others have found water intake simply helps to balance the skin’s natural moisture levels [7] and helps your body rid your system of any toxins lingering in your organs, including your skin [8].
Reduce Processed Foods
Your diet has a direct impact on your skin [9] so making changes to the foods you are eating can help you achieve your glow. Processed foods and those high in sugar can cause your blood sugar to spike resulting in skin inflammation. To avoid this, try cutting back on foods such as white bread, candy, fried food, ice cream, fruit juice, pasta, ketchup, cream cheese, jam, pizza, sugar (white and brown), packaged snacks, sodas, and alcohol. You should begin to see improvements in your skin within a few weeks of making the change.
Two Months Out
Last Professional Treatment
This is the closest to your wedding that you will want to receive professional treatments like chemical peels or laser resurfacing. Such processes can cause some irritation and redness so wrapping these up eight weeks before your wedding will give your skin time to heal while still enhancing the appearance of your skin on the big day.
Keep It Simple
As you enter the final stretch of time before your wedding, your focus should be on limiting the number of changes you are making to your routine. Now is not the time to introduce new products to your regimen as they could cause adverse reactions. Rather, you should try to maintain the same routine you have been following until the day of your wedding.
One Week (or Less) Out
Massage Your Face
Giving your face a simple massage using a facial roller can help gently drain excess fluid from your skin and reduce inflammation by increasing circulation. This can be done the night before your wedding to help your skin appear smoother and firmer on the day of.
A bride skincare routine of this extent will help ensure that you have given your skin all the care it needs in the months leading up to your wedding. This timeline will give the active ingredients plenty of time to make an impact while allowing your skin to heal. Your wedding should be a day of celebration and love, don’t let a lack of preparation or blemish stand in your way!
Sources:
- https://www.netdoctor.co.uk/beauty/skincare/a27307/double-cleansing-clear-skin/
- https://www.aad.org/media/news-releases/evaluate-before-you-exfoliate
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2699641
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583886/
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1524-4725.2008.34176.x
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17352748
- https://www.uwhealth.org/madison-plastic-surgery/the-benefits-of-drinking-water-for-your-skin/26334
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4106357/
