Your wedding day is one of the most important moments of your life, and naturally, you want to look and feel your best. Achieving that radiant, picture-perfect glow starts with a well-planned skincare treatment plan. 

In this guide, I’ll share how to best prepare for this important day, inside and out — from your skincare routine to lifestyle habits, we’ll look at addressing your skin holistically. 

Skincare 

Preparing your skin for the big day will not be an overnight task. I generally recommend that you set aside 6-12 months prior to your wedding to allow for any interventions to deliver on its promised results. 

For general improvements to non-problematic skin, 6 months is more than enough time to get one’s skin to its most dewy, hydrated, and glowing state.

For problems such as acne and scarring, rosacea, hyperpigmentation, and melasma, I insist on starting treatment 12 months in advance to give your skin ample time to renew itself and build new collagen.

Treatment should be a mix of facial treatments with a skincare professional, an at-home skincare routine customized to your skin’s needs, and the integration of positive lifestyle habits. 

Skincare Treatments 

When starting with a treatment plan for your skin in preparation for your wedding day, my recommended approach is to start slowly, to help the skin renew itself on its own. 

Every skincare treatment plan is different, but some of my recommended treatments to help refresh a bride’s skin are microneedling, lactic peels, microcurrent technology, and traditional European facials. These treatments help renew the skin and uncover glowing skin that will help makeup glide on beautifully on the important day. 

At-Home Skincare Routine 

Having an effective at-home skincare routine with quality products will have the most positive impact on your skin in time for your wedding day. 

Some of the ingredients I look for in serums/and or creams I recommend to my brides are niacinamides (vitamin B), vitamin C, vitamin A (retinyl palmitate), vitamin E and panthenol (vitamin B5). 

Lotion P50 is one of my favorite products for brides as it gently yet effectively re-texturizes, balances, brightens, and tones the skin. This cult favorite toner is a sophisticated blend of vinegar and mild acids such as AHA, BHA and PHA. 

Looking for a skincare regimen designed to your skin’s needs? Reach out to me for a virtual consultation and I’ll curate a lineup that’ll have your skin refreshed in time for your wedding. 

Lifestyle Habits

Having a great skincare routine and facialist is ½ of the process when it comes to preparing your skin for your wedding. Your lifestyle habits will heavily contribute to your skin’s success too!

When I meet brides for the first time, I start by educating them on eliminating pro-inflammatory food groups — wheat (gluten), dairy, sugar, deep fried foods, all processed foods, certain seed oils such as corn, canola, soy, safflower, sunflower, grapeseed, rice bran and cottonseed. These oils are extremely inflammatory and promote accumulation of toxins in body fat. Eliminating these food groups from your diet can help dramatically improve skin problems and maintain a healthy glow.

Healthy fats however, are extremely important for skin health - so add in coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, and omega 3 fats from wild fish and raw nuts whenever you can.

Our gut health has a very direct connection to our entire well being and skin health. Nothing destroys our collagen more than sugar. Sugar molecules tend to bond with a protein during its breakdown process. This chemical reaction in our body is called glycation (inflammatory breakdown of collagen). 

Two of the most abundant proteins in our body that are responsible for tightness, fullness, and bounciness of our skin are collagen and elastin. Every time we consume any food rich in sugar (especially processed sugar) we stimulate a collagen breakdown, speeding up our aging process. Therefore, face puffiness, rosacea, water retention and dullness in the skin all can be improved by eliminating all sugars from the diet.

I always advise my brides to abstain from sugar 6 months before their wedding. This includes starchy fruits such as bananas, apples, and pineapple. Swap these fruits for berries to get a natural sugar kick.

Increasing lean protein, lots of fresh vegetables, and leafy greens will positively impact overall gut health and in turn, result in radiant, clear, depuffed skin for any big event.

Healthy skin cannot be achieved solely through facials and additional lifestyle habits that will promote healthy skin are: 

• Uninterrupted sleep of 8 to 12 hours (especially women)
• Eat a balanced diet (anti-inflammatory)
• Drink plenty of water (daily 64 ounces of filtered water)
• Avoid tanning, smoking, and consuming excessive alcohol
• Wear a minimum of SPF 30 daily
• Follow an at-home professional regimen prescribed by a licensed skincare professional (schedule a consultation with me here if you’re looking for a customized regimen)
• Get in the habit of dry brushing your entire body to promote lymph drainage. If possible, use a sauna or steam rooms for additional detoxification
• Stay consistent with your workouts to help the body detox and naturally move stagnant lymphs
• Aim to receive 6 to 12 professional skincare treatments a year

Interested in learning more about the skincare regimen that’s the right fit for your skin? Take my free quiz and learn which lineup of products I recommend for your skin type.