Wedding Day skin prep
I get asked by the majority of my brides what they should be doing to prepare their skin for their wedding day, products, treatments etc. This advice isn’t an absolute must, if you have a solid routine and love all of your products then don’t fix it if it ain’t broken, these are just a few tips if you need to shake up your routine or set a routine, to begin with.
It’s important to start prepping your skin for your wedding day as early as possible, your skin will need time to adjust to any new products you introduce into your collection. It could react to any new products or treatments for the first few weeks until it gets used to them, for instance if you’ve never used an acid product you need to go through a bit of a rough stage with your skin adjusting before getting the results your intending.
I would start 4-5 months in advance to get into a solid routine and find the products that best fit my skin type.
So here are a few suggestions to point you in the right direction.
Use more than just a moisturiser. Your routine should consist of the basic products, A cleanser (double cleanse if your wearing makeup that day to ensure it’s all off otherwise cleanse once), eye cream, serum and a moisturiser. Once you have those products that work best for you introduce the extras that will take your skin to the next level.
An acid exfoliator, will re-texture your skin, help other products to penetrate deeper and tackle signs of ageing resulting in a smoother surface, a radiant look and a more even skin tone.
A lash & brow serum will promote growth if you’ve damaged hair with endless beauty treatments.
SPF, really should be a basic product to protect your skin, especially when using the acid product but let’s be honest most of us neglect this item including myself, let’s try not to!
Night cream or oil, dedicated to a different skin concern than your day cream to help tackle more. Your skin is still working just as hard at night as it is during the day so you need 24/7 hydration. I like to use an oil in the evenings as they soften and smooths your skin whilst giving you a hit of glow, you also don’t need to walk around in the day with a super shiny face if that’s not your thing. Oh and go to bed with that spa feeling, I promise you you’ll wake up with glowy plump skin!
Use a Gu sha when applying your serum or moisturiser. It’s an easy addition that makes you feel like you're getting a spa facial every time, I introduced this into my routine last year and it’s amazing, I do feel like I’ve seen a massive difference with puffiness and radiance since.
No new products close to the wedding day. In the final 2 weeks before the wedding don’t introduce any new products you haven’t tried before, you run the risk of ruining all your hard skincare work by giving yourself a reaction and texturising your face.
Fake tan, I hate it. I always think it’s best to get a natural tan, firstly you don’t want any rubbing off on your white dress, secondly, if there are any green undertones to it then it’s gonna make matching your foundation EXTREMELY hard. But if you must fake tan then please get it done professionally. Do not go into your wedding day with old patchy tan or layered tan on top of old, it will completely and utterly ruin your entire bridal look.
No lash extensions. I know a lot of people love these for their wedding day as they can keep them for the honeymoon, but I also hate these. If they aren’t done correctly they can make your eyes look small and dark, not only that but if they’re too thick you can’t see much of the eye makeup. But I do get people love them so if you must, then please get very natural ones as less is more. On the wedding day if you need more lashes then your makeup artist can add a few extra individual lashes or a strip lash, best of both worlds then. Or just get that lash & brow serum!
Facial treatments. They are a nice pamper now and again but not necessary if you're doing your skincare routine properly and regularly. I would forget about skin extractions, microdermabrasion treatments and hydra facials and just focus on Lymphatic Drainage. It will reduce puffiness to make your facial structure more defined, stimulate circulation and best of all there’s no recovery time so you can get this treatment the day before the wedding if you wanted to. Think of this as a much more intense and professional step up to that Gu sha.
Make habits. Sounds simple but the littlest thing could make you start cutting corners with the application. Set aside time every single day to get yourself into a regular morning and evening routine, I’d say 5 minutes minimum. Not dedicating a few extra minutes at the beginning and end of the day will result in laziness, I 100% won’t be motivated to do it if I’m too tired or I have to rush out the door for work. When you think of it 5 minutes is nothing so just get it over and done with as soon as you’ve brushed your teeth and washed your face!
Your skin can impact the look of your makeup but it can also have a big impact on the staying power so give yourself the best possible chance of supporting a flawless makeup look for the day.
Listen to your skin, if it reacts or feels uncomfortable when trying new things then adjust your products.
