As a bride-to-be herself, Clinic Manager Gillian has put together a skincare plan to ensure she is looking amazing on her big day, and she’s sharing her tips!
3-6 months before:
Depending on your time frame, focus on more intensive treatments, in particular micro-needling, laser treatments, skin peels and any injectable treatments you may want to have done. Do all this now to deal with any issues, then give your skin a chance to let everything work. If you pack in too much skin prep near to your event, skin gets stressed and can become sensitive, or it may break out and get blotchy. This is where you want to address acne, scarring, pigmentation, texture & tone.
Six weeks before:
From now on, it’s all about keeping it simple: hydrating and moisturizing your skin with serums and masks, plus vitamin C to brighten. The products I like to use are HA Intensifier & Phloretin CF Serum from Skinceuticals. Take time to massage, as it’s the game changer to giving the skin an incredible quality and glow, and defining the face contours. A good product accounts for 60% of the results – how you massage it in is 40%. Work firmly in small circles upwards and outwards over your face. Use the knuckles of your index and middle fingers to work along the jawline, and use the heels of your hands to press and hold under the cheekbones. For the eyes, use the index finger to support the skin on the temples, and then work the middle fingers under the eye to the bridge of the nose, and using more pressure, back along the eyebrow.
The night before:
Give your face a deep 20-minute massage to remove tension and fluid, and plump up the muscles and skin overnight. An intensely hydrating mask like Timeless Truth Bio-Cellulose Immortalle or Triple Effect Hyaluronic Sheet Mask will give your skin a gorgeous boost.
On the day:
Mix up serums to hydrate, plus peptides to firm, and vitamin C to brighten. Remember not to apply any SPF on the morning of your wedding (the one an only exception not to wear SPF) as it can cause flashback in photos.
Our top tips for brides:
- Don’t leave facial treatments and skincare to the last minute.
- Don’t use any new products (skincare, makeup, supplements etc) for 4 weeks before the wedding.
- Despite the temptation, try not to drink alcohol the night before your wedding. Just one glass of champagne will be dehydrating and will cause puffiness and bloating.
- Sometimes the bare minimum cleanse and SPF isn’t enough for the skin. We would recommend a weekly or bi-weekly at-home treatment for the skin such as using a hydrating sheet mask – Timeless Truth Triple Effect Hyaluronic Sheet Masks are a favourite with our clients at the moment.
- Cleansing your skin on a daily basis – ideally in the morning and evening, is the most important step in your skincare regime. It only takes a few minutes but it is essential to remove makeup, dirt and environmental additives from the skin to prevent further damage to the skins health, acne and clogged pores. Try Dermaquest Essential Daily Cleanser for a gentle yet effective all over cleanse.
- Stress can cause flare-ups in your skin (ie spots, rosacea, cold sores etc) or cause you to become sick – which is unfortunate, as the run-up to your wedding day can be an extremely stressful time. Start taking preventatives for this such as multi-vitamins high in Vitamins B & C, Magnesium and Lysine.
Book a free consultation with one of our qualified skin experts for your own personalised plan to ensure your skin is photo-ready for the big day.