Your wedding day is a day that you will remember for the rest of your life. Walking up an aisle surrounded by the smiles of family and friends to join the one you plan to share your life with is something many women have dreamt of since they were little girls. It is a day of memories and also a day of photos! To make sure you’re looking and feeling your best on your big day, consider pampering yourself with these ten skin and beauty treatments.
- Clean Eating
No matter how long you still have to go until your wedding day, eating clean is the foundation of ensuring healthy, beautiful skin. To clear your skin and get that bridal glow, we suggest the following foods plus lots of pure, filtered water:
Say Goodbye to Refined Foods
“Refined foods” include sugar, white flour, vegetable oil, and basically any packet with more than five items on the ingredient list. Refined foods have an inflammatory effect, making you age faster, experience more breakouts, and put on extra pounds. By removing these foods from your diet now, you’re taking a step towards being slim and beautiful on your wedding day. That’s the goal, right?
Eat Lots of Plants
Food author Michael Pollan says that to eat well, you should “eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” This is great advice, as fruits, vegetables, herbs, and seeds (whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes) are jam-packed with vitamins and minerals that nourish your skin and help you to detoxify from the inside.
High-Quality Fats and Protein
Cold-water fish, nuts, avocado, coconut, and grass-fed unprocessed or fermented dairy are important sources of healthy fats that moisturize your skin and increase skin elasticity.
- For an extra collagen boost, try making bone broth or taking a whole-food collagen supplement.
- For animal protein, choose grass-fed or wild meat, fish, and eggs, and include grass-fed liver once or twice a week. The vitamin A content of the liver keeps your hair, skin, and nails strong and supple.
Eating a diet that is high in nourishing foods will not only help your skin to glow but can also help you to have glowing, healthy children if you and your beloved are planning on having a family at some stage (people will start asking about kids as soon as the wedding is over—guaranteed!).
- An Exercise Routine You Enjoy
Exercise can help you to slim down before your wedding day and it’s great for your skin, too! Sweat from exercising helps to clean out your pores, and some say the effect is the equivalent of a mini facial. Make sure to wash your face (and body) afterwards before the gunk gets reabsorbed into the skin.
If you don’t already have an exercise routine that you like, start with something simple like walking outdoors or taking a dance class. If you’re having fun while you exercise, you’re more likely to stick with it!
- Skin Hydration
We’ve already talked about hydrating yourself with water from the inside. Now let’s talk about hydrating your skin from the outside.
To get smooth, plump skin for your wedding day, you need to use skin care products that boost the level of water your skin can hold. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally-occurring chemical that can hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water—leaving your skin moisturized and plumped for hours. As well as adding moisture, this hydration superstar also locks the moisture in so you can keep the glow going all day.
To make the most of this wonder ingredient as well as moisture-locking botanicals, choose a moisturizer with natural, non-toxic ingredients and start applying it regularly!
- Peptides
If your skin is starting to look a little tired with wrinkles and fine lines popping up around your eyes and mouth, get in early and restore youthful skin with specially-formulated peptides.
Peptides are growing in popularity as a natural way to revive and reinvigorate aging skin. Composed of amino acids, these naturally-occurring chemicals combine with the amino acids in your skin to make whole proteins. Peptides are believed to stimulate collagen production for greater skin elasticity and help to protect the skin from UV damage.
- Facials
If there is ever a time to pamper yourself with a facial, it’s during the months leading up to your wedding day. These complete skin care sessions use a professionally-designed sequence of mini-treatments to target problem areas and leave your skin clean and reinvigorated.
The type of facial that is best for wedding preparation depends on how long you have to go until the big day. However, the general process will generally include some of the following steps:
- Cleansing the pores
- Exfoliating the dead skin cells
- Applying a custom face mask
- Removing whiteheads, blackheads, and extracting the puss from pimples safely and gently
- Massaging your face to improve circulation
Regular facials can prevent new skin problems from developing and catch any previous problems in their tracks. Consider investing in a facial every month or two leading up to your wedding day for the best results. Alternatively, you can give yourself a facial at home with a commercial face mask.
- Chemical Peels
Sticking with the theme of exfoliation, chemical peels are a great way to deal with dead skin cells while avoiding the damage of harsh scrubbing. In this treatment approach, a chemical solution is applied to the face, neck, or hands. The liquid causes the top layers of skin to bubble up and peel off, revealing the smooth, soft skin underneath.
While it sounds invasive, the process can result in lighter, brighter skin. However, it is a good idea to exercise caution when adding this kind of treatment to your pre-wedding beauty regime. Chemical peels, facials, and microdermabrasion (next on our list) should really be performed or at least trialed more than a month in advance so that any adverse reaction or redness has time to fade.
- Microdermabrasion
Microdermabrasion, otherwise known as a “micro” or “microderm,” is a kind of facial that uses a diamond-tipped machine and vacuum suction to collect dead skin cells and clean out your pores, resulting in a brighter and clearer complexion. In addition to high-tech machines, the session can also include the use of steam, face masks, peels, and massage to stimulate lymphatic drainage and revive the entire face. A skin-protection cream will be applied before you leave, as your face will be more sensitive for a little while.
A microdermabrasion session can take anywhere between 20 minutes and 50 minutes, depending on the level and depth you choose. The technique is especially helpful for people who suffer from acne and can produce impressive results with regular fortnightly or monthly treatments. As with facials and chemical peels, start early to see how your skin reacts!
- Hair Removal
After putting so much effort into beautifying your skin, show it off by going for a hair-removal session a few days before the wedding. Whether you go for waxing or laser hair removal, investing in a more long-term solution than a simple shave can boost your confidence and see you through at least part of your honeymoon without having to worry about regrowth.
- Face Massage
During the last few days before the wedding, it’s normal to feel a little stressed. Take a break from the preparations and stimulate your skin with a relaxing face massage. By manipulating the outer layer of skin and tissue, blood flow is improved and your skin can become firmer and brighter while supporting cell turnover and reducing puffiness.
To give yourself a facial massage at home (or get a friend to do it), perform your regular skin care routine and use the moisturizing stage as your opportunity for a massage. Rub the cream between your fingers and massage your face in small circles, starting at the base and working up to the nose, around the temples and down to the cheeks and around the eyes from the edges, in. This direction guides excess fluid to the places where it can drain away naturally.
- Quality, Non-Toxic Makeup
When the big day arrives, you’ll most likely have a professional do your makeup to enhance your natural features and get you camera-ready. For an extra-special glow, consider investing in a set of premium, non-toxic makeup that is as good for you as it looks on your skin. Many of these brands are organic and made in the USA, so you’ll be helping small producers and the environment while keeping your skin and the wedding photographers happy.
A Smile Goes a Long Way
Ok, now it’s over to you! You’ve made it to the end of the list and are ready to decide which pre-wedding skin care treatments you’d like to try. As you think about your pre-wedding skin care regime, make sure that you enjoy the journey and know that your happiness will light up the room no matter what!
