Planning a wedding or indeed any significant life event can be an exciting and magical time. However, it can also be a time of intense pressure. In this mini guide we’ll look at how to plan your skin journey before your wedding to help you look and feel the best version of you:
1. TIMING IS KEY
Plan Early:
Start with thinking about your skin goal:
· how do you want your skin to look on the day, how do you want to feel about your skin
· are there any persistent skin concerns that you need to address before the date of your wedding so that your bridal make up enhances your natural beauty rather than feeling that you have to rely on heavy layers to hide behind.
To achieve optimum results, book your course of facials at least 3-6 months before the wedding especially if you have specific skin concerns to address.
Remember it takes 4 weeks for the skin cycle to renew and 12 weeks for collagen synthesis to take place. Ideally, to address specific concerns. you really want to work intensively with your facialist over 3 months and then maintain and enhance results for the following 3 months.
You are going to be very busy in the final few months leading up to the wedding and if you are short on time, you will find it stressful adding in a course of facial treatments which would have made significant improvements to your skin early on.
Final Facial: there is no right or wrong here - you can schedule a final facial about a week or 4/5 days before the event to give your skin a fresh glow. Equally, if you have time and feel confident in your skin, then book in 1-2 days before. Think carefully about your choice of treatment at this point, I would recommend booking the time in advance and then in consultation with your chosen professional decide on the type of treatment nearer the time - you may need more balancing facial massage, or you might need a Fire and Ice treatment to brighten and tighten the skin or both.
2. CHOOSE THE RIGHT PROFESSIONAL – do some research to find a facialist whose work you feel aligned with to help you achieve your skincare goal. This is someone you will be working with over several months and you want to feel comfortable with this person, their treatment protocols and how they work.
3. CHOOSE THE RIGHT TYPE OF FACIAL TREATMENT – depending on your skin type and concern – a good skincare consultation with your chosen professional will help you understand which facial treatments will give you the best results for your goals.
4. SKIN CARE AND SKIN CARE REGIME – a thorough review of your skincare and skincare regime is vital to achieve optimum skin health.
This is an essential part of your skin preparation - cleansing your skin twice a day, every day, for just one month gives you 60 chances to treat your skin. Over six months, that adds up to 360 opportunities. Just imagine the progress you could make with consistent skincare over that time!
Upgrade your skincare - 6 months prior to the wedding is an ideal time to try new skincare and upgrade your current skin regime. Working closely, in consultation with your skincare professional, will enable you to introduce more active, effective skincare well in advance and to see results so that you are on track and maintaining radiant, hydrated skin in the weeks leading up to the day. This will boost your confidence and help reduce stress levels as you approach your wedding. Think about adding in targeted collagen nutrition to support your skin during this intense period of preparation.
A wedding ceremony is a ritual - the night before your wedding will end with a cleansing ritual as you cleanse your face in preparation for sleep. The morning of your wedding day, will start with your last cleansing ritual before the ceremony - therefore - give weight to this private and personal moment. These 2 cleanses will signify the end of one life and the beginning of another. By introducing skincare that you trust, understand and love, you will feel confident and relaxed in your morning routine despite the nerves.
5. POST FACIAL CARE – so you’ve invested in a course of treatments, and you want to see amazing results?
Tip - follow the after care instructions, this may sound obvious but how to manage your skin in the 24 hours following a facial can dramatically affect the outcome - for example, if you are told to drink plenty of water, or avoid exercise on the day of the treatment, prioritise this in your diary and set reminders on your phone, this is why planning is essential as you may be keeping to an exercise regime or find your schedule is back to back in the months leading up to your wedding.
Keeping track of post treatment aftercare can be done in your phone’s calendar with pop up reminders so that you are not constantly cross checking or compromising on your treatment outcomes by not being able to keep to the post treatment care.
Avoid Makeup after your facial: give your skin a breather for at least 24 hours after a facial.
Hydration: Keep your skin moisturized and drink plenty of water. Try this simple trick for ensuring you stay on track; keep 3 sizes of glass at home for water consumption, a large or pint size, medium and small. On days where you know you need to drink plenty of water, you know which glass to use to keep track of water consumption.
6. DAY BEFORE THE WEDDING
· Keep to your usual routine
· Avoid new products or treatments that might irritate your skin and result in a reaction
Tip - to give your skin a radiant glow and keep on top of break outs due to stress or hormones, consider a rental programme which will enable you to have Dermalux LED Phototherapy at home or that you can take to the wedding venue. If you are thinking of purchasing an LED Phototherapy device, make sure it is a safe and effective FDA approved device. The Benefits of using a portable device are numerous - you can use the Dermalux Flex every day up to the day of the wedding, manage outbreaks and calm sensitivity right up to the morning of the wedding itself with no downtime. Some LED face masks don't have a setting to calm sensitivity or reduce break outs so take advice from your skincare professional on any purchase before you buy.
7. MAKE FACIALS PART OF YOUR WELL-BEING RITUAL - remember that facials are not just for your skin; they can also enable you to de-stress before the event and positively impact on your well being in the months leading up to the wedding.
Planning and Mindset: In your approach to caring for your skin, reframe your appointments as a journey of wellness rather than just another item on the to do list. If you have found the right facialist you should feel relaxed about coming to your appointments because they will enable you to experience some respite from the demands of the stress of organising possibly one of the most significant days of your life. This is why planning is essential – during your treatment your phone should be switched off, and you should have found a time that works for you and doesn’t disrupt your life but works around it. It might be time to make some adjustments to your lifestyle or rethink your approach if you struggle to fit in an appointment at least once a month.
My clients know to expect good conversation, that they can tell me anything, but also that they are going to feel rested by the end of the treatment. If they want to talk they can off load, but they can also experience a more meditative rest. And sometimes these sessions can be funny and engaging experiences where deeper exchange takes place. They don’t have to think about what the treatment involves, that’s my area of expertise. You may prefer a more clinical experience and therefore you might prefer a different feel to the treatment room and feel more comfortable with a clinical environment. It’s really important that you connect with your professional in a way that feels right for you and that facilitates an ease in the appointment process and communication.
Seeing these appointments as part of a beautiful journey that you take towards an amazing goal is rethinking the entire process. It becomes a mindful, transformative and joyful event rather than an appointment.
Think of each layer of the professional journey along the way – the jeweller, the wedding dress, the fittings, the make up artist, the hairdresser, the photographer, the florist, the venue - as part of a tapestry of decisions that make a set of rituals leading to one day – in each step you are creating memories like lights on a chain that lead the way to an outcome. Some of these decisions might be made in beautiful circumstances in a perfect way and sometimes they might feel very fraught and highly charged. The trick is to remember that life is not perfect but perfectly imperfect and that it is about the journey in all its beauty and complexity as much as the destination. Therefore, in an unexpected way, facial sessions where you are able to step outside of this constant path of decision making and pressure might be just the perfect antidote, giving you time and space to focus on you.
A restorative and balancing facial can not only facilitate facial rejuvenation by enabling lymphatic drainage, and stimulating collagen and elastin, it promotes mental clarity, leaving you feeling calm, clearing the negative energy and reducing cortisol levels, resulting in a softer more natural, beautifully radiant, relaxed and rejuvenated you.
To book a consultation simply connect with me laura@queenbeebeautiful.com
copyright Laura Jane Stonehouse
Comments