Bridal Boot Camp for Her Skin
So, your wedding is approaching, and your to-do list is a mile long: shop for a dress, book a venue, order a cake, flowers, tuxedos, food, centerpieces, to name a few. If you’re like most brides, you’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that everything is perfect for your big day. Along with the perfect dress, shoes, and groom, you especially want to have flawless, radiant skin as you walk down the aisle. Wedding preparations should extend beyond food and flowers and include a skin care regimen that will prepare your skin to look its best when your wedding day arrives. By following this bridal boot camp for skin care, you can whip your complexion into tip-top shape, and you’ll be able to put your best foot—and skin—forward as you walk down the aisle.
For Smooth Skin
Your spouse-to-be thinks you’re beautiful no matter what, but nothing is more frustrating than waking up on your wedding day with a fresh pimple. On your big day, you can let your natural beauty shine without having to wear layers and layers of makeup by ensuring your complexion is smooth, clear, and blemish free.
Keep it Clean
While this is a good rule of thumb for anyone who wants clearer skin, it’s especially important in the weeks and months leading up to your wedding. If you want to improve your complexion, keep your skin clean! Preparing a wedding is exhausting, not to mention your everyday hectic schedule, but no matter how tired you are, never go to bed without thoroughly cleansing your skin. Whether you have acne on your face, neck, or back, keeping those areas clean will help to decrease the severity of the condition over time. No need to scrub hard—a gentle cleanser suitable to your skin type will do the job and will keep blemish-causing bacteria at bay. And don’t forget, cleansing goes beyond just your skin. Cleaning makeup brushes periodically with a gentle soap (like baby shampoo) will minimize your exposure to bacteria, and regularly washing your sheets and pillowcases will also help to keep your skin looking clear.
Tone it up
No, we’re not talking about hitting the gym to make sure you fit into your dress. One of the most important elements to flawless-looking skin is keeping its pores small. Because our skin is exposed to so much dust, dirt, and bacteria every day, our pores naturally enlarge to accommodate it all. This makes them more visible and our skin appear more rough and uneven. It also makes us more vulnerable to blemishes and acne. Even regular cleansers often fail to remove all of the grime from our pores. Toner to the rescue! Because it has astringent properties and cleansing ingredients, toner not only eliminates lingering impurities from our pores, it also helps to minimize them. Try out this Anti-Aging Face Toner to carry away your impurities and leave you with clear, smooth skin.
Zap those Zits
If regular cleansing and toning isn’t totally getting rid of your blemishes, or if you suffer from painful cystic acne, you may need to look into additional treatment to ensure your skin is as clear as possible on your big day. Especially if you’re really close to your wedding date, topical treatment with a zit-zapping ointment like benzoyl peroxide can help speed up healing time by drying out blemishes more quickly. For a more natural solution, tea tree oil (aka melaleuca) has been shown to effectively treat acne when applied regularly over the course of a few days. For more severe cases, consult your dermatologist about possible steroid injections or alternative medication. Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate taking care of your skin until right before the wedding; it’ll need time to heal and adjust to new treatment.
For Glowing Skin
Even better than a blushing bride is a glowing bride! It’s easy to enhance the natural glow of your skin with a few simple tricks. And with all eyes on you, you’ll want your skin to match your smile as you make your trip down the aisle.
Embrace Exfoliating
While it’s often left out of many routines, exfoliating your skin is key to a healthy-looking, radiant complexion. Over the course of a day, our skin cells die off and new ones grow underneath. The problem is that while we naturally shed some of those old cells, many of them remain on the surface and pile up, leaving our skin looking dull, clogging our pores and leading to excessive oil production. As your wedding approaches, be sure to take the time to gently exfoliate not only your face but also your body—especially rough spots like your elbows or heels—once or twice a week, depending on the sensitivity of your skin. By sloughing off the layers of dead skin cells, you’ll make way for new ones and have a fresh, glowing complexion as a result.
Drink Up!
In all your wedding prep busyness, remember one important thing: stay hydrated! A dehydrated body often results in dry, flaky, and unhealthy skin. This tip is one of the best, because it’s easy and best of all, it’s free! If you just don’t like the taste (or lack thereof), skip the soda and try infusing your water with tasty and nutritious fruits like blueberries, strawberries, or pineapple. Or add the juice of a lemon to add flavor and natural cleansing properties. However you do it, drinking plenty of water throughout the day will help your skin glow from the inside out.
Eat Your Veggies
It’s a simple formula: if you want your skin to look healthy, you’ve got to eat healthy. There is a direct correlation between the health of our skin and what we choose to put on our plate. Greasy, salty foods and an excess of sugar can encourage more oil production and lead to clogged pores and stubborn blemishes. Especially as your wedding day nears, replacing these with more healthful choices like fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats and whole grains will put you one step closer to that perfect bridal glow. Learn more about the best veggies for your skin here. And keep your dress altering shop on speed dial—you’ll probably lose a dress size or two in the process!
Kick Bad Habits to the Curb
There’s no better time than right before you get hitched to ditch bad habits, especially if they are contributing to unhealthy skin. With the perspective of spending the rest of your life with the person you love in clear view, you’re motivated to stop smoking, start exercising and eating healthy, and dial back on your alcohol consumption. Doing so will not only make you feel better, but your skin will thank you for it by becoming more beautiful and youthful for your big day.
For Youthful Skin
Fine lines and wrinkles have no place on the face underneath that beautiful veil. While it’s impossible to actually turn back the clock, you can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and prevent new ones from appearing to look young and radiant when you tie the knot.
Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!
Did you know that failing to moisturize can lead to more wrinkles down the road? According to dermatologist Dr. Whitney Bowe, “when the skin barrier is compromised, which is what we see when it becomes dry, there's actually a low-grade chronic inflammation that occurs in the skin. Low levels of ongoing inflammation ultimately lead to a breakdown of collagen and accelerated aging.” Not only that, but un-moisturized skin tends to show exaggerated lines and wrinkles, making you look older. A moisturizer with naturally hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, coconut oil and Vitamin E will plump out wrinkles and allow your skin to retain its natural moisture throughout the day, leaving it looking supple and soft. Use a good quality moisturizer daily leading up to and on your wedding day to prevent new wrinkles from popping up and smooth out any existing fine lines.
Target Your Wrinkles
Just because you’ve got wrinkles doesn’t mean they have to be permanent! Specially formulated serums and creams can help to firm skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. In some cases, retinol cream can also help to spot treat those unwanted lines. In the past several years, retinoids have risen in popularity in the anti-aging world. They work by encouraging rapid cell turnover and collagen growth and smooth out aging skin in a few months’ time.
Take a Time Out
It’s no secret, planning a wedding is stressful! With so much to do, it’s easy to let tension and anxiety take over. But all of that worrying might result in problems for your skin. Stress can cause an overproduction of certain hormones that can make your skin more oily and prone to breakouts, and a lack of sleep may deepen wrinkles and result in dark circles under your eyes. While it’s impossible to avoid stress completely, your skin (and sanity!) will benefit from taking some time to relax and decompress from the pressures of planning the perfect nuptials.
For Even Skin
The photoshopped pages of a magazine are the only places you’ll find truly perfect skin. We all have some element in our complexion that makes our skin look less than flawless, be it dark spots, scars or blemishes. But with a little preparation, your skin can look more even and you can be picture perfect for your big day.
Lighten Up
Over time, exposure to the sun and harmful free radicals can leave noticeable dark spots on your skin. There are many ways to lighten up a dark or splotchy complexion, including products that are made to reduce pigmentation on the skin’s surface and even out skin tone. For a more natural solution, try lightening your skin by making a paste out of baking soda and water and applying it to your face. Massage for 5 minutes and then rinse with warm water. Try one of these baking soda ideas from wildturmeric!
Hands off!
While zapping a stubborn pimple is relatively easy, it’s much more difficult to get rid of the scars caused by picking at your blemishes. Not only does picking at your skin result in scarring, it also leaves dirt, oil and acne-causing bacteria behind and promotes even more blemishes. As tempting as it may be, resist the urge to pick at your skin and instead focus on keeping it clean, and spot treat your blemishes if needed. Lightening treatments will also help to minimize acne scars.
Protection is Key
Many of our skin woes could be avoided it we took skin protection more seriously. A baby’s soft, beautiful skin is due in large part to the fact that it hasn’t had much exposure to the sun or free radicals. You can look as good as new on your wedding day by protecting your skin from damaging UV rays. Wear sunscreen whenever you are outside, even if it isn’t in the heat of the summer. Find and use a moisturizer with at least SPF 15 to ensure protection even when you don’t have time to apply sunblock. We recommend the Geneva Naturals Moisturizer with SPF, which is made from natural ingredients such as coconut oil and moringa oil. Wearing sunscreen year round will ensure that your skin remains undamaged and youthful looking. If you’d like a nice tan for your wedding day, don’t get it by sitting out in the sun! Opt instead for a sunless tanner or spray tan to get that sun-kissed glow.
Get that Bridal Glow
Healthy skin is just one element of making your wedding a beautiful, memorable day. The last thing you should be worried about as you walk down that aisle is the way your skin looks. Taking preparatory steps and prioritizing your skin in your beauty routine will ensure that you are glowing and radiant on the inside and the out. You will feel like the perfect bride on your perfect day!
Where are you having your wedding? Depending on the weather and climate, you may need to use different techniques for the optimal skin care routine. Comment below so we can give you personalized tips for your perfect day!
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