Written by Alicia Lartey
Image by @bydrvali
It’s wedding season which means, bridal prep at full speed. Sending all the congratulations and love for your upcoming nuptials, but the huns really want to know some beauty tips, so let’s start with skin prep. Skin is the foundation of having great makeup and the source for having great confidence for many, having a great skincare routine helps but sometimes a professional treatment can take things to the next level.
When beginning any skincare journey ahead of a big event, it is always important to remember to leave enough time for your skin to heal, to see the full effects of the treatment and in case anything goes wrong. The minimum amount of time you should start a skin journey prior to your wedding is three months, an ideal time would be six or eight months in advance. When starting any skin transformation, it is important to find an esthetician or skin practitioner that you trust, that understands your goals, is affordable to you and has availability within your required time frame.
Let’s go through the types of appointments you should be booking in order of when to get them…
1) Consultation and routine assessment
Any good aesthetics practitioner should offer you a thorough consultation in which your routine is assessed and altered to better suit your skin needs. During this time you can also discuss your goals, time frame and budget which allows you to have an actionable skin plan.
2) Chemical peel
Chemical peels can vary in strength, one of my favourite intense chemical peels is the Perfect Peel. This chemical peel is ideal for treating hyperpigmentation and texture. As this peel is quite strong, I would recommend doing this aesthetic treatment first to give yourself enough time. Just like any other aesthetic treatment the perfect peel may not give you the results you want after one session.
3) Microneedling / Morpheus 8
Regular microneedling is one of my favourite tools to help treat fine lines, wrinkles, pitted scars and pigmentation; when you upgrade this to Morpheus 8 (RF microneedling) you will experience a more intense skin tightening effect. I would liken some results obtained by microneedling to mild Botox treatments.
4) No-downtime chemical peel
As your big day approaches, you may not want to experience any potential peeling or flaking. This is where a chemical peel offering no-downtime will be suitable for you. Post treatment you will be left with glowy skin and a refined skin texture.
5) Lymphatic drainage relaxing facial
Although I do not recommend it, some brides find facials relaxing and may help to ease some of the tension from wedding planning, so opting for a basic facial is the perfect choice. The best time to have your basic facial would be one week prior to your wedding. A basic facial should consist of extractions (if needed), hydration, a skin calming technique and lymphatic drainage massage (helps to depuff).
No matter how your skin looks on your big day, confidence (and SPF) is key. Once you glow with happiness from within that will translate to your skin!