You said ‘YES’! Congratulations, now for the planning to begin…
Now, it’s not just the endless list of the dress, the suits, the venue, the guest list, the flowers, the cake, the food, the rings, the honeymoon, the photographer, the hair, the make-up…. Don’t forget yourself and your health. Planning a wedding can be stressful, it doesn’t have to be, take some regular time out for your self-care.
Self-care can be a lot of different things, helping you to de-stress, slow down, and look after yourself. Whether it’s just sitting and reading a book with a cup of tea, or going for a spa day! All the little everyday things count too, cooking a nice nutritious meal for you and your partner, changing your bed linen, or going for a walk in nature.
One way I can help is to give you a few tips about looking after your skin on the lead up to your big day.
We all have skin; it is our biggest organ so it is important to look after it. These tips can be for anyone and everyone!
It all starts on the inside:
What goes on in your gut shows up on the outside of your body. You want to be eating a rainbow of colours at least once a day. Eat a good variety of vegetables and fruit, a mixture of nuts, seeds, legumes, pulses, and oats every day. By eating food that looks the way it was grown, you can’t really go wrong.
You can hydrate your skin by eating skin hydrating foods such as avocado, nuts, seeds and sweet potato.
Make sure you are getting enough vitamins, in England it is suggested that we all take a vitamin D supplement as we don’t get to see the Sun enough! If you are stressed, you will have lower B vitamins, make sure to get them, this will help you stay calm and boost your immune system.
Get into the habit of drinking enough water, about two litres.
Be mindful of alcohol and processed
foods, they contain a lot of sugar, which is one of the biggest agers to the
skin. Try to avoid it all together at least a week before your wedding.
Try to avoid dairy as much as possible as it contains a lot of hormones and
sugar, causing acne, rosacea and inflammation. It will take a few weeks to see
the improvements, meanwhile try the vegan substitutes if you are missing
certain products.
On the morning of your wedding, make sure you eat a good breakfast packed with protein, whole grains and fruit to give you lots of energy!
Skincare:
If you are getting married
in a month or so, don’t change your skincare routine as your skin will have to
go through a phase of getting used to the new ingredients etc. It will be
better for you to carry on as you are!
However, if you are reading this a few months before your wedding, now is the
time to up your game on your skincare routine!
If you wear make-up, as soon as you get home after your day, take it off and let your skin be free.
Step away from the wet wipes! All they do is move the dirt/make-up around and leave residue on your skin. They are also very bad for the environment. You DO have time to give yourself a proper facial cleanse.
Use a cleanser, wet your face and massage product around to remove make-up and dirt. Rinse and then repeat once more to remove any last bits of grime.
Next, depending on what your skin needs, you can either apply an acid or a retinol product.
An acid will tingle (not burn) and it will resurface your skin, it is a gentle exfoliator so great for dry skin, e.g. AHA or BHA.
A retinol product is basically vitamin A; this is scientifically anti-aging and reverses sun damage, lifestyle and genetic aging, also great for large pours and acne scars. After about a week of using this, your skin will be a bit flaky, this is because your skin is resurfacing itself and renewing its cells, resulting in less hyper-pigmentation (Sun spots etc.), hydration and brighter skin. You can get retinol over the counter or by prescription (e.g. ‘Retin-A’); prescription strength will be higher and faster working.
After either of these treatments, apply a facial oil. Your skin will feel luxurious, replenished and hydrated.
Finally, for night time you can get away with a richer moisturiser, giving your skin a chance to soak up all the goodness.
This doesn’t have to take very long at all, if you are in a rush, it can take less than 10 minutes, or if you have more time, treat yourself and give yourself a facial massage. There are lots of techniques on YouTube, try searching for a tutorial for a ‘lymphatic drainage facial’.
Make sure to do your routine twice a day, morning and evening.
In the morning, your daytime moisturiser is best to have an SPF, even on a cloudy day, UV rays are shining down. Also, don’t forget your neck and décolletage.
Body care:
Dry brushing is great for blood circulation and lymph drainage, try and do this before your shower about twice a week. Brush towards your heart. It will exfoliate your skin and stimulates your nerves to make you feel invigorated and ready for the day.
Moisturise your body as well as your face. It is also important to find a body moisturiser with SPF.
If you are thinking about having a spray tan for your big day, try one out a few months before, then you can see how dark you go, how long it lasts, if you like it etc. Get your spray tan done a couple of days before your day.
In the ideal World, it is best to have a full body massage once a month. Most of us don’t give ourselves that luxury and store up all the tension and stress. Try and have one about a month before your wedding day, you deserve it! Take time to relax and unwind, maybe try yoga. Catch up on your sleep, especially on the weeks leading up. Get to bed early the day before.
Hair care:
Make sure you are using hair products that are suited to your hair. Preferably a professional brand, these will last longer and do the job properly. You will usually be able to buy these from your hairdresser.
Shampoo your hair, massage through and rinse, then just like your skin cleanser, repeat one more time to remove all the dirt. Squeeze out excess water and squeeze again with a towel, do not rub. Apply a hair masque; you can use this every time you wash your hair if you have the time. Keep it on for a minimum of 5 minutes, or you can keep it on for hours, you can even sleep in it. After, rinse it off then squeeze out water again before adding your conditioner. Always use a conditioner as this closes your cuticles back, making your hair smooth and shiny.
Try to minimise heat on your hair, and when you do use it, use a good heat protection spray.
At least 6 months before your wedding, visit your hairdresser, talk about your colour goal and start aiming towards it, have a trim if you are growing it, book in a ‘dusting’ every 6/8 weeks to keep it fresh without taking off the length. Ask about treatments that your hair may need to be in its best condition. Talk about how you will like your hair styled for your wedding, book your trial in for about 3 months before. Have your final cut and colour a couple of weeks before.
On the day before, wash your hair and leave it.
Other bridal beauty finishing touches:
Have your make-up trial around the same time as your hair trial, about 2/3 months before.
About a week before, have your brows tidied up and if you are having lash extensions, now’s the time.
I’m sure there are many more tips I could give you, (such as keeping your personal make-up brushes clean) maybe I will write a book on it one day! So I hope this blog helped for now and that after following this advice, your skin and hair become the best you have ever had!