Skin Prep

Trends

Do you have any recommendations on prepping my skin for the big day?
A bride’s skincare needs are as unique and individual as each bride, but every woman heading to the altar has at least one thing in common: the desire for radiant skin. Imagine putting so much time and care into your wedding only to show up on the big day with a lackluster complexion or blotchy skin. It’s unthinkable, right?

“There are a few components that create a beautiful bride, and it’s not only wonderfully done makeup or a perfect dress,” says Marina Volod, founder of DermaEsthetica skin and body clinic in Lake Oswego. “It’s most of all the light of happiness they present and that magical feel that you are a part of something extraordinary. Beautiful, glowing skin represents this radiant light of happiness like nothing else.”

But how can you make sure you’ll have that healthy glow on the very day you need it most? You plan and prepare, just as you do for every other aspect of your wedding. Start paying careful attention to your skincare routine a few months before your wedding, and
consult experts about what treatments may be helpful. A regular skincare program will help achieve optimal results and help prevent those wedding stress breakouts.

“Start your facial treatment a few months before the wedding to give your skin time to adjust to the new products and treatment,” Volod says. “We often start with a deep cleaning facial that will help illuminate impurities, excess oil and control the blemishes. I would not recommend doing a deep cleaning facial right before the wedding. It would be too risky and might aggravate acne or stimulate excessive redness. But if you start earlier, you will have enough time to heal. I also would recommend exfoliating or polishing treatments to create that glowing, luminous skin and help makeup go on smoothly.” The last treatment should be about a week before the wedding—enough time for skin to calm down from any potential irritants.

For brides on a budget, Volod says it’s possible to achieve great results by using simple items at home, too. She suggests using a gentle cleanser along with a soft, battery-operated facial brush from the drugstore to exfoliate, followed by a mask to either hydrate or lift, all about a week before the wedding. “Remember to use only good quality products with less irritating chemicals and no strong perfumes or very heavy consistency. Treat your skin and body kindly and you will be the most beautiful and the happiest bride in a world.” And the
most radiant!