BRIDAL BEAUTY PLAN

BRIDAL

BEAUTY PLAN

By Alissa Pace

From the proposal to the walk down the aisle, all brides envision having a special glow on their wedding day. As a part of the preparation, you may want to have a beauty plan in place to assure you are looking your best. This beauty plan doesn’t have to be just for the bride only, but could include the bridal party as well. Here are some tips and timeline suggestions based on your goals.

For all brides and bridal party members, as soon as possible:

• Begin taking care of your skin at home. Include a skin care regimen with medical grade products such as a retinol for night and a vitamin C serum for day.

• Stay hydrated. This is important, especially in the days leading to the wedding day.

• Wear SPF covering your face, neck and décollétte when exposed. Reapply as needed and avoid the sun entirely when you can.

For the bride with acne:

This may require a trip to see your dermatologist if medications are needed to keep your acne under control. If you have acne scarring, consider microneedling treatments. Generally 3 treatments of microneedling are recommended, about 1 month apart, so schedule a few months ahead of your big day. Routine facials, including extractions, are recommended with one facial timed within a week of the wedding.

For the bride with pigmentation:

Avoiding sun and applying SPF at all times is an obvious one here, but there are also some procedures to help with pigmentation. Chemical peels and laser treatment can be effective to lighten hyperpigmentation. Several treatments are needed and should be spaced months apart. As with microneedling, you want to book these months ahead of the wedding to complete the series and allow for the “downtime” which varies person to person. Downtime includes the expected side effects of redness, swelling and peeling. Products are available that improve pigmentation as well, the most effective being medical/prescription grade.

For the bride in need of improved texture:

Microneedling is an excellent collagen stimulator and a great way to improve overall skin texture. If you desire skin tightening as well, there are treatment that combine microneedling with radiofrequency, to aid in tightening like Vivace®. You may also consider a facial that includes dermaplaning the week of your wedding for that glow and smooth makeup application.

For the bride in need of volume and/or wrinkle improvement:

Let’s talk injectables! Neurotoxins such as Botox® and Dysport® can help soften wrinkles around the eyes and the forehead. They can also lift the brows and open the eyes for a more youthful and rested appearance. Neurotoxins take a full two weeks for results and full treatment cannot be performed again before 12 weeks. You may want to start months ahead to assure you’re fresh for your big day.

Filler can soften lines related to volume loss including the lines around the mouth. For example, if you desire fuller lips, contoured cheeks, and more chin volume, dermal filler is a great choice for you. While filler takes two weeks to fully settle and adjust to swelling/bruising that are expected, it lasts for months. Filler should be injected months before but avoid injecting weeks prior to the wedding.

Kybella is an injectable treatment to reduce fat under the chin, generally 3-4 sessions with downtime of a few days to a couple weeks following each procedure. This one should be planned months before the wedding.

Platelet-rich plasma (or PRP), using your own blood to treat the face, neck and hands is another option. There’s a wait, generally 12 weeks, for full results if timing this treatment perfectly with your big day.

The beginning of a new life together is enough to make a bride gleam but consider these beauty options to assure a little extra glow!