You’ve said yes to the love of your life, and you’re now beginning to plan a beautiful day full of love, family, and celebration, where all eyes will be on you. When it comes to those saying “I do”, skincare can become a stressful topic. Suddenly, the creams, lotions, and treatments you use can make or break your glowing image at the altar. It can be confusing and intimidating to look at the large expanse of best-skincare-for-wedding-prep options that pop up via friends, family, and the internet.
Thankfully, NYC-based dermatologist Dr. Michele Green, an expert in non-invasive cometic dermatology, is here to help. At Dr. Green’s office, she is able to provide each bride or groom with a tailored skincare regimen for their wedding that will leave them feeling confident and looking absolutely radiant on their wedding day, as well as throughout their happily ever after.
With Dr. Green’s expert experience, she will be able to pass on key skincare tips for wedding preparation directly to you. Check out the timeline below to start your planning process today:
How to prepare your skin for the wedding: 12 months out
The first step when it comes to skincare for the wedding day is simple: scheduling an appointment with a board-certified dermatologist, like Dr. Green, who will work with you to achieve your Wedding Day glow. Dr. Green will be able to help you treat blemishes, uneven skin tone — even scar and fine line reduction — so it’s important that you come in with a clear sense of how you’d like to look while walking down the aisle.
Once you’ve discussed your goals, you’ll want to create a daily beauty routine that incorporates skincare products tailored to your skin type. Crafting a routine that you can use at home will help you to create healthy skin long-term, and the recommended products, from moisturizers and eye creams to cleansers and exfoliants, can and should be tailored to both your budget and lifestyle.
At this point in your wedding planning process, it’s likely you’ll have a specific date and location chosen for your special day. These can actually be important factors to mention to your dermatologist; any extreme climate can change the effectiveness of certain skin procedures, such as chemical peels, microdermabrasion, microneedling, and laser treatments. By including your dermatologist in your plan, your personal wedding beauty timeline can match perfectly to make you wedding-photo ready.
Skincare routine for the wedding: 12 months out
For any skin type, the best beauty tip we can offer is to start a skincare regimen that you can stick with as early out as you can. This way, your skin will be fully familiar with any beauty tools, serums, or face masks you’ve incorporated into your at-home care. Plus, many of these beauty routine elements can help you to emphasize self-care during what can often be a stressful planning process. Depending on your skin, you may look to some of the following skincare products or active ingredients:
- Hyaluronic Acid: this can help to hydrate your skin. Whether you have oily or dry skin, hyaluronic acid will help your skin to retain moisture, but its hydrating properties don’t add excess oil to the skin
- Retinol: this helps to build collagen and elastin in the skin, creating a dewier, fuller look to your face. It’s often referred to as an essential ingredient for younger looking skin (save for cases of extreme sensitive skin). However, it’s important to note that retinol does cause sensitivity to sunlight and UV rays, so if you’re using retinol, always use a lightweight sunscreen or moisturizer with spf before leaving the house.
- Vitamin C: as a serum, Vitamin C is a topical antioxidant that is known for brightening the appearance of your skin. This is often paired with retinol serums, as well as a lightweight moisturizer.
- Toner: a medicated toner is often recommended for those looking to clear skin of any pimples or uneven skin, and can easily be incorporated into a skincare routine after use of a cleanser. Your dermatologist will be able to tailor both toners and cleansers based on your skin type.
- Exfoliation: proper and light exfoliation can be a healthy way to increase blood circulation, maintain an even skin tone, and remove dead skin cells. But, be warned: exfoliate too much and you can develop skin irritation before your special day, so pay attention to your recommended toners and cleansers to ensure you aren’t overwhelming your skincare routine with too much exfoliation.
If you have sensitive skin, talk to Dr. Green about which active ingredients and skincare products will likely work best for you. She may recommend changing certain creams or serums in the week before your wedding, in order to avoid any potential skin irritation as you prepare for the big day! Remember, for a day this important, it’s better to talk to a board-certified dermatologist first, rather than have a DIY-skincare routine go awry.
How to get clear skin before wedding
If you have a history of breakouts, acne, or acne scars, you may want to look into treatments that can help to first treat any blemishes or pimples using a custom skincare regimen. Once any active breakouts are under control, you can work with your dermatologist to reduce the look of any remaining damage to the skin.
Microneedling and microdermabrasion are often used to enhance the body’s natural collagen and elastin production, which helps the skin to heal itself, and can reduce the skin’s “memory” of scarring or unevenness. Additionally, Fraxel Laser treatments are often used to reduce the appearance of acne scars, fine lines, sun damage and brown spots through its double-wavelength system. Each of these procedures requires a bit of downtime, and oftentimes multiple appointments will be recommended, so it’s best to consider these treatments well in advance.
How to have the best skin before your Big Day: 9 months out
At this point in your wedding planning journey, you’ll want to consider any treatments or procedures that require downtime. In order for you to have the most confidence in your look, as well as radiant skin, you may consider some of the following treatments:
- Deep chemical peels: this is a deep exfoliating treatment that removes dead skin cells and activates new cell growth, oftentimes using solutions which include glycolic acid or salicylic acid to encourage new cells to develop in targeted areas.
- Microneedling Treatments: microneedling procedures use tiny needles to activate the collagen production and elastin growth within the skin, creating a rejuvenating glow. This process can be combined with a platelet rich plasma facial treatment, as well as moisturizing facial treatments, as the micro-channels created through microneedling allow for maximal hydrating and nutrient-absorbing skin.
- Laser procedures: Fraxel laser treatments and other laser procedures typically require multiple sessions in order to achieve the desired look. Laser hair removal treatments, for example, typically take 3 to 6 treatments, completed every 4-6 weeks in order to leave your skin smooth and silky. Furthermore, if you’re looking to rid yourself of an unwanted tattoo before you wear that gorgeous sleeveless or backless number, tattoo removal treatment may require multiple sessions and lengthy downtime, depending on the size of the tattoo, as well as the color of the tattoo ink.
- Body contouring: If you’re looking to remove unwanted fat or create firmer looking skin before your wedding day, you’ll want to think about procedures like CoolSculpting well in advance. These procedures are noninvasive, but the results take weeks to appear, and it will come with some downtime for the treated area. For the bride that is self-conscious about their toning or shape, this process can be a great way to enhance your wedding day look.
Creating the Ultimate Pre-Wedding skincare: 6 months out
At the six month mark, if you’ve started any more intensive or long-term treatments, you should continue with said appointments and allow for the skin to recover or heal between treatments. If you were a little late out of the gate, not to worry: many of the above treatments can still be available to you when you’re six months away from your special day. Additionally, there are many other treatments to consider at the 6-month mark, including:
- Less Intensive Laser Treatments: lighter laser treatments, such as the Clear and Brilliant laser, can help to reduce fine lines and create more even skin tone with virtually no downtime. Multiple sessions are recommended for optimal results. V-Beam laser treatment will reduce the redness, broken capillaries, rosacea, and increase collagen production.
- Botox and Dermal Fillers: If you’ve been considering Botox treatments or hyaluronic acid fillers, six months out is a perfect time to give it a try. Botox typically lasts about three months, so with a six month timeline, you can test out whether or not this injectable is right for your wedding day look. Dermal fillers, such as Juvederm Voluma and Restylane typically last between six months to one year, but a lengthy timeline is useful in case any further lip or cheek augmentation is desired.
- Lip fillers are one of the most popular procedures before the “Big Day” to have the most “kissable” lips and show off that pout! Restylane Kysse and Juvederm Ultra Plus XC are two of Dr. Green’s favorite lip fillers for amazing lip enhancement. Plus, if you don’t like the look of your hyaluronic acid fillers, these fillers are completely dissolvable, so only minimal downtime is needed if you change your mind.
- Microneedling with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) – is one of the best cosmetic secrets in Hollywood. Using your own blood, the growth factors are extracted and infused or through microneedling into your skin. The result it new collagen production and glowing healthy looking skin. For the best cosmetic results, it needs to be repeated three times, approximately four weeks apart.
- Facials: six months out is the perfect time to incorporate facials into your pre-wedding skincare routine. Dr. Michele Green will work in tandem with the facialist to ensure that your facials are perfect for your skin type, from dry or sensitive, to oily skin, and everything in between. Dr. Green often recommends the HydraFacial MD since these facials leave you with an immediate glow! In addition to hydrating, nourishing, or acne-focused facials, you can incorporate extractions into this phase of your skincare journey as well to deeply cleanse your pores.
The Best Pre-Wedding Skincare Routine: 3 months out
The best pre-wedding skincare routine you can have at the three month mark is simple: sticking with the daily beauty routines and longer-term treatments you’ve decided on with your dermatologist. Dr. Green strongly encourages consistency at this point in your skincare wedding prep; incorporating new lotions or products at this point can cause a change in oil levels or skin irritation, so it’s best to stick with what you’ve been doing.
If you’ve had one botox treatment, three months out is the perfect time for a “top off” appointment to ensure you have your ideal enhanced look. Likewise, if you are craving more lip or cheek augmentation, around the three month mark is about right to provide you with downtime you might need post-treatment, to recover from any swelling or mild bruising that may occur.
Low-intensity laser treatments and chemical peels, as well as facials, are good to continue on during this entire period. However, this three months out is likely the last recommended time to do treatments with longer downtime, such as Fraxel laser, eMatrix for acne scars, or more intensive peels.
Wedding Skincare Routine for the Big Day: 1 month out
At this point in your timeline, we want you to be able to say “I’m ready for my wedding!” No changes should be made to your skin regiment, and your final light chemical peels, HydraFacials, microdermabrasion, microneedling, V-beam and Clear & Brilliant laser treatments, and well as intensive or exfoliating facials should be done no later than 1 month away from your wedding.
If you’re craving additional botox or dermal filler treatments, a final appointment can be made at the 1 month mark, but Dr. Green always recommends a “less is more” approach to those who are already feeling largely satisfied with their previous injectable procedures, particularly as Botox affects the muscles of the face, and your smile is the most important part of your wedding day look.
This is also a great time to check in with Dr. Green about day-of care. That way, you can ensure you have a game plan for what to tell your makeup artist when it comes to sensitive skin or other skin concerns, as well as for any stress pimples or other skin irritations that may pop up before your beautiful celebration.
Wedding Day Skin Care: The Big Event
For your wedding weekend, we suggest you stick to your standard daily skincare routine as recommended by Dr. Green, and make sure your wedding makeup look is exactly how you imagined it. Brides, we recommend your bridal makeup include a waterproof mascara for all events; you never know if that rehearsal dinner speech will bring on the waterworks!
Skincare for the Wedding Day itself
If you are consistent in your skincare regimen throughout your wedding planning, skincare for the wedding day is a breeze: simply enjoy your amazing wedding day, smiles, tears and all.
While this timeline is an excellent guidepost for the majority of brides, your plan may vary widely depending on your skin type, stress levels, environment, and desired look. Your best bet is to work with an internationally renown dermatologist, like Dr. Michele Green, for all of your wedding skincare needs.
Contact us at 212-535-3088 today or contact us online to learn how Dr. Green can work with you to create a custom wedding skincare plan for you.
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