The Ultimate Bridal Skincare Timeline: Treatments for Glowing, Photo-Ready Skin
Few things in life compare to the excitement (and pressure) of wedding preparation. From booking venues to selecting bridesmaids, there are countless things to consider and plan. But don’t make the mistake of focusing so much on wedding details that you forget to prepare yourself for the big day. To take advantage of treatments that boost your confidence and enhance natural beauty before your nuptials, it’s essential to start getting ready months ahead. That includes locking in your bridal skincare routine to achieve that coveted bridal glow.
When it comes to creating a picture-perfect complexion, it’s about so much more than bridal makeup. You want your skin to be smooth, blemish-free, and radiant underneath. Receiving the right skincare treatments at the right time can make a difference in your complexion. Here’s the ultimate bridal skincare timeline to give you glowing, photo-ready skin for your big day.
6-12 Months Before the Wedding
Don’t be fooled into thinking you have plenty of time to work on your skin. It’s important to begin your pre-wedding skincare regimen to look flawless when walking down the aisle.
Goal: To Build a Solid Skincare Foundation
At this stage of your engagement, the goal is to build a solid skincare foundation that will gradually reduce complexion concerns. This is also the perfect time to consult with a professional about any major concerns, such as chronic acne breakouts, rosacea, and similar issues.
Custom Skincare Regimen
Your custom skincare regimen should cleanse, hydrate, and soothe your skin. Here are some of the best pre-wedding skincare products:
- A gentle, non-irritating cleanser to remove excess sebum and impurities
- A deeply hydrating moisturizer to prevent flaky, dry skin
- Retinol cream for preventing fine lines and wrinkles and evening out skin texture
- A non-comedogenic SPF product that you apply daily before sun exposure
Facials can improve lymphatic drainage, hydrate the skin, and make your complexion look more youthful and energized. HydraFacial and DiamondGlow are two excellent options. They can minimize major skin issues like large pores, uneven skin texture, and hyperpigmentation.
Add laser sessions to your bridal skincare if you have troublesome acne scars or hyperpigmentation that don’t respond to other treatments. They penetrate more deeply than surface-level options and can deliver more dramatic results. And while it’s not technically a laser, IPL treatments are another transformational option often thought of as a laser treatment.
To improve skin texture and get a skin-plumping collagen boost, incorporate microneedling or RF microneedling into your pre-wedding routine. These treatments both involve creating micro-injuries in the skin with tiny needles. In response, the body floods the area with healing nutrients, collagen, and elastin. RF microneedling does the same thing but with more dramatic results.
It’s a good idea to include chemical peels in your skincare routine early in the wedding planning process. These treatments address problems like acne, complexion dullness, or uneven skin tone.
Pro tip: Starting these treatments early will give you time to see how your skin responds and adjust as needed.
3-6 Months Before the Wedding
The big day is getting closer, and it’s time to get really serious about your skincare routine. Follow these recommendations for a radiant complexion.
Goal: Begin Advanced Treatments and Maintain Consistency
This is the perfect time to schedule advanced bridal skin treatments that yield dramatic results. You’ll still have time to recover from intense treatments and even try something new. Don’t forget to maintain consistency with your everyday skincare routine during these months, as well.
Want to smooth away fine lines around your eyes, mouth, or forehead? Schedule a Botox or Dysport consultation. If you do this 3-6 months in advance, you’ll have time to adjust your maintenance injections as needed before your wedding day.
Every bride wants a plump pout and a defined jawline for her wedding photos. Dermal fillers can give you a gorgeously contoured complexion. They’re ideal for plumping the lips and adding volume and contour to the jawline and cheeks.
Lymphatic Drainage Facials or Skin-Tightening Treatments
It’s impossible to plan a wedding without some degree of stress. Unfortunately, excessive stress can cause your face to look swollen and bloated. Fortunately, it’s nothing a good lymphatic drainage facial can’t fix! This type of facial stimulates lymph flow and can help prevent fluid from pooling up around your neck, jawline, and under-eyes. Don’t forget to try tightening bridal skincare treatments to make your face look even more lifted and contoured.
Continued Laser or Microneedling Sessions
It’s easy to forget standard facial treatments when you add new ones to the mix. Set up regular maintenance appointments with your provider to continue benefiting from laser and microneedling sessions.
Don’t Forget Your Body Skincare
Your face isn’t the only skin on your body that needs attention before your wedding day! This is a great time to schedule back facials and keratosis pilaris (KP) treatments so you look picture-perfect in your gown.
1-2 Months Before the Wedding
This is when things get truly exciting. You’re now just a couple of months away from the happiest day of your life. Here’s how to adjust your bridal skincare routine.
Goal: Perfect and Refresh the Skin
You’re in the home stretch; this is the time to perfect and refresh your skin. It’s almost like putting the finishing touches on a gorgeous painting.
Final Round of Botox or Filler
About 2-4 weeks out from your wedding, get your final round of Botox or filler. This will help you look refreshed and ready for your time in the limelight.
Light Chemical Peel or Gentle Exfoliating Facial
Getting a deep chemical peel at this stage in your bridal journey is not a good idea. However, a light chemical peel or gentle exfoliating facial can banish dullness and make you look glowing.
LED Therapy for Calming Inflammation or Breakouts
Worried about stress breakouts? They tend to happen when they’re least convenient, which is why so many brides-to-be dread them. A month or two before you get hitched, LED therapy can calm skin inflammation and keep pimples at bay.
Pro tip: Avoid any new or aggressive treatments at this point in your pre-wedding skincare timeline.
1 Week Before the Wedding
You only have one week to go, and your eye is on the prize! Don’t screw things up now by relaxing your skincare regimen. This is a time to remain vigilant and painstaking with your routine.
Goal: Hydrate, Soothe, and Glow
At this stage in your countdown, the primary goal of your skincare routine is to hydrate, soothe, and create a radiant glow. Eat healthy, stay hydrated, and consider getting the following treatments.
HydraFacial or Oxygen Facial
Few treatments can make the complexion glow like a HydraFacial or Oxygen Facial. Both can gently brighten the skin in a single session.
Under-Eye Masks and Gentle Lymphatic Massage
Has wedding planning kept you up late at night? Get rid of those dark under-eye circles or bags with under-eye masks and gentle lymphatic massage. These are easy ways to do pre-wedding skincare at home.
Pro tip: Avoid waxing, exfoliating, or anything that may irritate.
Day of the Wedding
The moment you’ve been preparing for is finally here! It’s natural to get the jitters and feel a little anxious. Here are some tips to help you keep your complexion clear despite the anticipation.
Goal: Lock in Glow and Minimize Stress
Your primary goal for your wedding day is to lock in your bridal glow and keep stress to a minimum. You can do that by breathing deeply, enjoying a laugh with friends, or being quiet and still. Here are some bridal skincare treatments to soothe inflammation and fluid retention on your wedding day.
Ice Roller or Gua Sha for Puffiness
Are you dealing with facial puffiness? Using an ice roller or Gua Sha to stimulate lymph flow can help. It also feels amazing when you’re stressed.
Lightweight Moisturizer and Calming Mist
Today isn’t the day to cake your face in a heavy moisturizer. Instead, choose something lightweight. Spritz a calming mist on your face to help you feel refreshed and tranquil.
Pro tip: Add an optional touch of illuminating serum or primer under makeup for a subtle glow.
Bonus: Skincare for the Honeymoon
Your skincare routine doesn’t go out the window when you say “I do.” Taking good care of your complexion during your honeymoon is just as important. Here are a few tips for avoiding post-wedding skin woes:
- Bring travel-sized skincare on your honeymoon to save space in your luggage
- Continue your hydrating treatments post-wedding
- Make sure you bring sun protection products with you
Final Tips & Takeaways
An effective bridal skincare routine can help you look positively radiant on your wedding day. Here are a few final tips and takeaways to help you put your best skin forward:
- Start early and stay consistent with your skincare routine
- Focus on facial treatments that enhance your favorite natural features
- Work with professionals to customize a skin care regimen and timeline
The aesthetic professionals at Haus of Aesthetics would love to prep your skin for your wedding day! We are here to help, with a customized treatment plan so you can reach your aesthetic goals. Contact us at 801-997-8199 (Salt Lake City location) or 801-852-0033 (Provo location) to schedule a bridal skincare consultation.
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