Wedding Wisdom Wednesday: Prepping Your Skin for Your Wedding Day

Everyone deserves to feel confident and look their best on their wedding day. Waking up on the big day and being pleased with your skin will get the day off to an excellent start! However, clearer skin doesn’t happen overnight. As with so many things when it comes to wedding planning, skin improvement also takes time and patience. Here are some tips that can help you achieve your skin goals in preparation for the big day.

Start Early

Improving the skin takes time. Acne is 90 days in the making! That means you may have a breakout that won’t surface for up to three months. That’s why starting early is so important. You want to get ahead of the breakout before it even has a chance to happen, in addition to treating and clearing active breakouts. Ideally, acne specialists recommend beginning a consistent routine six months before the event, but at least three months is adequate. Getting clearer skin does vary based on the type and severity of acne, and seeing results is not always a linear process. The more time your professional has to work with you, the better.

Seek out a Professional

Finding a licensed esthetician will be your best bet when working toward your skin goals. If acne is your major concern, you will want to find an acne specialist. Consider them as your skin’s personal trainer. They are going to provide you with reliable advice and the correct product recommendations.

There are so many products and skinfluencers out there; it can be confusing and frustrating. Your esthetician should take the guesswork out of what products to use for your exact skin concerns. Acne specialists can also review all your current products and identify pore-clogging ingredients. There are numerous skincare products out there that have pore-cloggers, even if they are marketed as “clean” or even “acne safe.”

In addition to skincare, acne specialists can offer a comprehensive consultation that takes a deeper dive into other areas of skin health. What we see on the outside has a lot to do with the inside. The specialist can provide information on supplements, lifestyle, nutrition and other helpful tips.

Stick to a Routine

Once you have your personalized recommendations, you need to commit to a routine at home. Your esthetician should provide you with a step-by-step guide on what to use, morning and night.

Consistency is key when working toward your skin goals. The home routine is a critical component of seeing the results. Like most things in life, clearer skin is an 80/20 approach: Following the plan is 80 percent on you and 20 percent professional treatments. This is great news, especially for those on a wedding budget. You can see a noticeable difference if you stick to the plan at home. Following your professional’s recommendations is going to be the game-changer. Of course, professional treatments—such as peels, extractions and other techniques—are going to get quicker results.

Time your Treatments

If you want to really tackle your acne or other skin concerns, professional treatments will make a noticeable difference. Again, you will want to start early. For example, with peels you will want to begin slowly and build up the percentage of acid. You would not want to do anything aggressive a few weeks prior to your wedding and risk having flaky skin on the big day. The months leading up to your wedding should consist of a series of peels, extractions and other modalities, such as LED light and high-frequency therapies.

The week before your wedding, schedule a facial that will gently exfoliate, hydrate and provide relaxation. You deserve to be pampered after all the planning!

Progress over Perfection

Finally, be patient with yourself, and don’t give up. There is no perfect skin out there, despite what social media and celebrities may reflect. Don’t stress over what makes you, you! Clearer skin feels great, but what is ultimately important is the natural beauty that resides inside. You are getting married to the love of your life, and that person sees you as the most beautiful person in the world—no matter what.

Carly Ballenger, Celeste Lauer and Rachel Levitt are licensed estheticians, Face Reality acne specialists and DMK skin revision therapists. Carly is the owner of Skinspired Acne & Skin Clinic. She has been in the industry for over 10 years, providing countless clients with life changing skincare. Carly, Celeste and Rachel struggled with acne for years and truly have a passion for helping others achieve clearer skin. Their mission is to provide a safe place, to offer empathy and compassion, and to provide a solution to make you feel like your best self. They offer comprehensive consultations both in-clinic and virtually. Although acne is their primary focus, they also address all skin concerns. You can follow them on Instagram @skinspiredacneclinic and find them online at skinspiredacneclinic.com.