Pre-Wedding Skin Care Routine for a Natural Radiant Glow

Dress? Check. Venue? Check. Caterer? Check. Pre-wedding skincare can be quite low on the list of priorities for brides-to-be, but the earlier you start thinking about it, the better. 

Pre-wedding skincare is not just an indulgence. Like the dress, it’s a necessity. In this post, I will discuss the importance of pre-wedding skincare, healthy habits for revealing your best skin, and treatments like facial acupuncture and lymphatic drainage to achieve a radiant glow. Your skin is an outward manifestation of your total health, so a full-body approach is a great way to support your best skin. Here are some practical tips for the journey.

Pre-wedding skincare advice 

Don't wait until the last minute to start caring for your skin. Consider the following before you make any rash decisions regarding your routine.

Plan Ahead

Not sure when to start your wedding skin prep? The answer is as early as possible. Of course that doesn’t mean you need to start planning as soon as you say yes, but try and keep it top of mind when thinking about how you want to feel on your big day. Ideally, you want a year to six months ahead so you can see and feel real change. Because your skin's health is intimately connected to your overall wellness, consider an appointment with a wellness expert to discuss your overall routine.

Go slow as the date approaches

You wouldn’t take a risk by changing your wedding venue weeks before the big day, so why take a risk with your skin routine? In the weeks, or ideally months, leading up to your wedding, avoid using any products or undergoing any harsh treatments or invasive treatments. This is not the time to up your usage of potent active ingredients like alpha-hydroxy acids and retinals, as overuse can compromise the skin barrier, which can in turn lead to dehydration and irritation. Slow, steady and consistent is always the best approach.

Facial Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine to Get Glowy and Calm

Facial acupuncture is a powerful treatment that can significantly improve blood circulation, resulting in a radiant complexion. This holistic approach stimulates natural collagen production, helping to reduce the prevalence of wrinkles and fine lines. One of the key benefits of facial acupuncture is its ability to target specific areas of concern, providing personalized results for each individual. Schedule an appointment with a qualified acupuncturist in advance, and give them some time to get to know your particular needs. You can always book a free consult with me to make a pre-wedding skin care plan. 

Get Regular Facials & Lymphatic Drainage

Getting weekly facials leading up to your wedding is also a super idea. If you need extractions (aka zit-popping), make sure that happens way in advance of the wedding. Otherwise, your perfect day will be marred by redness and irritated pores. Facials within weeks of your wedding should be about cleansing and hydrating and include lots of lymphatic drainage. An editor of French Vogue in the 1970s said lymphatic drainage was a beauty must, and she was 100% right. Lymphatic drainage brightens the face, reduces puffy eyes, and contours the cheekbones. One step closer to making your 'perfect day' exactly that.

Get Your Workouts In

Exercise vigorously for an hour a day leading up to the wedding day. It will get your blood pumping, not to mention get rid of some stress, too. Movement increases the skin’s microcirculation, and a good sweat is a) detoxifying, b) hydrating, and c) cleansing as the sweat glands secrete a wide array of antimicrobial peptides that fight acne. Use a mild cleanser post-workout to keep your pores clean. If you plan on getting married in Newport, Rhode Island, here are some of my favorites places to get a good sweat and to nurture yourself.

Steaming & Cold Plunging

If there is a spa near you for steaming, a hot sauna, an infrared sauna, and/or a cold plunge, go! This heating up the body and cooling it off in initiates a reflex which boosts your circulation and releases dopamine. This can boost your mood, bring you back to center, and will make your skin look healthy and plump.

Water: Drink Lots of It!

For your skin to look great, hydration is critical. A baseline of 80 ounces a day is recommended and add an extra 20 ounces for all the exercise, at room temp. If it is hot outside, drink even more. Often public water has things you don’t want to ingest, like antibiotics, so consider using an under-the-sink filter, or at least a Britta. I like drinking spring water in a glass bottle and I add LMNT for electrolytes. It’s low in sugar, so that’s a plus.

Consider Your Diet & Minimize Sugar

Speaking of sugar, it may be time to take a break from sweets and processed carbs like white flour and white rice. They spike your blood sugar and can lead to psoriasis, eczema, acne, or worse. (it is hard to imagine something worse than enflamed pores on your big day.) Vegetables, however, are your friends. Non-starchy veggies are slimming, nutritious, and diuretic too. And if veggies are your friends, then soup is your best friend. Make a ton of it and eat it. When I say soup, I mean homemade, very brothy, and fresh. Now that we touched on food, let’s discuss elimination, which is always a fun topic….

Pooping: Little Known Secret to Great Skin

If you read this heading and thinking, “I am an amazing pooper!” then feel free to skip to the next section. Otherwise, read on!

Few know the connection between bowel movements and skin, but it makes sense. If you do not properly excrete waste from the body, toxins may show up in inconvenient places, like the pores in your t-zone. In Chinese Medicine, the colon has a close relationship with the skin. When one is out of whack, the other likely is, too. Simply put, your skin cannot look fresh if your bowels are not working smoothly.

Sadly, gut problems are quite common for women. 1 in 4 women in the US have been diagnosed with IBS, meaning distressing constipation and/ or diarrhea. If you have a tendency for loose stools, avoid processed food, fast food, and generally any food wrapped in plastic to eat on the go. Add whole grains and bananas to slow things down.

For constipation consider adding tons of fiber to your diet, reducing gluten, and eating lots of cooked veggies in olive oil. While decidedly not-delicious, Ketonaut bread is gluten-free and has 15 grams of fiber per slice. Just two slices puts you 5 grams over the recommended daily dosage.

To further resolve your constipation issues, consider juicing a fresh grapefruit and adding 1 tablespoon of Medium Chain Triglyceride oil. If you drink that daily, along with lots water, your bowels should be moving and grooving, and a cleaner complexion is not far behind.

Final Thoughts

I hope these suggestions have been useful and maybe even somewhat entertaining. The most important thing of all is to enjoy your day. Happiness will make your face glow brighter than any good habit, remedy, or product.