How to Prep your Skin for your Wedding Day Step 2
How do we keep your skin looking clear and flawless underneath your new favourite base products? The Answer: Consistent skincare and facials.
First things first, start by identifying your skin type. Are you dry, normal, dehydrated or combination? If you're combination which areas suffer excess oil buildup and which ones are dry or flakey? You'll then need to think about your skin concerns. Sun damage, pigmentation, enlarged pores, acne scarring, breakouts, wrinkles/fine lines, dullness?
Depending on your skin type and concern, you'll want to follow different practices and use different products aimed at targeting those areas and facials are a great way to prep your skin for makeup. They clear your pores, exfoliate your skin and provide hydration. All these things help your skin breathe and also make an amazing base for your makeup. Some of my favourite pre-wedding facials and are the 'Extraction Facial' for lifting pimples and freeing the skin of any congestion, i,e blackheads, and the 'Hydra Facial' for deeper clearing of your pores and hydrating your skin.
In-between facials it is crucial that you maintain good skin practices
Cleanse Properly
Using a makeup wipe is a big NO NO! A makeup wipe should only ever be used in emergency or if you don't have access to clean water. This does NOT count as cleansing your face. The best way to wash away built up dirt and pollution sat on the surface of your skin is to wash your face using a cleanser. There are so many different forms of cleansers, such as; cream cleansers, oily cleansers, clay cleansers, micellar cleansers, milk cleansers, the list goes on! Make the most of your time with your facialist by asking them lots of questions on what they recommend for your skin type. My personal favourite is a cleansing balm. These are brilliant for removing absolutely everything and can even be used around the eyes (check it is fragrance free first to avoid irritation) Balm cleansers (pretty much always) come complete with a muslin cloth which are just brilliant. They remove the cleanser whilst exfoliating your skin in the process. Bonus! Here's what I use on a daily basis:
https://www.drunkelephant.com/products/slaai-makeup-melting-butter-cleanser
Toning
Toners are a water based product. Anything that's water based will penetrate really quickly into the skin and so the benefits of using a toner for any skin type is that it removes any cleansing residue, makeup, salts and chlorines. Avoid using toners with alcohol as they often strip away the oils our skin needs to maintain a healthy balance and opt for something gentle like Rosewater or infused toning pads. Applying a toner targeted at your skin concerns, leaving it wet on the skin will encourage the skin to stay hydrated for up to 12 hours and will carry your treatment, AKA your serum, better.
If toning is new to you, Simple are the brand to start with. They're pretty much free of everything! I suppose their name gives that away...
https://www.simple.co.uk/products/face-cleansers-and-toners.html
Treatment AKA a Serum
A serum is a skin care product that you apply to your skin after cleansing and toning, but before moisturising with the intent to deliver a potent shot of ingredients directly into your skin. You're probably thinking, why should I add a serum to my skincare regime? Well, Serums help moisturise your skin, but are especially essential in targeting your skin concerns. Here are a few to look out for:
- Anti-Aging Serums. Facial serums are most known for their amazing anti-aging benefits.
- Skin Brightening Serums. Another huge draw of face serums is their ability to brighten dull skin.
- Acne Fighting Serums.
- Hydrating Face Serums.
- Exfoliating Face Serums.
- Repairative and Renewing Face Serums
Vitamin C serums are the best type of serums to use during the day, no matter what your age!
Moisturise Daily
The last step of your cleansing routine is to moisturise. I'm always so surprised by the amount of clients I see that don't moisturise at least 2x a day. It's crucial that you hydrate your skin in the morning following your cleansing routine and in the evening after all your makeup has been removed. Moisturiser locks in your toner and serum creating a barrier of protection against flakiness, wrinkles and dry, itchy skin.
Using an SPF moisturiser in the morning before you crack on with the day ahead, is the best kind of moisturiser you can use. One of the proven anti-ageing ingredients out there is SPF. Sunscreen protects us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays: UVA and UVB. Similarly, if you prefer to use a sunscreen then a moisturiser, this will still protect you, however works better if you put the sunscreen on after you've moisturised so the rays reflect off the surface of your skin.
A couple of SPF's I have in my kit:
https://www.laroche-posay.co.uk/anthelios-shaka-ultra-light-spf50
https://www.malinandgoetz.co.uk/spf-30-face-moisturizer-1-7fl-oz-e48ml
Now we've got your daily skincare routine covered, there's two more simple things you can add in weekly or monthly to truly glow on your wedding day...
Exfoliating
I touched on exfoliating earlier on when I talked about using a muslin cloth, however using a physical exfoliating product is different. A micro-bead based product will remove the barrier of dead skin cells clogging the skin which ultimately uncovers fresh new cells below. I must say, the finer the micro-bead the more effective it will be. A great exfoliation technique is to work the product into the skin in small circular motions (don't press too hard as you can damage the skins surface) allowing the micro-beads to do their job. This increases blood circulation, which in turn gives you the healthy, glowing skin you so wish for on your special day.
At Home Masks
As you've already learnt throughout this blog post, having a facial done once a month is a good way of ensuring your pores don't remain clogged. In between those facials, doing your own at-home masks is vital. They absorb oil, dirt, and toxins the naked eye can't see. There's so many masks to choose from. We've got sheet masks, clay masks, gel masks, peel off masks, charcoal masks you name it, there's something for everyone. Its a really fun and luxurious, yet cost effective way of giving your skin some TLC at the end of a long week. I personally find sheet masks really annoying, so prefer to go for something heavier like a charcoal clay mask. Facing clients and brides wearing makeup every day is exhausting for my skin, so using a mask with active ingredients like charcoal is going to be hugely beneficial.
I hope you enjoyed Step 2 on How to Prep Your Skin for Your Wedding day.