Glowing Skin Wedding Prep

This will be aimed for brides-to-be, but the skin care regimens remain the same even if you’re just looking to up your nightly skincare treatment game. So listen up! The bottom of the Blog has some of my favorite recommendations.
1- Timing: Good skin doesn’t happen in a week. It’s something that takes some trial and error, and some time. I’m going to preface by saying, I am not an esthetician. I am knowledgeable on skin care and products, but always recommend visiting with an actual esthetician, particularly if you have very sensitive or problematic skin. You can never start too early- so get going!
2- Know your Skin: What kind of skin do you have? Do you find yourself looking like an oil slick by the end of the day, or do you find little dry flakes coming off on a washcloth? Knowing if you have normal, dry, oily, or combination skin is a good place to start. Once you’ve locked that down, now you can shop for products catered to you.
3- Cleansing/ Washing: I know we’ve all been guilty at some point of not removing makeup at bed time. It happens. If you can, be sure to remove ALL makeup at the end of each day. Even if you don’t wear any makeup, oils and excess junk can build up throughout the day. I recommend using a makeup wipe or face wipe to remove the majority of product, then follow that up with a facial cleansing foam/ soap with warm water. This will get you squeaky clean! PS- do this in the AM, too! Pillows have a crap load of crap on them (Technical term!)
4- Exfoliating/ Toning: After you’re squeaky clean, it’s time to exfoliate or tone your face. Exfoliating is removing the dead pieces of skin on the top layer, revealing a natural glow. Toning is great for those with oily/ acne prone skin. It really helps get that extra oil and grime out of your pores and under control. Note that exfoliating shouldn’t be done more than 2-3 times per week. Over exfoliating can cause irritation and inflammation of your skin.
5- Moisturizer: A big myth I hear a lot is that people with oily skin shouldn’t moisturize because it will make them more oily. False! Moisturizer can actually HELP balance the oils in your face and skin. This is a key step in knowing your skin type. You want to get a moisturizer that will help combat dryness or excessive oils. Moisturizing in the morning and at night are extremely beneficial. It can go on under your makeup (or without!) and can go on at night. Proper moisturizing can decrease blemishes, improve skin hydration, and some can help with anti-aging. Speaking of hydrating, DRINK WATER! That’s right, good ole’ H2O can drastically help your skin! So get those 8 ounces in.
6- Serums/ oils: Lastly, oils and serums are beneficial to lock everything you just did into your skin. Since oil is so thick, it should be applied last. I have a few oils I love to rotate through: Vitamin E, Rose-hip, and Vitamin C. All have their own perks! Since it’s so thick, I personally don’t use every night, but usually 3-4 times a week. More in the winter, less in the summer (for my skin type).
Product Favorites: Face wipes/ Makeup Remover: Neutrogena Facial wipes, Burt’s Bees Facial wipes. Cleansers: Cetaphil Facial Cleanser, La Mer the Cleansing Foam, and CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser. Exfoliates: Tom Ford Exfoliating Energy Scrub, St. Ives Fresh Skin Facial Scrub, and Crepe Erase Refining Facial Scrub. Toners: Clinique Clarifying Lotion, Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, and The Ordinary Glycolic Acid. Moisturizers: Origins Ginzing Boosting Gel, Clinique Moisture Surge, and Olay Complete Cream Moisturizer. Serums/ Oils: TruSkin Vitamin C Oil, Kate Blanc Vitamin E Oil, and Kate Blanc Rose-hip and Seed Oil.