You’ve got the ring, the dress, and the CT wedding hair and makeup team all picked out. What’s left? Creating your bridal skincare timeline, of course! The clock is ticking! Want to have the best skin of your life as you walk down the aisle? Read on!

You are the start of the show on your wedding day. You want to look and feel like your BEST and most confident self on your wedding day. Lesson #1 – Don’t neglect your skin before your wedding! Makeup can do wonders, but when the canvas (your skin) is improved, your makeup will look EVEN BETTER – in person and in your photos.  Not only is this fun and indulgent, but also a great self-care and stress-management technique for the crazy months of wedding planning.

ONE YEAR BEFORE WEDDING:

Set up an appointment with your esthetician. She can help you devise a game plan, and recommend personalized products. Some treatments take several months, so getting those set up ahead of time is helpful. It’s never too early to start clinical grade skincare, so no matter when you get engaged, make an appointment with your esthetician ASAP!

NINE MONTHS BEFORE WEDDING:

FACIALS: If you’re nine months or less from the big day, start getting regular facials now. Facials can clear congested and clogged pores, stimulate cell turnover, and help with your bridal glow, so it’s never too early to begin.

SKINCARE: Make sure you are using a daily clinical grade skincare regimen that includes a cleanser, toner, retinol (if suggested/tolerated) AM moisturizer + SPF, and hydrating PM moisturizer. Exfoliate and use a skincare treatment weekly. This will help in between facials.

SIX MONTHS BEFORE WEDDING:

BROWS: Start getting your brows groomed now! It takes time to perfect the brows, so starting with an amazing wax aficionado is key. Throw out your tweezers for now (trust us!)

FACIALS: If you haven’t started your facials yet, you really should now! Start trying different facials once a month to see which ones your skin reacts best to. After you’ve found your favorite, you can get that one a couple of weeks prior to the wedding for the healthiest glow on the day of.

BOTOX: If you’re concerned about wrinkles and fine lines, make an appointment with a licensed Botox professional now. They can work with you to determine what your goals are, and there will be plenty of time for perfecting the results between now and your big day.

DERMATOLOGIST: Book a dermatologist appointment for a couple of days before the wedding! (It can take 6 months to get in!) You can cancel it later, but if you happen to get a huge stress zit the week before your wedding, you can rest easy knowing you have a pimple destroying cortisone shot on standby.

FIVE MONTHS BEFORE WEDDING:

CHEMICAL PEELS: Peels can help with acne, scarring, and more! Get your first one now to see how your skin reacts, and then schedule one every couple of months until your wedding for excellent results.

SKINCARE: Consider adding a chemical exfoliant to your at-home routine. Ask your esthetician for her best recommendations. Chemical exfoliants can help prevent acne and increase cell turnover for more luminous skin.

THREE-FOUR MONTHS BEFORE WEDDING:

SPRAY TAN: Start trying out different spray tans! You want to make sure the color is perfect and that you won’t have any funky reactions. Once you find the one you love, book another one for 2 days before the wedding. (We love Glotique’s spray tans in Stratford, CT!)

EXFOLIATION: Go ahead and start exfoliating your whole body 2-3 times/week for a healthy glow! On the same note, go ahead and start applying body lotion daily as well. (Don’t forget those elbows!)

SKINCARE: If you still haven’t found a daily regimen to stick with, go ahead and make sure you have something reliable and effective to use between now and the wedding. Make sure you are doing your regimen twice a day, and always remove your makeup at night before bed!

SIX WEEKS BEFORE WEDDING:

FACIALS: Get your last major peel/exfoliating facial. You want to give your skin plenty of time to recover from the final efforts. Six weeks also gives you time to recover should there be any unforeseen allergic reactions to the products used.

SKINCARE: Stop using new products! If what you’ve found is working, stick with that. Each new product leaves the potential for an allergic reaction or breakout, and we want to minimize those in the six weeks leading up to your wedding. Stick to your tried-and-trues!

WAXING: If you’re getting any facial or body waxing before the wedding, start growing the hair out now so that it is the right length by the time of your appointment. Go ahead and book those appointments now while you’re at it!

TWO WEEKS BEFORE WEDDING:

FACIALS: Get your last gentle, hydrating facial (like a HydraFacial!) – but only one that you’ve tried and loved.

BROWS: Get those brows shaped and trimmed!

SKINCARE: If you are prone to dark circles, make sure to ask your esthetician for a good product to help with that during this home stretch! You don’t want to be worried about it now or during the wedding festivities/honeymoon.

THE WEEK OF THE WEDDING:

WAXING: Get your waxing done so that you have time for any redness or irritation to subside by the big day!

DERMATOLOGIST: How’s the skin looking? Think you’ll need that emergency appointment you scheduled all those months ago? If not, go ahead and cancel it a couple of days before. If so, thank the heavens above that you thought ahead, and get those zits zapped with a quick corticosteroid shot for blemish free skin on your wedding day.

SPRAY TAN: Get your tan two days before the wedding!

SKINCARE: Make sure you are diligent about your skincare routine this week. Get every trace of makeup off your face with a gentle cleanser, and make sure you are moisturizing (your whole body) and applying SPF at a minimum. Exfoliate one more time towards the middle of this week!

THE DAY OF THE WEDDING:

You made it! Your skin is glowing, not a pimple in sight. Make sure to arrive to your wedding day makeup appointment with a clean, fresh face. We’ll do the rest!

POST-WEDDING MAINTENANCE:

While the pressure may be off, don’t let all of your hard work (and money) go to waste now that the wedding is over. You don’t need to go as hard as you did during the wedding prep, but it may be worth it to work with your esthetician to develop a routine that will keep your skin in tip top shape. A facial every 4-6 weeks is the gold standard!