When considering your beauty preparation for your big day, you will definitely want to plan ahead. Overloading on beauty and grooming days before your wedding can not only also increase your stress but could also leave you looking and feeling less than perfect it on the very day you want to look your absolute best!
First Things First: Your Skin
Everyone wants beautiful, healthy glowing skin that simply radiates with bridal happiness. To help your skin achieve that perfect glow, schedule a series of monthly facials starting at about four months before your wedding. It’s advisable to book your last facial no closer then two weeks before your wedding.
If you tend to have breakouts or you want to fix dark spots, redness, or fine lines you could consult a dermatologist about six months before your wedding, as most products require a few months to really work. If you don’t have that much time go as soon as you can.
Three Months: Your Hairstyle
Now is the time to decide on the length, shape and style of hair you want for your wedding day. Starting early will allow you the time needed to grow your hair if needed. You will also have time to experiment on what looks good with your dress.
If you’d like to add color or highlights to your hair, starting a few months early will give your hairdresser enough time to perfect the look and fix anything that might go wrong.
It’s also a good idea to treat your hair to weekly deep conditioning treatments, as this will have your hair healthy, bouncy and shiny the day of your wedding.
Two Months: Your Trial Run
Every bride should get a trial run hair, makeup and spray tan session well before the wedding day. Now is the time to pick our your color preferences, decide on how much product you’re comfortable wearing, and to see if that up do will actually work with your dress or if your should wear your hair out.
If you opt to go with a spray tan, now is the time to test it out and make sure you get the right hue. You might be pretty used to applying self-tanner, but for this momentous occasion you might want to trust the job to a professional. That is why a trial run is so important; you want to be sure that you come out sun kissed and not overly orange. Getting it done ahead of time will give the tan enough time to fade if you’re unhappy with the results.
One Month: Your Smile
Having a picture-perfect smile, with beautiful sparkly white teeth for your wedding day is a must.
When it comes to teeth whiteners be sure to consult first with your dentist before choosing an over-the-counter product since some products may irritate gums and lips and may cause swelling.
There are a few things you could do at home to help whiten your smile, such as eating raw veggies like carrots and celery which help to remove surface stains or even rubbing your teeth with strawberries or lemon and rinsing with cool water. Staying away from food and drinks that stain your teeth is also advisable.
One Week: Your Body Hair
Body hair removal is a personal decision, however if you do decide to remove body hair you really don’t want any bad reactions showing up on your big day! Stick to what works best for you whether that is waxing, shaving, hair removal creams or epilating (keep in mind epilating usually requires a longer period of 3-6 sessions at 6-8 week intervals).
Getting your eyebrows plucked versus waxed is recommended as plucking is more gentle on the skin, is more precise and creates a better overall shape. Try patting your freshly tweezed areas with rubbing alcohol to prevent breakouts and apply a moisturizer after to help sooth redness and possible swelling. Getting your brows done a few days before will allow your skin time to adjust and ensure that redness and swelling to go away before your wedding.
One Day: Your Hands & Feet
Beautiful hands and feet are crucial on your wedding day particularly for all those close up photos! Giving yourself a 24-hour period to get your hands and feet done means your polish will have adequate time to dry and harden. If you’re worried about messing up your polish or chipping a nail a good alternative to a regular manicure is getting gel nails or shellac that will last you until you get back from your honeymoon. Be sure to keep your hands moist throughout the day and during the night so that they are smooth and healthy looking the day of your wedding.
Last Night: Your Sleep
Go to sleep!! The term beauty sleep is not just a cliché. Not only will a solid 8-10 hours of sleep have you looking refreshed and rested in the morning, a good night’s sleep will also help to ease pre-wedding jitters. So turn off the TV, get off the computer, put away the smart phones and tablets and get your beauty rest!