12 Tips for starting your Wedding Beauty Regime

You’ve announced your engagement, taken and uploaded dozens of ring selfies, and even started making practical plans for your wedding. But it’s not just your venue, dress, invitations and seating plan you need to attend to: now’s the time to start working on looking fantastic for your big day.

We’re talking beauty regimes, and right now is the perfect excuse to either start one or overhaul your existing one, so that you can have the best hair, skin and nails of your life when you walk down that aisle.

It’s also a great way to practice some self-care, so that you can de-stress in the months leading up to your big day, and each step helps in perfecting your wedding day look, from glowing skin to strong, shiny hair.

Having a wedding date gives you a deadline you can work backwards from and set up your own wedding beauty checklist, and we promise this one will be loads more fun than deciding who should sit next to whom at your reception.

Besides, who doesn’t want to look their best on their big day? Wedding photos last forever after all.

So, here’s our countdown to help you start your own wedding beauty regime…

12 months to go

1 – Assess your skin

Book in with a facialist or dermatologist who will look at your skin, assess what it needs and recommend a skincare routine accordingly. Whatever your skin goals may be, they’ll be able to help you devise a strategy to get there, whether you want radiant, glowing skin, to soften fine lines and wrinkles or to banish spots and acne.

2 – Start in the shower

Most people don’t realise that your skincare routine actually starts in the shower, and it’s essential to use a gentle cleanser to soften, smooth and nourish your skin. Gently pat skin dry instead of rubbing when you get out and follow up with a body lotion or butter within minutes, to lock in moisture. Getting into this habit early means you’ll have beautiful skin from head to toe come the big day.

3 – Oil up your nails

With that rock on your finger, your hands and nails will come under more scrutiny than ever before, so it’s time to start taking care of them to ensure they look their best. Massaging a nail oil into your cuticles and each nail bed every day will help keep them hydrated, strong and flexible and less prone to splitting and cracking, so your nail will look perfect all year round.

4 – Don’t neglect your hands

You can’t look after your nails without paying some attention to your hands, so invest in a good hand cream that’ll protect and nourish them. Use a gentle scrub once a week and follow up with plenty of hand cream and cuticle or nail oil to keep them soft and hydrated.

5 – Sleep is everything

Not getting enough sleep can wreak havoc on your skin, hair and nails, not to mention your brain function and capacity to deal with stress.  When we sleep, we give our bodies a chance to repair and regenerate, and our brains a chance to switch off and reorganise. So start getting into a regular sleeping pattern, aiming for at least seven to eight hours per night, and try to stick to it as much as possible.

6 – Start eating healthily

Crash diets, cleanses and drastically cutting calories in an attempt to look fab in your wedding dress is never a good idea. Ultimately, you’ll probably cave, binge eat and end up feeling worse about yourself because you’ve regained whatever weight you managed to lose. Instead, stick to eating healthily, swapping sugary snacks and alcohol for healthier choices, and you’ll feel better, be more energised and look healthier too.

7 – Step away from the tweezers

Every makeup artist, beauty therapist and brow technician will tell you that eyebrows are what balance and define your face, so it’s essential not to overpluck them. Overplucking means they lose their natural arch shape, which changes your facial expression. Don’t worry, we’ve all been guilty of it at some point, but now’s the time to stop tweezing and visit a pro to have them whipped into shape before your big day.

6 months to go

8 – Start dry body-brushing

We believe that dry body-brushing makes a massive difference to the look and feel of skin, and it’s one of the best beauty investments you can make to really see results. Dry brushing gives huge benefits: it exfoliates to get rid of dead skin, increases blood circulation to give a healthy glow and it kickstarts the flow of lymph fluid to eliminate waste and toxins from the body. Start at your ankles and brush with long strokes towards the heart, ideally before your shower (it makes your skin tingle!) and then follow up with body lotion or oil afterwards.

9 – Up your skincare routine

Not everyone can afford to go for a facial once a month, but with so many fantastic products on the market, it’s so easy to replicate, and achieve salon-worthy results at home. Start giving your skin a weekly pamper by adding an exfoliator and/or mask once or twice a week, and follow with a brightening serum before applying moisturiser. Not only will exfoliating get rid of dead skin cells, making skin look brighter, but it will also increase skin’s absorption of the serum, meaning it will work more effectively.

10 – Plan your colour

If you’re considering changing or even maintaining your existing hair colour, now’s the time to start planning it. Ideally, you should never go more than two shades lighter or darker than your natural colour, but test-drive it now, so there’s time to change it before the big day. You also need to think about booking in for touch-ups at least 7 to 10 days before the big day, to make sure your colour looks its best.

11 – Cut down on shampoo

Having soft, clean hair goes without saying, but shampooing more than three or four times a week can wreck your colour, if you have coloured hair. It causes the colour to lift, go dull and fade, so we recommend rinsing with water and use a light detangler between shampoos, and using a colour-friendly shampoo when you do wash it.

12 – Cut down on sugar and alcohol

We know, we know, it’s very tempting to dive into the biscuit tin or pour an extra-large glass of wine when you’re stressed. But cutting out sugar and alcohol does fantastic things for your body, not to mention your mental state in times of stress. Kicking them to the curb will help you lose weight, avoid bloating and keep your skin clear, plump and looking fresh – three major things you’re looking for in the run up to your wedding. It’ll also help control your stress levels and stay clear-headed; ideal when you’re trying to cope with guest lists, seating plans and a million and one ‘wedmin’ tasks.

Hopefully, we’ve given you some useful tips and tricks to help you on your way to looking and feeling your best for your big day. The next step is to start planning your makeup, and that’s something we can definitely help with, so please do get in touch.