Congratulations on your engagement! Now that you’ve secured the ring and the person of your dreams, it’s time to buckle down and get serious about your wedding. Planning for this special day is no walk in the park, so it’s imperative to start preparing sooner than later. Seems simple, right? Wrong.
Living in these unprecedented times has made the wedding planning process all the more difficult and overwhelming as public limitations and other restrictions continue to be a factor at hand. And while the COVID-19 implications have made some parts of preparation difficult to manage, there are still some areas of wedding prep that remain entirely in your control. One of the most important being your bridal beauty timeline!
To guarantee you’re prepped, primed, and looking like a dime come time to walk down the aisle, follow this ultimate wedding beauty checklist!
Skin Care
Book an appointment to meet with a dermatologist.
Before you do anything beauty-related, first book an appointment to meet with a dermatologist. Regardless of whether or not the pandemic has made it challenging to schedule in-person appointments, you can still get the expertise you’re looking for by using an online telehealth platform to meet with a certified healthcare professional.
Telemedicine companies have become the new frontier for healthcare in the time of COVID-19 as they serve to support the well-being of patients and providers whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines.
This means that addressing any skincare issues—or any other health-related concerns you may be experiencing for that matter—can be easy with just a few clicks-of-a-button, but it’s up to you to take the steps to be able to do so.
Remember that most skincare treatments require a couple of months of consistent use before desired results will start to appear. With that being said, try your best to meet with a dermatologist at least six to eight months prior to your wedding to ensure you have enough time to care for your complexion properly.
Telehealth Benefits
What’s great about using telehealth is that most online healthcare providers will send you any prescriptions you may need right to your doorstep. So, say, for instance, you are currently struggling with a mature skin type and visible signs of ageing.
Utilizing a telehealth platform like Hers will allow you to not only consult a doctor about these concerns but also receive your very own personalized anti-aging cream prescription, if and when applicable.
Start your Pre-wedding Skincare Routine
After you’ve met with a dermatologist, you’ll then want to focus on establishing your pre-wedding skincare routine. The steps you include within your morning and nightly routine should align with the expertise provided by your doctor.
Everyone’s routine will likely be a little bit different, and that’s totally okay! As long as the steps you follow and the products you use are the same day-in-and-day-out, your skin is sure to shine on your wedding day.
Body Care
The skin on your face isn’t the only area that deserves attention, your body does too! Aside from the basics, such as adding a new gentle body wash to your shower routine and weekly exfoliation, you should also think about other elements that are part of your regular grooming routine.
Hair Removal – Shaving vs Waxing
Take hair removal, for example. Although shaving is a popular method for removing body hair, it only cuts down to the surface of the skin. This causes hair to grow back more quickly, and oftentimes, unevenly, which is why many brides-to-be prefer to add waxing or laser hair removal as part of their wedding beauty checklist.
While both of these solutions work sufficiently to remove hair for a longer length of time compared to shaving, they are a few things to think about before taking one of these alternative routes. Waxing is great for regulating the hair cycle because it removes the hair all at once. However, for some people, waxing can be too damaging on the skin, causing redness, irritation, and a phenomenon known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation to occur.
Consider Laser Treatment for your Hair Removal Routine
Keeping this in mind, if you generally have a sensitive skin type, it’s probably best to avoid waxing. Instead, you may want to think about trying laser hair removal. This type of treatment is highly effective, but it does require a lot more time and money.
Laser hair removal involves multiple sessions to see permanence in hair removal and each session needs to be spaced out from the others in order to target all hair follicles. As explained by the Sheen Vein Institute:
“Generally speaking, most people need between six to eight treatment sessions to ensure that all of the hair in each cycle is removed. Laser hair removal sessions are usually spaced out with a minimum of eight weeks apart to allow hair to enter a new cycle so that all follicles are targeted.”
Hair Care
Finally, as part of your pre-wedding beauty checklist, be sure to dedicate some time towards your lovely locks. If you have any hair care concerns such as hair thinning or hair loss, check back in with your dermatologist as they can provide you with additional support and other treatment options that work to stimulate hair growth.
Create a Hair-Maintenance Plan
Beyond this, it’s also essential that you get on a hair-maintenance plan in preparation for your wedding. Similar to the uniqueness of your skincare routine, the maintenance plan you decide on should be tailored to your hair type and the areas you want to focus on improving before you say your “I dos.” whether it relates to hair length, fullness, or tonality of hair colour, figure out what your end goal is and create a plan that’s customized to that.
Communicate with your Hairdresser
Talk with your hairdresser about your wedding hair goals and the ideal maintenance plan. Their assistance can help you determine how often you should be coming in to meet with them, the types of hair products you should be using in between appointments, and ultimately, determine the most practical, ideal style for your luscious locks on the day of your wedding.
No matter what improvements you’d like to see within your hair or what look you initially had in mind to wear on your special day, don’t be afraid to try out various styles with your hairdresser. Scheduling a couple of “trial-runs” with your stylist can give you a chance to weigh your options, get creative, and learn what updo is right for you.
Plus, doing so can also give you some sort of indirect reassurance that you chose the style that best fits your wedding day and your look, thereby working to indirectly boost your self-confidence and enhance your overall appearance.
