By Danielle Harter, PA-C, Artistry Luxury Injectables
Congratulations, you’re getting married! You found the perfect dress, the best fitting tux, or you’re outfitted as the mother-of to the nines… what have you forgotten?
One of the most overlooked (or often rushed) areas of wedding prep is the thing you see most — skincare and skin prep! Unlike a quick spray tan or set of glue-on lashes, the best skin comes from planning as much in advance as possible; just like you’ve planned out all the perfect details of your wedding.
Take my advice, I’m a practicing and certified Physician Associate with over 14 years of experience in aesthetic medicine. I’ve prepped plenty of brides, mothers-of, and even grooms (!) for their big days over the years! At my aesthetic medicine business, Artistry Luxury Injectables, we love helping the entire wedding party prepare and prep to put their best face forward on the wedding day!
Let’s break this down by the unique issues you may be wanting to pour more self love into! Read on for how to get your best skin ever for your best day ever!
Dull Skin
Feeling like your skin is dry, dull, lifeless? Wanting to perk it up for that beautiful newlywed glow? Skincare is your best friend for the next several months! A twice daily skincare regimen is key — one tailored to your specific skin needs with specific products and goals in mind. Routine facials and add-ons like dermaplaning or micro-needling will help make your skin dewy and glowy! The sooner the you can start a personalized skincare regimen, the better! It takes approximately eight weeks to see the full effects of a consistent skincare regimen; and certain treatments (like retinols, microneedling, peels and lasers) require time for the skin to adjust or some downtime and recovery to appreciate their full effect! Seek the advice of a trusted and licensed esthetician to help guide you with skincare and establish a relationship with a licensed and experienced medical professional early on in your planning timeline to help make the most out of time and treatment design!
Wrinkles
Wedding planning is bound to add a few wrinkles to your face; but with the proper prep, planning and patience, we can make you wrinkle-free! Many wrinkles are caused by dynamic muscle movement (those of your forehead, between your brows and the ones around your eyes). These wrinkles are best targeted by relaxing the muscles that cause them with the use of neurotoxins (aka Botox, Dysport, Jeuveau, Xeomin, Daxxify). Wrinkle relaxer treatments should be performed by a licensed medical professional and one skilled in their administration and use. Many of your friends or colleagues likely already see a trusted aesthetic medicine provider; so asking for recommendations from those you trust and admire, or finding a local provider through a Google review search is a good place to start! It’s best to plan out your pre-wedding tox accordingly — the sooner you start, the longer you will have for full skin relaxation and that beautiful tox glow. Because these medications take up to two weeks to fully settle in, you’ll want to allow at least four to six weeks before your wedding day from your last treatment. Establishing a good relationship with your provider well in advance will allow them to learn your optimal dosing and facial design to achieve the absolute best results for your wedding day!
Dermal fillers and biostimulators are also vital treatments for wrinkles related to volume loss. These treatments help restore volume and skin support and can be used in various areas of the face to rejuvenate and restore a more youthful appearance. Again, just like wrinkle relaxers, starting your care with a licensed and trusted aesthetic medicine provider early-on in your planning process will allow the best planning timeline to accomplish your goals. Many filler or biostimulator treatments require a series to achieve optimal results and time to provide full effects. Other treatments, like lasers, microneedling and ultrasonic devices, are also comprehensive therapies to consider. Certain skin concerns, like heavy upper eyelids and severe volume loss, may be best addressed with a surgical consult; so early planning is key to explore all your options.
Pigment/Texture/Tone
The outer layer of our skin, called the epidermis, shows the worst symptoms of aging, like fine lines, large pores and deep pigment; but these issues actually arise from cellular changes in the second layer, called the dermis. While a skincare regimen is key in helping to treat those concerns; we often need more comprehensive and aggressive treatments to help improve or fully resolve these symptoms. Therapies that target the various layers of our skin specifically include lasers, radiofrequency microneedling, ultrasonic devices and peels. Therapies like peels and lasers can help with pigment and collagen production, while treatments like RF microneedling and ultrasound help with collagen and elastin to help target texture and skin elasticity.
And don’t forget other more subtle areas like the neck, décolleté, earlobes, hands and other areas of the body! Hands are especially an area many mothers-of like to address with pigment reducing and volumizing therapies. They will of course be front and center in many photos with your beloved child. Earlobe revolumization with filler helps your earrings sit just perfectly to frame your face! And other body therapies, like non-invasive fat reduction and muscle tightening treatments or invasive surgical interventions to help tighten, tone and restore are other treatments to consider early on in your planning.
The key to getting your best wedding self is an early consult to discuss your goals and outline your personalized timeline. Many of my patients are on a year long or greater planning timeline (if their wedding planning timeline permits!). I personally had to plan my wedding timeline last year in less than six months, so getting a later start on your skincare journey doesn’t mean you don’t still have plenty of options for your wedding glow up! One of my favorite experiences as a provider is prepping the entire wedding party (I’ve had many instances of treating the brides, the mothers-of, the groom and many wedding party members) for the big event! The best feeling is seeing you look radiant, confident and stunning in your wedding photos!
Want to explore more with aesthetic medicine? Visit artistryluxuryinjectables.com and follow Danielle on social media where she shares educational content and tips and tricks.