Even if you stick to a careful skincare regiment in the weeks and months before your wedding, anything can happy in the days before the big day. Stress, which mounts as the wedding day gets closer, is notorious for causing breakouts and other skin problems. Here are some tips on what to do to avoid or repair a complexion emergency.
Day Before
Eating a well balanced diet and staying hydrated will enhance your skin’s natural radiance. Getting a full night’s rest is important too, and will help you look bright-eyed, alert, and fresh for the big day. (We know this is easier said than done, but let your mom or bridesmaids know that you NEED to get to bed on time, and ask them to help with any last minute tasks that might keep you up past your bedtime!)
Yahoo LifeStyle cautions that the day before the wedding, what NOT to do is also important:
- Avoid doing last minute treatments that can go wrong such as using a depilatory or bleaching cream. If using for the first time or if left on too long, the creams can cause a burn.
- Avoid trying at home peels for the first time.
- Avoid trying new skin cleansers,creams, or makeup, since you don’t know what ingredients might possibly irritate your skin.
- Avoid getting sun exposure or a sunburn.
- Avoid alcohol and soy sauce, which can cause swelling in the skin, which is difficult to cover with makeup. If a bride tends to have redness in her skin (rosacea) avoid foods that cause flushing such as spicy food and red wine.
Wedding Day 911
Zits: Go to your dermatologist and get a cortisone injection to help calm the cyst. Even with the best care, zits happen, so get yourself over to your dermatologist for a cortisone injection. It will help calm the cyst, and carefully applied makeup will do the rest. You could also try Almay Clear Complexion Blemish Healing Make-Up and Spot Concealer to zap pimples.
Sunburn: If you get a sunburn the day before your wedding, apply an aloe vera–based product on the burn to relieve the pain, then find an emollient concealer that matches your (unburned) skin; apply to the entire area and blend with a makeup sponge. (from Brides.com)
Shimmer, don’t shine: Keep your wedding day glow from looking greasy by applying translucent powder lightly under your eyes and on your nose, chin and forehead. For an ethereal glow as you walk down the aisle, dust your arms and décolletage with gold-flecked body powder or dry oil. (from Brides.com)
Cold Sore: Keep a five-day course of oral antibiotics on hand if you are prone to cold sores. Start taking the medication the moment you feel the tingling—you may stop the sore in its tracks. (from Brides.com)
Irritations: If you do get a reaction to something, apply ice and then slather on calamine lotion (Like Dermadew Caloe) and mometasone (Elocon lotion). Then consult your dermatologist ASAP! (from Rediff News)
Eye bags & Dark Circles: Steer clear of salt, alcohol and caffeine the night before, which can cause puffiness. If you do wake up with bags, try applying something cooling, such as cold spoons or cucumbers, then apply an anti-puffiness cream or eye pads. Use a highly pigmented concealer that matches your skin tone (not lighter) to hide dark circles.
Skintique suggests putting together a “911 Skincare Kit” with some of the following products:
• PFB Vanish for ingrown hair
• Energizing Eye Gel to get rid of last minute puffiness and smooth out fine lines
• Bioglycolic Acne Gel I for that last minute pimple
• Lip Plumper to get rid of lip lines and help lipstick last longer
• Instant Calm Complex to calm redness and cool skin