Spring isn’t just known for its lovely flowers and mild weather.
It’s also prime prom and wedding season, which means there are plenty of us that are desperate to have healthy, glowing skin for a big day. Both proms and weddings mean plenty of photos, and whether they’re preserved for posterity in a keepsake photo album or your friends’ Facebook pages, you want to look your best on a night that you’re going to look back on for the rest of your life.
Whether you have good skin to begin with or struggle with skin issues, you can make your skin look its most beautiful just in time for your big event. All it take is a few key steps that help keep it clear and smooth and impart plenty of glow.
First of all, it’s important to stick to a basic skincare routine that covers two of your skin’s major needs – cleansing and hydration. Depending on your skin type, you should wash your face up to two times a day. Everyone should wash at night to remove the day’s worth of dirt, makeup, oil, and other debris that can clog pores. The Pevonia All Skin Types Cleanser is a basic cleanser that works for most skin types. If you have oily skin, it’s a good idea to wash in the morning too. Dry or sensitive skin may prefer skipping the morning cleansing or using a gentler cleanser like the Dermalogica UltraCalming Cleanser, which you can actually tissue off instead of rinsing with water without leaving a residue behind.
Exfoliation is also important if you want to have glowing skin for your wedding or prom because it removes dry, dulling skin cells and pore-clogging debris. If you have oily skin, you can exfoliate up to three times a week to keep pores clear and breakouts at bay. The Dermalogica Skin Prep Scrub works well for oily skin. If you have dry or sensitive skin, though, limit your exfoliation to one to two times a week and use a gentle formula. The Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant is an ideal option.
Finally, follow up with a good moisturizer in the morning and at night. If you have oily skin, you may be tempted to skip a moisturizer but dehydrated skin actually lacks water, not oil, so it’s important to add proper hydration. Try the Dermalogica Oil Control Lotion, which not only hydrates the skin but helps matiffy it as well. For dry skin, choose a richer formula that provides more intense moisture. The Bioelements Crucial Moisture is a good choice.
In the month or so leading up to your big day, you can also boost the look of your skin from the inside out. Start by cutting back on caffeine-heavy drinks and upping your water intake – drinking plenty of water helps keep your skin hydrated so it looks healthy and radiant for your prom or wedding. If you aren’t a fan of water, try adding some fruit liked sliced lemons, limes, oranges or even frozen berries or pineapple to add flavor without any sugar.
Make sure that you’re protecting your skin from the sun in the weeks before your special event too. While you should always wear sunscreen to prevent skin cancer and premature aging, it’s especially important before a wedding or prom so you don’t accidentally wind up with a sunburn or dark spots that are hard to conceal. Use a broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 on your face every day – the Dermalogica Oil Free Matte SPF30 is an ideal option for oily skin, while BioElements SPF50 FaceScreen is a good option for dry or normal skin.
On the day of your big event, boost your skin’s glow with a revitalizing face mask. The Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Masque can work wonders for dry, stressed skin by restoring the moisture necessary for a healthy, glowing complexion. If your skin is oily, opt for a clarifying mask to absorb excess oil and clear the pores like the Dermalogica Skin Refining Masque. Whichever mask you use, though, make sure to test it a couple of times before your wedding or prom so you know that it doesn’t cause a reaction.
If nerves or excitement keep you up the night before your event, you may wake up with bags or dark circles beneath your eyes. Banish bags with a soothing, depuffing eye product like the gloTherapeutics Eye Fix Revitalizing Treatment. If dark circles are making you look tired, grab a tinted eye treatment like the Biolements Tinted Undereye and Lid Smoother. The formula contains a blend of botanical extracts that help soothe and hydrate the eye area, but it also offers a slight tint to neutralize darkness and brighten your under eyes so you look fresh and awake.
Should tragedy strike and you wake up with a zit on your big day, resist the urge to pop or pick at it. Instead, apply an acne treatment product like the Dermalogica Concealing Spot Treatment, which uses sulfur and zinc oxide to treat the breakout instead of harsh, drying benzoyl peroxide and also contains a slight tint to hide redness. Then let your makeup artist work her magic and conceal the zit – if you’ve been taking care of your skin in the previous weeks, it should be fairly easy.