Being a bride is a high stress job. Between the wedding venue, the invitations, the jewellery and the clothes, you barely find enough time to get yourself on a skincare routine to get your biggest accessory—your skin—in top shape. While we understand that it might tend to take a back seat, it really shouldn’t. Most brides need to begin a skincare routine 6 months before their big day. While you can leave your mani and pedi for the last week, there are certain treatments brides should get over with at least 7 days in advance and not leave them for their wedding week…
 

Waxing

Waxing

We all know how you want your skin to be smooth and your stomach to look absolutely hair-free on your big day, and while that’s a valid concern, sometimes, waxing can leave you with red rashes and patches that might not look the best—in reality or on film. Schedule your waxing appointment a week in advance so that any unforeseen reactions don’t ruin your wedding outfit.

Threading

Just like waxing, there are some downsides to threading too! Whether the lady at the salon was in a hurry or your skin decided to be extra sensitive, you could end up with cuts on your upper lip that take time to heal (sometimes even have little scabs on them depending on the wound.) Post threading, you might even have little pimples and bumps that show up on your upper lip or any sensitive areas that you threaded. While you might not notice these otherwise, you’ll probably be holding up a magnifying glass to them if they appear two days before your wedding.

 

Peels

Peels

Facial peels are highly recommended addition to the skincare routine of all brides-to-be but most often they are a part of a bridal program that starts 3 months in advance (we highly recommend the one offered by the Lakmé Salon that has packages for the brides as well as her BFFs.) As a bride you might not be getting enough sleep, you might be tensed most of the time and your skin might be acting up because of the stress. In order to fix it you might tend to get a little desperate. But last minute chemical peels—as promising as they sound—are not the answer. Peels (read our full story here) have certain after-effects on your skin and take time to be effective—not the best idea for a bride. Instead, what you need is a good, de-stressing massage.

Facials

Facials, like peels, take some time to show their magic in their skincare routine. You can’t come out of a facial looking like a million bucks. At the same time most facials involve extractions—blackheads and whiteheads, and deep exfoliations that might make your skin swell for the next 24-48 hours. While the need for clean-looking skin is necessary for brides, any skincare routine must begin way in advance. Resorting to last-minute tactics (that might bring with them unexpected surprises) are never recommended.

Botox / Fillers

You’ll be surprised to know how many women get themselves fillers before their big day. Taut-looking skin is a big deal—be it on your forehead, your eyes, your chin or your lips. However, if there’s one thing that those horror stories about botched up lip and face jobs have taught us, it’s never to go under the knife of an inexperienced professional and certainly not during your wedding week. Yikes!