Skin-Deep Beauty
Go beyond the surface to capture flawless skin for your wedding day.
Story by Randi Jo Gause
If you're on the path to marriage you've already discovered that beauty goes far beyond skin-deep. Still, wouldn't it be nice for your skin to reflect how radiant you feel inside on your wedding day? We've rounded up an entourage of local experts to offer the skinny on combating the most frequent skin ailments to help you capture that coveted bride glow for your big day.
Banish Blemishes
Don't let stress-related or hormonal breakouts make an uninvited appearance at your wedding. Join forces with an esthetician at least six months in advance to help you find a daily skin care regimen suited for your skin type and condition, and to administer specialized treatments.
Try an Acne Treatment Facial at The Skin Bar that zaps zits with powerful Dermalogica products. "If the bride has normally healthy skin, this line helps to target environmental stress as well as chemical or hormonal reactions due to pre-wedding stress," explains Opel Letendre, owner of The Skin Bar.
Body treatments at Nova Aesthetic Medicine can also knock out bacteria and oil on other skin areas for a blemish-free body. A good treatment option is the Vibradermabrasion, or a PCA smoothing body peel, which helps to force new cell growth in the skin while shedding dead skin cell build-up for a beautiful and clear complexion, explains Hannah Lien, licensed esthetician and manicurist at Nova Aesthetic Medicine. For more stubborn cases, a visit to a dermatologist for topical creams or oral pills may be in order.
Eradicate Wrinkles
Don't let your "something old" at the wedding be your skin – tame wrinkles and sagging skin with treatments that firm your epidermis for a youthful appearance. "To build up healthy skin in the mature bride, the bride needs to be on a skincare regimen that is going to help the cell turnover rate, rebuild the collagen and elastin in the skin, and plump out lines and wrinkles," explains Lien.
Try softening wrinkles with Serenity Valley's four-week Wrinkle Relief Method, which incorporates products that infuse collagen and elastin through every skin layer. Or snag one of the TCA Peels offered at Nova Aesthetic Medicine to level lines and creases for a seamless complexion. "Chemical peels work very well to diminish fine lines and other signs of aging, but they should be done slower and over a period of time to prevent further damage to the skin," cautions Letendre.
Combat Cellulite
You don't have to wear black to look slimming on your wedding day. Andrea Straughn, owner of Serenity Valley, says you can slim down and tone up with an Inch Loss/Detox body wrap, which expels bodily toxins while banishing cellulite and tightening loose skin. "Cellulite is caused by the space in between the fat cells and the condition of the connective tissues," explains Straughn. "Our body wraps reduce the appearance of cellulite by compressing the fat cells together with the compression wraps and infrared sauna." Although wraps can produce results after just one treatment, she recommends one weekly body wrap for three to five weeks for significant results.
For more ammo against the dreaded dimples, Solara Skin & Laser Center recommends VelaShape, a non-invasive and virtually pain-free technology for blasting fat. Esthetician Mina Fujimoto says it helps reduce the appearance of that lumpy, dimpled skin and helps reduce circumference in treated areas in as little as five treatments. VelaShape uses mechanical rollers to deeply massage the cellulite-affected tissue while providing strong suction to massage the deeper layers of skin and fat. It also makes use of radiofrequency energy and infrared light to gently heat fat, causing it to break up and release.
Take Cover
Don't want to expose that tattoo of your ex-boyfriend's initials during the wedding ceremony? Solara Skin & Laser Center offers branded brides a permanent tattoo removal option using the Palomar Q-YAG 5 System – a high-powered laser that makes sunspots, freckles, or bad decisions vanish. "You'll want to start a year in advance, since it can take anywhere from five to seven treatments spaced eight weeks apart for full results," advises Fujimoto.
Don't have enough time for permanent removal? For a more temporary – and quick – fix, conceal your ink with highly pigmented makeup designed to mask even the largest and most saturated tattoos, like the Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer.
Destroy Dullness
Nothing says "love" like the beaming glow of a bride. Bring a dull complexion to life with facial treatments targeted at sloughing off dead skin cells and improving circulation to leave your skin luminous.
Grab a Clarity Facial at Nova Aesthetic Medicine, which exfoliates skin to a polished glow. Or, indulge in their Oxygenating Trio Treatment to instantly brighten sluggish skin. "This treatment helps stimulate cutaneous oxygenation and circulation, rejuvenating skin as it draws oxygen to the skin's surface resulting in radiant, healthy skin," explains Vahn Doctolero, Licensed Esthetician and Manicurist at Nova Aesthetic Medicine.
Fight Fuzz
Silky smooth legs are a major "I do" for the big day, and new technologies make prickle-free skin more accessible than ever. Zap hair permanently with Solara's Palomar Medical Technologies' Pulsed Light technology, which sends light to damage hair follicles and prevent re-growth. The treatment can be costly, and requires around five treatments spaced six weeks apart, so if you don't have the time, or money, to spring for permanent hair removal, waxing remains a practical option that outlasts shaving and depilatories.
Whatever your unique skin needs may be, don't wait until the week of the wedding to experiment with treatments. Begin testing out the best options for your skin far in advance to ensure your skin has no adverse reactions so everything goes as smoothly.
