Wedding Skin Prep

Today marks exactly one month until we leave for our destination wedding! With this in mind, today’s #WeddingWednesday is all about wedding skin prep. Your outer layer of skin replaces itself every thirty to thirty-five days, so taking whipping my skin routine in gear is extra important right now! As I’ve mentioned before, I’ll be doing my own wedding makeup given our destination wedding and I keep getting asked why so I’ll make the explanation short and sweet.

I won’t be arriving to Italy until the week before our wedding, which means I wouldn’t be able to trial a makeup artist until just a few days before. If I didn’t end up liking my makeup, I’d be back at square one having to do it myself, so I figure I should just go prepared to do it so I don’t have surprises. Europeans are very proud of their makeup skills I might add, with some charging over 600 Euros for bridal makeup. I wouldn’t have cared so much about that after all I’ve spent on makeup products here by now, butttt I do care about not being 100% confident that it will workout. When it comes to foundations, powders, baking, priming, and setting.. it’s important to start with a good base. No, I don’t mean the perfect primer combo (although, who knew how much a difference that could make?!). I mean with your skin. It makes it a heck of a lot easier if your skin is clear and looking it’s best when you start your makeup. To prepare, I’ve already done and am planning to do quite a few things as a part of my wedding skin prep regimen, which I’m sharing with you here today!

First things first. I’ve actually never visited a dermatologist. I know, shameful since I’m turning thirty oh so soon. I’ve always had pretty clear skin and when I get a blemish or two, I know it’s from my diet or related to hormones. They are usually gone pretty quickly, so it’s not typically anything to stress over. I vowed that not only as I approached thirty, but because I am a bride-to-be, that this year I was going to up my skin care game, consult with the pros, and invest in my face more.

Photofacial

After possibly too many hours of research (this is my face here people), I landed on Kari Feinstein. Kari owns Enlighten MD here in Dallas and has such a great reputation for being honest and passionate. I saw all that they offered online and then reached out and scheduled a consultation. When Kari explained her whole philosophy to me as investing some time and effort in to yourself here and there so that your day to day routine is lower maintenance, I knew I had found my girl. I am ALL about saving time on my daily primping routine. If follow me on Instagram, then I’m sure you’ve seen me talk about laser hair removal, microblading, and eyelash extensions. Each of these saves me time on the daily, so they are worth the investment in my opinion, both the time and money.

I explained to Kari what I was hoping for before my wedding and she spent a lot of time talking with me, looking at my skin, and explaining some options based on her expert opinion. She thought a photofacial would be the best place to start and I totally trusted her opinion after talking with her. I went through with it just a few weeks later (over my Spring Break) in March. I’m starting off my wedding skin prep with this, because that is what really kick started things for me and got me motivated to continue to improve! There’s more info at the bottom about what I’ve been doing (and plan to do) so be sure to keep reading!

WHAT IS A PHOTOFACIAL?:

In the simplest terms, a photofacial is sun damage removal.

A Photofacial treatment uses light to improve and rejuvenate the skin while reducing the harmful effects sun has on your skin. Red and brown spots and small veins are improved and your skin tone will be evened out. It will also reduce the appearance of fine lines and improve pigmentation irrregularities with minimal redness and downtime. Seriously, I took it easy the rest of the day and skipped makeup the next day, then left town for the weekend! Photofacials give lasting results that remove the effects of age and damaged skin for a more youthful appearance. Seriously just what I was looking for!

How a photofacial Works:

Photofacials don’t use a laser, but a skin-specific light that creates a reaction beneath the surface to stimulate new collagen growth. The light from a photofacial heats and destroys these undesired pigmented spots on the face, neck, chest, arms, hands and/or shoulders.

Most people are good candidates for photofacials! Just remember that the treatment requires minimal sun exposure before and after. You’re trying to reverse that damage here, people. They were great at working with me on the best time to do this to fit my schedule! After the treatment, I really can continue not wearing foundation (except those days when I’m practicing for my wedding before), but now my skin just looks better! I always had this red spot on my eyelid that I thought was a scar from being in the sun with chicken pox that bothered me. I assumed nothing could be done about it, so I often threw some eyeshadow in my crease to cover it up. It’s gone now! Seriously. I’m shocked and so happy!! I’m saving so much time feeling like I don’t have to wear eyeshadow day to day to cover that up now.

I’ve since gone in for a follow up and was floored seeing my before and after results. Seriously, look at these pictures! I’m actually wearing a little makeup here (bronzer, blush, minimal eyeshadow) because I had a photo shoot that evening after the follow up appointment, but the difference is STILL huge. My red dot is gone and so are so many other sun spots! SO amazing. Also, this is probably THE most unflaterring overall angel, but I wanted to be real with y’all and show you my results.

I think my makeup just looks better on my skin since my photofacial. I can’t wait to see what Kari recommends next to prep me for my wedding and help me age gracefully into my thirties! She happens to be one of the cutest, sweetest people and I love going in and chatting with her. Even if I’m not there for treatment, she has a new boutique when you walk in called Enlighten Living with everything from clothes, to gifts, to workout clothes, and jewelry. It’s kind of a one-stop-shop for making you all around more fabulous.

**If you’re interested in a photofacial or other skin treatments, give Enlighten MD a call. Their website has all the info on what they offer, but they have everything from laser and microblading to facials and chemical peels. Tell them that Lauren from A Lo Profile sent you and you can get a discount on your services!!**

Since my photofacial, I’ve been more and more into my skin and have recently become VERY interested in all things collagen. I started out taking vitamins, but recently began drinking bone broth and adding collagen peptides into my daily routine.

BONE BROTH

I feel like I could write a whole post on bone broth (and if enough of you want me to, I will) but for now, I’ll keep it relatively short and sweet. Bone broth has a number of health benefits including: protecting your joints, boosting your immune system, treating leaky gut syndrome, maintaining healthy skin, boosting detoxification, and helping metabolism. Its sort of liquid magic. Another benefit? It is a good source of protein with minimal calories. I warm up a cup once or twice a day and it’s also helped me (almost) kick my craving for a warm cup of coffee or tea. It’s packed with easy to absorb amino acids, collagen or gelatin, and nutrients. I’m linking my two favorite brands in the bottom of this post!

COLLAGEN PEPTIDES

Because, I figured I can’t have TOO much collagen and gelatin as a part of my wedding skin prep. I did not verify this with a doctor, sooo maybe I’m wrong. But, for now.. I’m just going for it. My favorite brand that I am linking below makes powders of alllll different kinds that you can easily add to your favorite drink. Some are flavored, some aren’t. You can even get bone broth collagen! I throw a scoop in my smoothie or water in the morning and then another in my bone broth in the afternoon.

lotions & potions

I’ve been layering on allll my skincare, so I’ll share the steps with you here! First, I wash my face and use toner. Then I layer these on in the order that follows.

• Herbivore Botanicals Rose Hibiscus Hydrating Face Mist: when you need to tighten your pores and hydrate your skin a little extra, there is nothing more lovely than this face mist. Seriously, one of my favorite products.
• Tula Illuminating serum: I notice such a difference in the brightness of my skin when I use this. It all around looks more even!
• Perricone MD hydrating booster serum. I looove the way my skin feels after using this. It’s just another layer on top of the first serum that helps keep my skin hydrated.
• M-61 PowerGlow Eye Cream: This stuff seriously seems like its working. I started using it just a week or so ago and I swear I’ve noticed the lines under my eyes look softer.
• DermaE Very Clear Moisturizer: because no one wants a blemish. I’ve been using this for a few years and love it. If I do start to notice a blemish, then I’ll use this Burt’s Bees blemish stick that I swear by right after I tone my skin. I’ve been using it forever and it can get rid of a blemish before it truly starts.. or at least in a day if you didn’t catch it in time!
• Perricone MD hydrating cloud cream: they had me at cloud. This brings the softness back into my skin after the clearing moisturizer and is often my last step.

If you’ve researched Korean skincare at all, then you know they are SO into layering skin products on top of each other. I’ve gotten into it recently because I just can’t decide what I love best, so I use several. I’ve been hearing a lot about jade rollers recently, too that are supposed to be great for your skin, so I think I’m going to snag one (like, after I finish this post) and try it out. It can’t hurt, right?!

I know one thing so many people swear by is La Mer and I’m dying to take the plunge. I’m also scared to spend that much on something because I’m sure I’ll be obsessed and want to keep buying it. I hear JLo and Blake Lively use a jar a day over their entire bodies and well, look at them.

THE DAY TO DAY

Also in my current wedding skin prep regime? That’s right, healing from the inside out with The Whole 30. My skin always looks its best after I complete one. I’m convinced anyone’s would after cutting out alcohol, sugar, and dairy.. often three of our skin’s biggest enemies. Well, and the sun. Proper sunscreen application and covering my face with a hat when outside are also priorities. Finally, the one thing that makes SUCH a difference: you’re good ole free friend H20. Our skin is our biggest organ and if it is not properly hydrated, it will not look its best. I swear that drinking enough water everyday is one of the biggest influences on our skin. It helps it look brighter, more even, and gets rid of those dark circles. Articles like this one really help you see what a difference water can make! I think water is THE most important factor in how you feel and look on a day to day basis. How much you need to drink each day depends on several factors, but I aim for about 100 ounces a day. And yes, I go to the bathroom a lot.

I still have a little time left for wedding skin prep and am interested in what you all swear by! I hear some people love microneedling, dermaplaning, hydrafacials, etc. I’d love to hear your experience with any of these or anything else that you love and would recommend.

Click below to shop products in this post

Most ‘lotion and potion’ products mentioned in this post were gifted to me, with the exception of Burt’s Bees, Derma E, and Herbivore. The Photofacial from Enlighten MD was also done complimentary. Vital Proteins originally gifted me collagen to try and I have since made several purchases. I waited for results with all products and services before posting. Products I did not feel worked for me or I did not like for one reason or another were left out of this post. All opinions remain my own and are my honest feedback & review. I have since purchased some products on my own since receiving them c/o the company!

Thanks for stopping by and as always, reach out with any questions. XO