As a former Type-A bride who planned my wedding myself and scrutinized every little detail, my heart goes out to all the brides who have been forced to postpone their weddings due to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Kelli J. Bartlett, artistic director at Glamsquad, is a maid of honor in a wedding that had to be postponed, so she understands intimately how stressful this can be. “For brides, I recommend first reaching out to your hair and makeup team(s) to see if they are available on your new date,” she says. “Make sure you iron out any contracts, deposits, etc., and then reschedule another trial at least one to three months prior to your new date. Your hair length, skin type and tone, and nails are constantly changing, so its best to revisit the plan to accommodate those changes.” Your desired look and inspiration might change too based on your new date. “Are you still looking for summer bronze makeup, or is winter glam your new vibe?” Bartlett adds.
To maximize this extra time and make the most of the hand you—and many others; remember, you’re not in this alone—have been dealt, check out these seven pre-wedding beauty tips from the pros.
1. Boost Your Lashes and Brows
Brittany Lo, founder of bridal beauty company Beautini, says, “This is a great time to develop a consistent routine with a growth serum for both your lashes and brows. The more brow hair you give your eyebrow specialist to work with, the better they will be able to shape them for the big day.”
To bulk up short or brittle lashes, Newport, CA dermatologist Zenovia Gabriel, MD recommends using Latisse, or Bimatoprost, a highly effective prescription topical agent that is used on the lash line to make lashes longer thicker and darker. Apply the product with a brush onto the eyelash line every night, as if applying liquid eyeliner. Long eyelashes will make makeup application on your wedding day stand out—no false eyelashes needed.”
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2. Whip Your Skin Into Shape
Flawless skin on your wedding day begins with an effective skin-care regimen. “Ensure your routine includes antioxidation and protection in the morning—vitamin C and SPF—and a retinol at night, and don’t forget to finish with a light moisturizer,” says Dr. Gabriel. “Retinols can reduce the appearance of pores and lead to more flawless makeup application. And for firmer, tighter skin, add a peptide into your routine, which will help to generate collagen production.”
If stay-at-home orders have made booking an appointment with your aesthetician or dermatologist nearly impossible—some places have waitlists a mile long—Dr. Gabriel recommends doing low-strength chemical peels yourself at home. “Try a peel made of glycolic and salicylic acids every other week,” she says. “Chemical peels strip down the dead skin layer, known as the stratum corneum, and if used properly, they can give your skin a refreshed, dewy appearance.”
Blushington artist Brittany A. Scott says her favorite at-home peel to recommend for brides is BeautyRx by Dr. Schultz The Progressive Peel. “This wonderful ‘peeling’ product isn’t as scary as it sounds. It’s formulated to gently but deeply slough away dead skin cells that haven’t naturally been turned over by your body. It lightens, brightens and tightens— all our favorite ‘-ens.’ For the best results, I encourage brides to begin this treatment six to nine months prior to their nuptial date.”
Another effective at-home tool: derma-rollers. “These are superficial needling devices with tiny needles that are safe enough to be used at home,” says Dr. Gabriel. “They create both friction and micro-trauma in the skin to induce collagen production. Plus, tiny micro-channels are made in the superficial epidermis, which creates an opening for deeper penetration of topical products. Derma-rolling one to three times a week is a great way to keep your skin stimulated until your wedding.”
Two other at-home tools Bartlett likes are Dermaflash, which removes peach fuzz and allows makeup to go on better, and the ZIIP device, which she says “helps keeps skin taught and toned.”
3. Brighten Your Pearly Whites
Washington, D.C. cosmetic dentist Claudia Cotca, DDS says the first step of teeth whitening is health, and it starts with robust oral hygiene instructions at home. “We host a variety of instructions—both written and video format—on our social media. In short, use a fantastic electrical toothbrush that’s not too strong not too slow, like my favorite Oral B Professional Series with the Blue Soft Bristles brush head; a fluoride-based, alcohol-free toothpaste like Tom’s of Maine Mint; and mint gloss floss like Oral-B; and brush and floss within 15 minutes of meals.”
To brighten your teeth using over-the-counter products, Dr. Cotca says they need a customized approach based on how much and the type of staining you have, and your history of teeth whitening. Using both a whitening toothpaste and whitening strips—Lo swears by Crest Whitestrips and says her brides say the same—may help, but “they have a great variation range of results,” adds Dr. Cotca. “If you can get to an experienced dental clinician, the best and most accurate whitening outcomes come from someone who understands how the staining has been created and can customize a treatment for you.”
4. Strengthen Your Strands
Bartlett suggests taking advantage of this time at home by avoiding heat-styling your hair. “This will keep split ends at bay and hair healthier in the long run,” she says. “I also recommend using hydrating masks—I like Glamsquad’s Re-Treat Hair Treatment, which works in five minutes or less and leaves dry ends silky smooth.”
5. Take Care of Your Hands
We often neglect our hands, but your hands will be the focus of many wedding photos in order to capture your gorgeous ring. “Now more than ever before, we’re using so much hand sanitizer and increasing the number of times we wash our hands in a normal day, which can dry out our skin,” says Lo. “Hand creams and hand masks can get rid of dry patches and soften fine lines over time, which means A+ ring selfies.”
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6. Experiment With Self-Tanner
“If you’re debating whether or not to use a self-tanner for the big day, or any pre-wedding event like your bridal shower, this is a great time to try out self-tanners on both your body and face and see how the color develops on your skin,” says Lo. “And if you don’t like the color from something you try, you don’t have to worry about seeing too many people right now!”
7. Try Virtual Consultations
Both Glamsquad and Blushington offer virtual makeup tutorials with experienced makeup artists, which Bartlett says is also a great way to learn how to how to do your rehearsal dinner makeup or a honeymoon makeup look. “Blushington also has Virtual Pretty Parties where the bridesmaids could collectively participate,” says Scott. “We offer custom classes so you and your best ladies can hop on Zoom and have makeup tips and tricks, a step-by-step makeup application, and some good socially distanced girl talk.”
