10 Must-Know Skin Care Tips That’ll Help You Look Flawless on Your Wedding Day
Wedding day stress can ruin your skin. And that is the fact of it. The mechanics of this ruin are seated in the hormone that stress causes our bodies to release-cortisol. High levels of cortisol leads to internal inflammation, which leads to hormonal imbalance. Hormonal imbalance causes excessive release of sebum which clogs up the pores, leading to trapped bacteria and debris. All this complex process comes to fore with a zit- right around your special day! Or dark circles! Or worse still dull, dry skin.
Madness, Melancholy, Mayhem ensues.
I am here to tell you that it does not have to be this way. You can and should have a natural, flawless skin on your special day. Let’s understand how to get around to doing that. Yes doing, good skin and hair needs work, serious work.
Here is a fool proof guide to get flawless skin on your special day. The guide is titled, aptly as Wedding Joys: The acronym for quick recall and fun to stick to!
1: W for Water: It’s easy to skip the water with the tight schedule of shopping, fittings, jewelry picking, and family bonding. A good way to keep the hydration topped up is to carry a bottle in your purse always, and to have a glass of water before anything you eat or drink. Drink? Yes! Half a glass of water before tea or coffee will prevent the caffeine from dehydrating you. A glass of water before wine will keep you from letting the wine get the better of you.
2: E for Eating right: Your skin and hair should become priority 6 months before your wedding day. Start by eating a nutritious well balanced diet. A diet rich in omega 3, 6 and anti- oxidants. So, load up on nuts, citrus, and green vegetables. A spoon of honey with a juice of lime in warm water, is the most time trusted recipe to keep your digestion working well. A clean gut helps keep the toxins from building up, which keeps your skin smooth and well hydrated. A well hydrated skin keeps the cells rejuvenating at a steady pace preventing sebum and debris build up.
3: D for Detox: A detox removes toxins from our system, improves the bacteria in our gut, helps balance the hormones, improves body’s absorption of food, helps the skin and hair stay healthy and last but not the least it’s an integral part of our heritage- time tested and followed. Fasting to detox was a system propounded by yogis, practiced by our elders as part and parcel of life. Doing a detox every month is a good idea and starting at least 6 months before the D-day is highly recommended.
4: D for Dance: Try taking up a dance class as a great, enjoyable way to get in an aerobic routine. Dance helps with exercise along with making us feel joyous and engaged in the moment. Being joyous and immersed causes oxytocin to get released in our blood stream filling us with a deep sense of fulfillment. And the glow shows on our face! Some good dances to learn to get a good work out are the tango, jive, waltz and of course Zumba.
4: I-loofah: Yes! Yes! Yes! You will loofah with every bath. The practice of loofah helps keep the lymph moving. Lymphatic system in our body, runs congruent to the circulatory system and is responsible for removing toxin and debris build up from our system. It helps minimize cellulite and smoothens out dead skin giving you a smooth, silky finish.
5: N for No to alcohol or cigarettes: Stopping all alcohol and smoking will help the process of detox and hydration to work to the maximum. If you must indulge though, keep it to the minimum of once a month and in controlled quantity.
6: G for Grit: Fruits to eat and to rub all over! As you indulge in lots of fruits to keep fit and healthy, quantity wouldn’t be a problem in terms of gathering fruit grit or seed to use as fresh, home-made scrub to smoothen out the skin and minimize pores and cellulite. Take a cup of grit, add it to1/2 cup fine grain sugar and add olive oil to make it wet sand in consistency. Adding a few drops of essential oils makes it yummier and so much more indulgent. Great oils to work with are lavender, rose, ylang-ylang.
7: J for magic Jelly mask: Once a week finish up the face mask with jelly mask for the face. This mask helps tighten skin, remove tan and minimize pores as its packed with collagen. Take 1 table spoon of jelly crystals, add half cup of water- warm to touch. Once the jelly has melted add a tea spoon of lemon juice and half a table spoon of rice powder. Apply on cleaned skin and keep for 20 to 25 minutes until dry. Once dry, wet the finger tips with warm water and gently rub away in circular motion to remove the mask. Once the entire face is covered, wash off with warm water. Finish the mask with some vitamin C serum for a flawless finish and skin.
8: O for good old Oil: For super hydration doing an occasional massage using organic coconut oil with jojoba oil. Do a massage in the night before going to bed and wipe off extra with a tissue. Leave the rest on for a smooth, soft skin in the morning. If you have tanned, add a dash of apple cider vinegar to the oils.
9: Y- for Yoga for the face: Face yoga is a marvelous way to keep your facial skin taught and naturally flushed. It helps plump up the collagen, remove puffiness, brighten the face and keep it young. Face yoga takes about 5-10 minutes of your time but is worth that spend for youthful skin. You can pick a few lessons from the local yoga school or you tube it. If you don’t like the idea of doing it then just do the puffer fish- blow out your cheeks into a balloon till they are bursting, keeping your lips sealed. Hold for a count of ten and release slowly. Repeat 10 to 15 times once a day.
10: S for slumber: Frequent power naps will help you get over lost sleep that you might have due to anxiety or busy schedule. Good sleep helps in keeping the skin around the eyes healthy and detoxed. Tired eyes look darker, puffy and get pooled with lymph. So, 40 winks are a very, very important to dazzle on your special day.
Pix: Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
