When planning your wedding, your at-home beauty regime is probably the last thing you want to think about. But as your special day approaches, the need to prepare your skin will become even more apparent, especially if you’re having a winter wedding.
The colder season presents several beauty challenges, with the plummeting temperatures and harsher weather conditions resulting in a long list of annoyances for you and your skin. With the following top tips, however, you don’t have to let winter skin problems disrupt your bridal look.
Read on to discover the beauty basics that will get your skin winter wedding-ready, and leave you looking and feeling fabulous on your big day.
Switch your moisturiser
A good quality moisturiser is a vital part of every skincare fanatic’s self-care routine. With the air harsher than ever during winter, your skin may need a little extra help staying soft and supple.
The cooler weather isn’t the only reason our skin gets thirstier come winter as dermatologist Dr Hadley King explains:
“As the temperature drops, the humidity in the air also decreases. This is compounded by the use of indoor heating. As the air becomes drier more moisture from your skin is lost to the dry air. A humidifier is helpful because it replaces some of the moisture in the air, so it will not be as drying to your skin.”
Lower humidity levels, our love for hotter showers in cooler weather, the many jumpers that we’ll don to keep the chill-out, and the fact that our skin produces less sebum during winter all contribute to less lubricated, more parched skin.
To keep your skin healthy and hydrated, switch to an extra rich moisturiser. If you use night cream, using this more intensive formula during the day is a great way to moisturise without splashing out on new products.
Tone oily skin
If you have the opposite problem and your skin is oiler during winter, resolve it easily by altering your beauty regime in the run-up to your winter wedding day.
Oil production can be triggered by the way you cleanse the skin. If you’re cleansing too much or using particularly harsh products, the glands in your skin will overproduce oil in response.
Ease up on the cleansing and follow with a gentle toner to achieve balance and let your natural oils thrive without becoming out of control.
Exfoliate little and often
With dry, dehydrated skin comes increased flakiness and dullness. Instead of reaching for your usual exfoliator and scrubbing the living daylights out of your skin to restore that glow, invest in a gentle exfoliator, and use it little and often.
You can even purchase a gentle cleanser that exfoliates at the same time. Multi-action products like this will help nurture your skin when it needs it most, and save you lots more time and money.
Prevent chapped skin
There’s nothing worse than chapped skin, and during winter, it can feel like you’re fighting a losing battle to combat it. The winter season can trigger a vicious cycle of dehydration, sun exposure and wind exposure making chapped skin not just painful but also extremely difficult to resolve.
Moisturising will of course go a long way in remedying chapped skin, but the trick is to prevent it. Change moisture-sapping habits like long, hot showers; avoid using harsh cleansers and soaps; use shaving cream and swap those blades more often; don’t forget the sunscreen! Even on overcast, cold, winter days, the sun can still damage your skin.
With your skin winter and wedding-ready, there’s no better time to indulge yourself. Relax, unwind and enjoy a pre-wedding pamper session with those closest to you and countdown to your big day in style.
