Skincare for Special Occasions

Whether it’s wedding prep or a family reunion around Christmas and the holidays, the trouble with special event skincare is that we tend to forget about it until the last minute. In the crush of all the other planning, however, try to schedule in a little advance TLC for your face — it’s really the way to go for the best results. 

The good news, though — even though you’ll want to act early on our five top go-to special event skincare tips, none of them require scheduling expensive facials, experimental lasers, or trips to the dermatologist. 

1. Don’t forget that skincare begins within. During special event prep, you may want to stick with a diet low in inflammatory foods and full of skin-supporting ingredients like nuts, fish, whole grains, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies. If this already describes your grocery shopping to a T, you’re all set. If not, give yourself a few weeks before your event to cut down on added sugars, processed foods, deep fried stuff, and alcohol in order to see the effects on your face. And of course, don’t forget to hydrate! We’re not even going to give you a hydration timeline, because we’re sure that drinking at least two liters of water per day is already part of your happy-skin routine. If it isn’t, consider this your official nudge, whether or not you have a wedding or the holidays on the horizon. 

2. Combine your dietary efforts with regular workouts to really help your get your skin glowing. Besides flushing out toxins through sweat, getting your heart rate up can improve your overall wellbeing, with the effects writ clear on your face. Just be sure to cleanse and moisturize right after you’ve finished your run/yoga class/pilates. And we know you already know, but never work out in makeup! The combination of sweat, bacteria, oil, and foundation/concealer spells b-r-e-a-k-o-u-t.

3. If your lifestyle permits, try to keep makeup minimal leading up to your wedding or heading home for the holidays. Forgo skin clogging foundation, give your skin time to breathe, and save the photo-ready contour look for Christmas itself. 

4. Dealing with a pimple emergency right before your wedding? Don’t panic. And whatever you do, don’t pick! Gently wash your face. Apply a warm compress before bed, followed by your anti-zit ingredient of choice (salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, tea tree oil, or sulfur). In the morning before your special event, an ice cube or cool pack will help take down the redness. Makeup can do the rest. And if course, if you know you handle cortisol injections well and have a dermatologist you trust, this is also an option for overnight shrinking. 

5. Remember, the six weeks or so leading up to a special event are not the time to try something new on your face. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an over-the-counter product or microdermabrasion — if you don’t already know how your skin will react, wait until after your event to give it a try, lest you risk showing up to your own wedding with a full contour look covering an allergic reaction. 

Special event prep is all about treating your skin with love. The best way to do that is to turn to products and processes you already know it responds to best. Our top tip? A DIY sheet mask prepped at home with your favorite serum, for a little extra skincare oomph. Simply soak our NAKED COTTON Stripped in your serum of choice, layer the pure cotton sheets on your face, and lie back and think how good you’re going to look on your big day.