She's Got That Bridal Glow: How to Get Gorgeous Skin On Your Wedding Day
Author: Alyssa Holroyd
If you can't make it to Joanna Vargas' gorgeous Manhattan day spa before your big day, you can still benefit from these 10 exclusive tips from the skin care guru and esthetician to the stars (Julianne Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Stone are clients). And even if you're not getting married anytime soon, these are helpful notes to getting gorgeous skin for any big event or summer soirée!
Joanna Vargas' 10 tips for picture-perfect skin:1. Eat well. The skin needs basic vitamins and nutrients to achieve a glow. Eating greens will help to oxygenate your skin, encourage lymphatic drainage, and keep you de-puffed and glowing from within!
- Use a dry brush. Dry brushing is my favorite method of body exfoliation because it is multitasking – it's actually incredible as a cellulite treatment and increases elasticity. Start at the tops of the feet and brush upwards towards the heart. Spend extra time on areas that tend to be more stagnant, like the inner thigh, and don't forget to include the backs of the arms and the back.
- Sleeping beauty. Sleeping in an exfoliating mask would be great, and one that contains anti-inflammatories would be perfect!
- Step away from the booze. Don't drink alcohol the week of the wedding. Most brides are stressed—and relatives arriving daily certainly don't help. Drinking will make you puffy and look tired, so try and skip it!
- Try an LED treatment. Two weeks before your wedding, I would do a LED Light treatment plus an oxygen facial. LED works in a series. The more you do, the more the pores shrink and the better your skin looks. An oxygen facial is awesome for bringing a great glow to the skin, which is so important with all the stress and pollution we subject it to.
- If you get a zit the week of your wedding, put a dab of yogurt on it. It's a quick fix for any pimple. The lactic acid, along with the probiotics, will calm it and heal it fast!
- Get rid of those dark circles. Dark circles are better addressed by giving up coffee than by applying any topical eye cream. However, eye creams containing cucumber or sweet potato are great for fighting puffiness. For dark circles you can look for formulas that contain arnica to increase blood flow. You should also look for foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids. That helps a lot. I also suggest cold compresses in the morning or chamomile tea bags on the lids.
- A green juice a day. I am always recommending that clients keep their skin clear and detoxed by the foods they eat, and also in what they drink. A green juice a day definitely keeps the skin clean and glowing, and it will help hydrate you from the inside.
- Keep it natural. I always tell my clients to use natural beauty products. Natural products have amazing results-oriented ingredients that penetrate deeply into the skin and show real results fast.
- Exfoliate. The yogurt in my D.I.Y. facial scrub is a great anti-inflammatory and its lactic acid will serve as a peel. The cornmeal of course, is the physical exfoliant—I like to use an exfoliant that contains both a physical and a "chemical" component. The grapefruit juice contains salicylic acid and is very cleansing. This scrub smells wonderful and is like having a mini facial right at home!