Claire & Patrick at Villa Parker shot by Les Petits Bijoux Photography

So excited about this blog post by Whitney Stark of C&P’s beautiful day! Claire really wanted a very natural look, as did her wedding party-and we delivered! Congratulations and beautiful shots!

Check it out HERE !!

Wedding Day Skin and Hair Prep

You want to look your absolute best for your wedding day-your stylist will bring all their skill, experience & tools, but you are responsible for bringing the best possible canvas!!

HAIR

COLOR

If you are touching up your color-you know how far out from being colored it looks it’s best! Grey coverage should be done immediately before, highlights have more wiggle room. If you’re getting your hair highlighted, show your stylist photos from your trial so they can best place highlights to accentuate your bridal style!

CUT

DEAD ENDS DON’T HOLD CURL- a trim about 6 weeks out will remove dead ends and help your hair look it’s best.

CLEAN VS. DIRTY

Someone long ago started the myth that dirty hair always styles better. MYTH. It depends on the hair! If you are someone who washes your hair daily, second day hair is likely too greasy. We can always add texture to clean hair with product, dry shampoo can’t make up for a super oily scalp. Your style will look fresher and fuller with clean hair that we can add product to.

DAILY HAIR CARE

YES, stylists can tell the difference if you use bargain or quality shampoo, especially at the wash basin. Low cost shampoos are made of cleansers that strip your natural oils and over clean your hair. Low cost conditioners coat your hair in waxes, leading to icky buildup. Do yourself a favor and invest in a better shampoo and conditioner. When you switch, it will initially be a process to get all the buildup out of your hair. Add a clarifying shampoo to your routine, or head into your salon for a good clarifying wash and blowout. Do you have hard water? This also puts minerals and buildup on your hair. Invest in a shower filter, and purchase a good clarifying or hard water specific shampoo.

Before you wash your hair-brush it! It’s much better to brush dry hair, plus it moves the oils on your scalp down the hair shaft for moisture! When you wash, shampoo your SCALP-twice! Rub the shampoo between your palms (a quality shampoo also requires less product-feel like you need more? Add water to your hands!) then scrub your scalp with the shampoo. If you have an oversensitized scalp (do you hate head massages?) it means there’s not enough blood flow to your scalp. This leads to pain and and can cause your hair growth pattern to slow! Really scrub your scalp with the shampoo-don’t forget the back of your skull! Let the shampoo sit for three minutes, then rinse and reshampoo. Your hair and scalp should feel so fresh and so clean, clean!

When you apply conditioner, only apply it to the ends! The oils in your scalp condition the top-you’re just making sure the ends (which depending on your length have been around for YEARS) get the moisture they need! I like to comb through my hair with a wide toothed comb so I avoid combing it after the shower when it’s in it’s most fragile state (WET) The colder the water you can rinse in, the better! It seals the cuticle preventing static, frizz and preserving color!

Be very gentle with wet hair! When it sounds like you’re tearing out your hair brushing through it-you are! Try and let it air dry a little before brushing or really focus on combing the conditioner through in the shower. Blot your hair with your towel, don’t rub it. This also causes frizz and tangles. Use a leave in conditioning spray and heat protectant, especially if you heat style often!

If your hair is frizzy and staticky, you lack moisture. If your hair is heavy and weighed down, you have buildup!

MAKEUP

FACIALS

Regular facials do amazing things for the skin. They deep cleanse, heal, exfoliate and moisturize, not to mention add ons that can target specific needs/concerns. If you don’t have them in your regular routine, an EXFOLATING, HYDRATING facial a couple weeks out from your big day is a great idea! Just make sure your esthetician knows about your big day so they don’t go overboard!

If you live in Colorado or especially if you are coming in from out of state-your skin is DRY. Very few people here are actually oily, they generally just need a new skin care routine!

I always recommend microdermabrasion for a firm but gentle, physical exfoliation of the top layer of skin. When you put on makeup and you see dry skin, this is because you need to exfoliate more!

If you have a lot of peach fuzz, as many of us do, you will love dermaplaining! An esthetician uses a razor blade to remove the peach fuzz, along with dry, dead skin creating the PERFECT canvas for makeup. This can be irritating to some people, so try it out a little before the wedding, but it makes makeup glide on your skin like BUTTA!

DAILY SKIN CARE

Like with hair, quality products make a difference! But the real winner for your skin is CONSISTENCY! Balance and consistency are key. If your skin is red, bumpy or irritated, its because your skin barrier is compromised and your skin is screaming for help!

Never go to bed with makeup on. Always double cleanse your skin(once to remove makeup and dirt, then to really get it clean). The squeaky clean feeling is actually NOT a good thing! You’re stripping your skin of it’s natural oils and then it freaks out and over produces them! The opposite is also true, you can over-moisturize dry skin and it will forget it knows how to produce it’s own oils! My favorite cleanser for all skin types is an oil cleanser. Oil breaks down oil, so it cleans dirt, makeup and oils without over drying. I always recommend using a Terry cloth was cloth to help with daily exfoliation. Don’t forget to scrub your lips and eyebrows!

Now that you’re clean-time to feed the skin! A serum is made of smaller molecules that really seep into the skin barrier and create change. There are serums for every skin concern. I like to alternate mine for day and night. A moisturizer is placed on top of the serum to lock in the benefits and protect the skin.

Last but not least, don’t ever forget your sunscreen! Even on a cloudy day, even inside staring at your computer! The UVB rays are always there causing damage! 90% of aging comes from UVB exposure!!!

LIP SCRUB

Especially in Colorado, we have dry lips! A great recipe for your lips is to mix olive or coconut oil, sugar and salt and scrub your lips with it a couple times a week!

EYEBROWS

Don’t forget to schedule eyebrow grooming! Whether you tweeze, wax or get threaded, schedule it a week out so you don’t have any lingering irritation.

BREAKOUTS

Newsflash: wedding week is stressful! When you get stressed, your hormones freak out, and when your hormones freak out, you breakout. It SUCKS, but it will likely happen. The most important thing is to NOT PICK YOUR SKIN!!! It is much easier for your artist to cover a red bump than an erupted volcano. Further out, hold a warm compress over the infected area to help the sebum raise to the surface. Closer to your day, ice the spot and place redness removing eyedrops to help relieve swelling and redness. Makeup can hide a lot, and your photographer can always photo shop out a problem spot that is obvious in the photos you want to enlarge and hang.

SLEEP, EAT CLEAN & DRINK WATER

Seems obvious, but getting sleep, being hydrated and not consuming things that irritate the skin (sugar, dairy, gluten, processed foods, alcohol, caffeine) can be very tricky during a stressful week. Do the best you can-you really are what you eat!