Wedding planning is stressful for everyone involved, but we know that brides have even more to plan before their big day - between the hair appointments, waxing, tanning, and mani-pedi's, it's hard to know exactly which esthetic services you should be booking before your wedding - and when! We've made this blog post to help you sort out your schedule leading up to your big day, so that you can focus on everything else that needs to get done!

Let's start with the basics. We always recommend booking appointments from your wedding day backwards, this ensures that the most important appointments, the ones right before your wedding, are all scheduled in. This saves you the hassle of scrambling last minute to get your brows done before your wedding, when the hair isn't grown out enough, or the only appointment left is the morning of your wedding. 

When it comes to esthetic services, there is definitely a rhyme and reason to booking appointments. For example, your spray tan should be the last esthetic service you have booked, as in, closest to your wedding. This is so that things like waxing or facials aren't removing the colour from your skin. We recommend booking a spray tan 2 days before your wedding. We always recommend booking in at least one trial appointment before your wedding to make sure that you love the colour, you know how to upkeep the tan, and you're happy with your overall results!

When it comes to hair removal - any sugaring or waxing should be done the week before your wedding. This allows your skin time to heal so that it isn't red on your big day, but is also close enough to the date so that you won't see any little fuzzies popping up! It also ensures that your skin is prepped for a spray tan in the following days. If you're someone who regularly gets your eyebrows done, we highly recommend booking at least 3 appointments a month apart leading up to your wedding, this ensures that your hair growth will be in the right cycle before your wedding! The same goes for regular hair removal on your legs, brazillian, or any other body part! It's best to book regularly to ensure the best hair removal results right before your wedding. 

Now let's talk skin care leading up to the big day. 

We recommend starting skin care treatments a year in advance. When dealing with skin issues, we want to allow ample time for products and treatments to do their job and work for you. If you leave your skin problems until a few months before your wedding, your options will be limited, and so will your results. 

There are many options if you're looking to target issues like scarring, texture, wrinkles, and toning/lifting. A targeted routine will help you to alleviate these problems at home, while consistent treatments and services will show you major results. A combination of at home routines and professional services will yield the best results for your skin!

Microneedling is great for clients with acne scarring, dark spot, fine lines & wrinkles, and pigmentation. You'll need at least 3 sessions 4 weeks apart to see results. Ideally, you should be finished microneedling sessions at least 2 months before your wedding so that you have time to treat your skin with other facials as well! 

Forma is a great option for those of you who are looking to tighten, plump, lift, and define. These sessions should be booked one week apart for 6 weeks. Forma can absolutely be done close to your wedding, however it's important to remember that you may want to come in for a more targeted treatment closer to your wedding day (for example the Biologique Recherche facial - to brighten and even the skin tone). Ideally, we'd recommend finishing off Forma treatments one month to two weeks before your wedding, to leave room for a treatment right before your day. 

If you aren't interested in Microneedling or Forma, we recommend coming in every 4 - 6 weeks leading up to your wedding day for routine facials. These monthly treatments will help you to target problem areas and will help to maintain the health of your skin. 

We recommend getting your final facial within a week of your wedding. We will never do any extractions or intense treatments on your face during the week leading up to your wedding. This final facial is purely centered around brightening, tightening, & plumping the skin! Making it glow, and creating the perfect canvas for your wedding day makeup. 

Finally, lets talk about something no one wants to worry about on their wedding day - back acne!! It can be embarrassing to talk about, and even more so to deal with, but we want to let you know that you're not alone! There are many factors that can contribute to back acne, from hormones, to the hair products you use, to the clothing you're wearing. Remember that we are here to help you, this is a completely normal problem that many of us face. There are several products that we highly recommend for back acne that have proven results with many of our clients. Best Skin Ever Frankincense is an absolute life saver when it comes to acne, and it's easy to use. Simply use this as your cleanser in the shower, specifically on your problem areas. You'll notice results in a few weeks (or sooner)! We have a post all about oil cleansing here and a video tutorial here. Another product we recommend for body acne is Lotion P50 Corps. This is a variation of the infamous lotion p50T from Biologique Recherche. It works by exfoliating and balancing the pH levels of the skin to prevent breakouts and heal left over scarring. 

Our last pieces of advice surrounding esthetic services:

If you're interested in getting any botox or lip filler please keep in mind that these treatments need to be done at least 4 weeks before any facials or skin care treatments. We recommend doing this 1 year to 6 months before your wedding, so that there is plenty of time for your skin to heal and for you to adjust!   

As for a makeup artist. Find one who has a profile that matches your makeup vibes. If you like light natural makeup, do not book someone who is posting only dark heavy makeup. It's not your style. After your trial, we suggest wearing something white to see how the look is as a bride. If you have your wedding dress, even better. Or book a trial when attending your dress fitting. If there are some things you didn't like in your makeup, talk to your makeup artist and express them. Don't go searching for another artist. The more you vocalize the happier you'll be as a client. That is why it's best to book MANY trials if you are someone who is indecisive or new to the makeup world. If you are someone who doesn't do a black liner, definitely don't ask for it for the day of your wedding. You won't enjoy it and your partner also.