The first step to looking your best on your wedding day is to have a skin care regimen in place that fulfills four basic functions: to cleanse, to exfoliate, to freshen and to protect. Blusher or no blusher, everyone is going to be looking at your face, and you want it to look fresh and beautiful. For best results, you should have your skin care regimen in place for at least one month prior to your wedding.

First determine your skin type, because your skin care must work with your skin type in order to be effective. If you have oily skin but are using a hydrating (for dry skin) regimen, you will not see results. Start by asking yourself a few questions:
1) by noon, does your face feel dry? slightly oily in the T-zone (nose and forehead)? oily over your entire face?
2) do you experience breakout problems never/rarely? once a month? regularly in the T-zone? frequently?
3) would the condition of your skin be improved by extra moisture? balancing oily and dry areas? reducing oil?

If you answered most of these questions with the first answer, your skin tends to be dry. The second answers point towards combination skin, and the third is oily. Now you need to find the right products to work with these characteristics.

First, you need a good cleanser, and you should use it both morning and night. I say "cleanser" and not "soap," because soap has drying properties and is harsh on your skin. Why cleanse both morning and night, you ask? Well, at night you're taking off your make-up and any dirt and grime you picked up during the day (and it's everywhere!). But you want to cleanse first thing in the morning because, unless you change your pillowcase every day, your face picks up dirt and dust off your pillowcase and oil from your hair during the night. Start with a fresh face every day.

The second step is a good mask. Unlike cleansing, you only need to mask about twice a week. Your mask should fulfill two functions: first, it should reach into your pores and remove the deep down dirt and oil that your cleanser doesn't get. Second, it will remove dead skin cells that make your face look dull and dry. Your skin is a living organ and it renews itself every 24 hours. At the end of 3 days, you have 3 layers of dead skin on your face. Using a mask twice a week will allow the younger, fresher looking skin to show through and give you a more radiant look (and what bride doesn't want to look radiant)? If you have very small pores, the main function of your mask will be to exfoliate; cleansing will be secondary, because your pores will keep out most dirt. If you have a regular problem with blemishes, you want to use a heavy clay-based mask that does not have any type of scrubbing grains in it. Scrubbing grains will actually activate your oil-producing glands and make your blemish problem worse.

The third step is a freshener. This is a bridge between your cleansing and protecting phases -- it both removes any trace oil and dirt left over from cleansing and it begins to shrink your pores so that they won't let as much dirt in. If you have dry skin, you want a freshener that is not alcohol-based (find a botanical freshener). If you have oil problems, you want to look for a freshener that has a trace amount of alcohol in it, or perhaps even salicylic acid for extreme blemish problems. A freshener should never sting, so if your face feels uncomfortable (not tingly) when you use your freshener, it's too strong for your skin type.

Finally, you need to protect your skin. There are two steps to the protection phase. The first is moisturizing. The main cause of visible aging (defined as wrinkles!) is dehydration of the skin. This is a natural process that occurs as we get older, but it can be slowed down. Even oily skin needs to be moisturized twice a day. An oil-controlling moisturizer will add much-needed hydration to your skin, while absorbing excess oil at the same time. Naturally dry skin needs an even heavier moisturizer to counteract its natural tendencies.

The second step of protection is your foundation. You want to find a foundation that matches your skin type (again, oil-control foundation will keep your face looking fresh by absorbing additional oil) and -- preferably -- has a sunscreen built right in, so you protect your face daily before you ever leave the house. It should also be non-comedogenic so it doesn't clog your pores (and cause blemishes). A good foundation acts as a barrier between your face and the dirt in the air and the color cosmetics you put on your face, helping to prevent break-outs and giving you a smooth, finished look.

To find a skin care regimen that really works for you, I suggest that you work with a trained beauty professional who can monitor your progress and help you change your regimen accordingly. While it may cost more than simply walking into a drugstore and picking a couple products off the shelf, the improvement you will see will be worth it. I am guessing that each of you has spent at least $100 on your gorgeous wedding dress that you will only wear one day. Isn't it worth spending $60 on a skin care system that will make you look beautiful both on that one all-important day and every day after that?

Marybeth Henry is Your Personal Beauty Consultant and Mom to two beautiful children. For more information or answers to any questions you may have, visit her website or e-mail her at momsonline@juno.com.

Submitted By:
Marybeth Henry
Your Personal Beauty Consultant