"With all eyes trained on you, ensure your skin is looking nothing less than radiant on the big day."
content courtesy : http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/beauty/news+reviews/six+week+bridal+skin+plan,11817
Naturally every bride glows with feelings of love and excitement on their special day. However radiant wedding-day skin takes a little more planning and effort.
In the lead up to the big event, stress can affect your hormonal balance which may lead to pesky breakouts, rashes and even overly oily or dry skin to occur.
Fear not - totally touchable honeymoon skin is just around the corner. Saimaa Miller, naturopath and founder of The Last Resort has devised this 6-week intensive pre-nuptial plan for your smoothest, most radiant skin yet.
Week 1 – Diet
A healthy and clean diet needs to be on top of your priorities list if you want beautifully youthful skin, says Miller."The diet I put brides-to-be on is strict but really affective: no caffeine, alcohol, sugar, dairy, and no processed foods. But there are plenty of things you can have.
Eat loads of vegetables as they are high in fibre, help circulation, support skin's elasticity and give you the antioxidants to kill free radicals in the body for that feel-good factor.
And don't forget hydration. I recommend 2-3 litres of water a day, especially if you are about to introduce exercise.
Water is the best thing for beautifully dewy soft skin as it helps the body flush out toxins, hormones and bi-products."
Week 2 – Exercise
A variety of cardio workouts are an absolute must in your 6-week plan. Exercise tightens the skin, creates muscle tone and stimulates mood enhancers which make us feel good. "And when we feel good, we look good," says Miller."A great way to lose body fat and bring out muscle mass is through running, boxing, skipping, swimming (preferably in saltwater pools), and biking.
To gauge whether you are in the fat-burning zone, do the 'talk test'. Talking should be difficult as you need to be breathing heavily."
Do 45-60 minutes of cardio and strength training 5-6 days a week.
Week 3 – Body brushing
A really important part of this skin-beautiful plan is body brushing as it stimulates the lymphatic system, exfoliates the surface of the skin and prevents ingrown hairs.To help the body rid toxins, fatigue and water retention, use a firm natural bristle brush once a day first thing in the morning before having a shower.
"Start at the toes and work your way up the legs, concentrating on the pelvic area where there are a lot of lymph nodes. Move up to the tummy area doing clockwise circular movements, up around the breast tissue and then from hands to the heart area," says Miller.
Week 4 – Colon therapy
"At the resort, brides-to-be get amazing results from colon therapy," says Miller."The colon or the large intestine stores a lot of toxins and bi-products, so when we cleanse the colon, it re-hydrates the large intestine, which really makes the skin vibrant and the eyes sparkle."
Book in for a colonic irrigation once a week for three weeks in the lead up to the big day.
Week 5 – Deep cleansing facial
A facial can do wonders for skin clarity and tone, however Miller says it's best to get one two weeks prior to the wedding day to allow for pimples and toxins that are just underneath the epidermis layer to come up and clear."My favourite facial is the oxygenated facial but any deep cleansing and manually exfoliating facial will eliminate black heads and encourage beautifully clean and clear skin."
Week 6 – Salt scrub
"A remineralising salt scrub is absolutely divine the week before the big day," says Miller."A good salt scrub uses organic products and should feel quite abrasive on the body.
It's the easiest and best way to invigorate the body as it shifts dead skin cells, increases circulation and oxygenates the blood for super glowing skin."
