If you don’t start polishing your complexion with LED treatments, facials and Botox in your early 30s, you can still catch up at 45 and look like those middle-aged actresses who’ve famously brought time to a standstill. The price tag will only come to about $16,000, according to a W Magazine article that details what stars are doing to get the ageless look.
But what about the rest of us who don’t plan to indulge in Thermage or Ultherapy, filler and laser treatments? We need a plan. How about borrowing a trick or two from brides? Brides famously are on a countdown toward perfecting their best natural glow by wedding day. Here’s a blueprint that works not only for brides on a mission but for any woman who wants to put her best face forward.
- Start Early. Brides should begin working on skincare about a year before the wedding.
- Invest in Professional Facials. Monthly facials promote blood circulation, while extractions remove dirt from your pores.
- Use Blotting Sheets. They will remove oil from your face.
- Eat Super Foods for Your Face. Watermelon, grapefruit, broccoli and lettuce deliver water your face needs.
- Employ Microdermabrasion. Microdermabrasion, glycolic acid and other chemical peels will minimize pore surface and exfoliate your skin.
- Soften Elbows. Add bath salts with sodium bicarbonate as you soak to address dry skin.
- Hydrate Your Lips. Stop the chapping before it starts by applying a thick balm with SPF 30.
- Select Moisturizer For Your Specific Skin. While both oily skin and dry skin can use moisturizers with hyaluronic acid or ferulic acid to hold water, dry skin doesn’t need an oil-free formula. A moisturizer that’s noncomedogenic is good for skin prone to breakouts. Go with a fragrance-free product for sensitive skin.
- Reduce Sunspots with an Acid Peel Schedule six different sessions. Set them at two-week intervals to give your face time to heal.
- Use a Mask to Deep Clean. Using a mask will boost your daily cleansing. Oily skin needs a mask every other day. Once or twice each month is enough for dry skin.
- Lose the washcloth. Wash with your hands. Bacteria can thrive on your washcloth.
- Use Concealer Like a Pro. Use a pointed brush to pinpoint right where it should go. Don’t blend, but use your finger to pat until smooth.
- Do Blend Foundation. Once you apply your foundation, put moisturizer on your fingers and start blending. This will prevent your foundation and skin from drying.
- Zap Zits with Benzoyl Peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide gel dabbed on the blemish sometimes dries that sucker out overnight. You also may ask your doctor about an anti-inflammatory steroid injection.
- Clean Your Makeup Brushes. Wash brushes with shampoo, rinse and air-dry. This keeps acne-causing bacteria away from your skin and keeps makeup colors true.
- Use a Concealer. Choose an eye cream with light diffusers, and dab concealer only on the dark spots. Look for concealer in your exact skin tone.
These strategies came from the bridal and wedding experts, The Knot, and the full scoop can be found at Tips to Glowing Wedding Skin.
If you want to know just how the likes of Jennifer Lopez have stopped the clock and what a mere mortal would have to do to catch up, head on over to W Magazine’s Celebrity Anti-Aging Treatments.
