Make your skin glow for your big day, without breaking the bank.
I first met Jane Marshall around a year ago when she invited me in to her clinic for a facial, and whilst the treatment was incredible, I was more so blown away by her warmth, knowledge, and passion for skin. She opened up SKN by Jane Marshall just over a year ago, where she sits down with clients to truly understand their issues, dig deep in to contributing lifestyle factors, then develop a plan to achieve the results they desire. If you check out the before and after examples at @sknbyjanemarshall, you’ll see how she has changed not only the skin of her clients, but their lives as a result.
Now, when it comes to weddings, we know every Bride wants to achieve perfect skin for their big day. Problem is, the beauty market is completely saturated with products promising to deliver incredible results, when often that’s just not the case. Like most things in life, good skin takes work, so I sat down with Jane to ask her exactly what she recommends for Brides that want to achieve beautiful skin, without breaking the bank.
How far out from your wedding would you recommend starting to think about your skin?
There are a few answers to this one, dependent on your skin, what you are wanting to achieve, and the health of your skin currently. If you have a serious skin condition to revise, such as pigmentation, acne, scarring or old acne scarring then we always suggest prepping at least 6- 12 months before your big day. This is because, often some more aggressive treatments are needed such as skin needling, IPL and deep layer peels. If you are simply wanting to get your best glow for the day, 3 months out is usually sufficient to help you achieve this over glow and skin health. Treatments such as LED are fabulous.
Are there any miracle products that you would recommend?
We would love to have a magic wand, but unfortunately it doesn’t exist. A few really great tips that you can do at home is to make some adjustments to your diet.
Drinking plenty of water, 2 litres a day, and pop some lemon in it if you can. This is great for the digestive system and helps to detox the gut. Reducing your dairy intake, as well as processed sugars and fats, will also assist in ensuring your gut has the best possible change of functioning properly. Gut health is so important is this is where a lot of our inner natural glow comes from!
We recommend eating as clean as you can leading into your wedding, and a good skincare regime is also really important. If you cant manage to make it into a clinic for regular treatments, we suggest looking at having a consultation to get some advice on correct skincare for your skin. That way, you can do the best you can at home to ensure your skin is glowing on the big day. Ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C, are great things to incorporate into your routine – these will help with hydration levels and brightening of the skin. However, we strongly recommend you get a professional skin therapist advice to ensure you are spending money on good quality products with proven results.
Is there anything we can start doing immediately?
If you are one of those people with loads of products in your cupboard, but don’t use all of them (or are unsure of what they do), I would recommend you start there. Have a look at what you have in the cupboard, anything that has been opened for over 12 months, toss. It wont be active anymore.
With what’s left, do some research. Find out what the product does, what’s in it, and if its doing your skin any justice. Anything with nasties like parabens or petro chemicals, we would suggest avoiding. Once you know what useful products you are working with (even if it’s just a cleanser), book yourself a consultation at a professional skin clinic. These are usually complimentary, or come with a small fee which is redeemable on products.
Sometimes choosing a clinic is very overwhelming as there is so many places claiming they achieve results.
Our hot tip, do your research. Have a look at their website, facebook and Instagram pages. They should have a good range of ‘before’ and after images available to see with other peoples skin transformations. These clinics are the ones that have good client relationships, as these clients have given permission to have their faces posted online. They also have proof of real results. This is a REALLY important tip in my opinion. I would also recommend reading some google and facebook reviews.
Look at the reviews with specific details about services. Once you find a clinic, a consultation should feel warm, inviting, professional and informative. There should be lots of information as to what’s happening with your skin and why. The technician should look, touch and feel your skin, assessing it and asking you questions about your current routine, diet and hormonal activity. This is when you know you have someone who knows their stuff! You should walk away feeling in control of your skin and not like you have just been sold a whole bunch of products.
Is there anything specifically that we should avoid?
Avoid gimmicks and ‘quick fixes’, because they don’t exist! Steer clear of medications and antibiotics, as these can cause unnecessary stress on the body and skin, which is the last thing you need in an already stressful time. You also don’t want to be trying a harsh new product, without being 100% sure of the results in the lead up to your big day. Could be a disaster waiting to happen!
Finally, what would you recommend for people that want to achieve great skin without spending loads?
It really is your home care routine. A good home care routine with good quality corrective skin products prescribed by a skin technician is absolute paramount. This doesn’t need to cost hundreds and hundred of dollars. You can keep it simple with just a few products. Doing some treatments if you can are great as well, and ask to keep them simple, with a simple LED or Vitamin Facial. These will still give you a great glow but wont break the bank!