After two long years of cancellations and restrictions, wedding celebrations are back in a big way in 2022, which comes as welcome relief for those who have had to postpone or reschedule their big day. Let’s face it though, weddings can be a lot of work, and by the time you’ve finalised the guest list, picked out your wedding dress and booked the photographer, you may have already missed the sweet spot for long-term beauty prep like teeth straightening or small but transformative tweaks to your skincare routine.
So, to help simplify your beauty admin in the run-up to your big day, we spoke to a cosmetic dental surgeon and facial aesthetic expert, Dr Zainab Al-Mukhtar, for her insider countdown on which treatments, procedures, and products to consider – and when. We can’t help you with the politics of the table plan though, sorry. You’ll need a miracle if you want to keep everyone happy with that one.
Before we start, it is worth noting that lots of experts, and brides who didn’t heed the warning the first time around, say that the golden rule is not to mix things up too much just before the day itself – your skin will need some time to adjust and you never know how your skin will respond to a new treatment or product. You have been warned.
Now, with that out of the way, let’s get onto the good stuff.
12 months before the wedding
If your smile is not quite where you want it to be, now’s the time to consider straightening. Dr Zainab recommends Invisalign.
“Plan this as early as possible (if you have more than 12 months, even better) but if your tooth misalignment is mild to moderate in severity then 12 months should be enough time to perfect your smile.”
9 months before the wedding
If you have serious skincare concerns or troublesome skin, now’s a good time to speak to a medical-grade skincare expert. “They’ll be able to advise you on your pre-wedding beauty regime,” says Dr Zainab. “This step is particularly pertinent for those with chronic inflammatory skin conditions such as acne and rosacea.”
3-6 months before the wedding
Dr Zainab frequently sees brides enquiring after tweakments such as lip filler, non-surgical nose jobs and facial (cheek and chin) contouring ahead of their wedding.
“If you are interested in having injectable treatments, now is the time to approach your aesthetic expert,” she says. “Planning this far out allows you time to trial treatments to ensure you are happy with the changes to your appearance. If you are very unhappy, treatments with HA filler can even be dissolved, although this is often the last resort. Results will usually have settled well within weeks, if not months, after injection.”
Basically, make sure you’re happy with it first, and then you can always add more later. “It’s likely you might want a top-up of treatment several weeks ahead of the Big Day,” Dr Zainab explains.