Back in February, after booking our wedding venue, the next first thing I did was reach out to Dr. Naga at SkinDC for a skin consultation. In an ideal world, you would want to start a plan for your skin to prep for your wedding day a year in advance. A typical plan would likely include lasers to even out skin tone, injections for smoothing out wrinkles and folds, among other things. Luckily I’ve been going to see Dr. Naga for a while now and she was able to quickly come up with a plan to get my skin looking wedding-ready in just a few months. I always let Dr. Naga take the reins in terms of what we do. She’s the expert in keeping things super natural looking. I’m excited to share more about each of the treatments we did with and how I’ve was able to get my skin bright, hydrated, smooth and glowing. Be sure to go to my Instagram and check out my “Wedding Skin” highlight if you want to see the treatments I’m about to discuss in action on stories, more before/after’s and Q&A.
Botox
Botox is the easiest way to give your face a refreshed and youthful look. I’ve been getting toxin to smooth out wrinkles on my face since I was 28, so we just treated my usual areas: My forehead and around my eyes (also known as crows feet). I’m a very expressive person so Botox has made such a huge impact for me in terms of anti-aging. It smooths out the superficial lines and wrinkles I already have while preventing new ones forming. Below is a Before/After from when I started seeing Dr. Naga years ago and I think it’s so amazing to see how my skin looks so much better after sticking with a toxin regime.
Another area Dr. Naga recommended we treat was the underarm area to reduce sweat. Someone recently suggested that I designate someone to help remind me to reapply deodorant throughout my wedding night and I’m relieved that now I won’t have to worry about that. It’s been a few months now and I literally don’t sweat anymore. Highly recommend this for anyone, bride or not.
Filler
At the same appointment, we did dermal filler for my lateral cheek and marionette line area. The cheek filler is not changing the way I look really, just essentially replacing the lost collagen from the normal aging process. I love the way it gives me a more defined cheekbone and draws everything upwards. And this was the first time I put filler in my marionette line area, which smoothed out my jaw line and a little bit in the chin too to bring balance to the center of the face. Filler is such an amazing treatment when you go to the right person, like Dr. Naga, who makes the smallest changes with huge impact. I look younger, symmetrical and smooth and I’m beyond obsessed with the results, especially with the filler along my jawline and chin area. I have a genetic “double chin” that this helps to hide. Look at that chiseled jaw line!
Diamond Glow Treatment
In terms of a facial, we decided on the Diamond Glow treatment at (what would have been) 3 weeks before my wedding. I was so obsessed with the results and I will be getting Diamond Facials for life. I think anytime you feel like your skin needs a major refresh, is looking dull, or feeling congested, the Diamond Glow is the easiest way to start feeling your best again. The Diamond Glow exfoliates, extracts and infuses the treatment (SkinMedica serums) right into your skin. It’s also a super quick treatment, which is nice for on-the-go. The microdermabrasion tip exfoliates your skin to get rid of congestion and dead skin cells, so your skin will look super clean and bright looking afterwards. See below for my before (dull) and after (bright & glowy)! The Diamond Glow is similar to a HydraFacial but it not only treats your face but also the neck, lips and around your eyes as well. If I had more time before my wedding day, I would have loved to do a laser treatment as well, but I really feel like this facial is the closest you can get without it to brighten and smooth skin.
CoolSculpting
This was my second time doing CoolSculpting because I loved my results the first time (*see below*). This time though, we only had time to treat two areas: my lower abdomen and under my chin (my two biggest trouble areas).
If you’ve never heard of it, CoolSculpting is a non-invasive way to reduce fat cells. The amount of time it takes varies on the areas being treated, but now that SkinDC has the new CoolSculpting Elite Machines, they are able to treat more areas at the same time, which means less time you have to sit there. The pain is really minimal (it just feels super cold at first), and there’s no down time or post-op which is great. You see the full results in 3 months, which is usually a 20-25% reduction of fat in the areas you treat. It’s such a great treatment to quickly look and feel your best before a special day or occasion when you have stubborn fat you can’t seem to get rid of. After the Cool Mini I now have a more defined/sharper jaw line and a flatter stomach. *Note: We weren’t able to get an after photo this time around yet due to the changes in my wedding date + you see full results in 3 months. You’ll just have to take my word for it – I am so happy with my results. I especially notice when I wear tight dresses or high-waisted jeans, I have less of a pooch now.
