Your pre-wedding skincare guide from spa experts

If there’s one day that you want your skin to look and feel its best, it’s your wedding day, and with the right therapist advice you can enjoy getting there as well. Here, spa experts at Whittlebury Hall explain what to do and when for a glowing wedding day complexion.

Skincare one month before your wedding

Start your wedding skincare prep around a month before the big day so you have time to let it settle. Detoxing the whole body will ensure you feel fresh and revitalised from the inside out. Massages will help to keep mind, body and soul relaxed and it’s recommended to have around six treatments - one a week - to give them time to kick in and really provide results, so starting at least a month before means you will get the best effects and benefits. Overall you will feel less lethargic, sluggish, have more energy, and feel lighter and healthier.

The spa treatment: ESPA Lift & Firm Hip and Thigh Treatment

This targets cellulite, fluid retention and uneven skin texture in a highly effective, stimulating treatment. It lasts 120 minutes and is an effective combination of potent marine extracts, iced mitts, (Clarisonic body brushing is optional), deep detoxifying massage and light lymphatic drainage movements to achieve instantly visible results.

Spa treatment includes:

• Skin brushing
• Detoxifying salt and oil scrub
• Iced and warm mitts
• Detoxifying massage to specific areas
• Specialised colonic massage techniques

Spa skincare at home

Body brushing:

Giving skin a daily brush as part of your pre wedding skincare will significantly improve tone, helping to banish cellulite and boost cell renewal for smoother, softer, more radiant skin. Use a brush with natural bristles to stimulate circulation and eliminate toxins. Use it morning and evening on dry skin before a shower or bath and you can lose up to a pound a day that way - it’s a really good part of weight loss routine as well.

For best skincare results:

Each morning, brush dry skin in brisk strokes from feet to hips, wrists to shoulders, waist down and décolleté up and out. Pay particular attention to any dry areas and follow with a body moisturiser or oil.

Skincare product tip: Elemis Skin Bliss Capsules 

These day and night anti-oxidant facial oils are a 30 day treatment and are perfect for purifying, replenishing and nourishing skin. They are formulated with optimum levels of antioxidant power to improve the visible signs of ageing and counteract the damaging effects of everyday pollution.

Skincare one week before your wedding

One week before the big day in your wedding skincare prep and it’s time to get that healthy glow so your skin looks flawless and your make-up glides on perfectly. One final massage (you can have up to one a week) and a facial will help to remove the stress and build up from putting the final touches on your big day.

The skin will need a week to recover from the facial; you wouldn’t have one the day before because all facials will pull out toxins and while you won’t necessarily break out, it is a possibility we would rather avoid on your wedding day. A week after a facial everything is renewed and the effects will be showing and glowing.

The spa treatment: ESPA Advanced Enzyme Facial

A powerful and highly effective facial to boost cell regeneration and give an instantly smooth, radiant complexion as part of wedding skincare prep. The treatment is 90 minutes long and includes a deep brush cleanse followed by an intense enzyme peel containing botanical extracts and pumpkin enzymes to deeply exfoliate and remove dead skin cells. After a soothing massage using rose quartz crystals to help cool and calm, a lifting and smoothing mask is applied, containing concentrated seaweed extracts, argan oil and menthol, to give your skin a more plumped and firmed appearance.

Spa treatment includes:

• Deep brush cleanse
• Skin analysis with SkinVision™ lamp
• Enzyme peel
• Age-defying rose quartz crystal massage
• Professional lifting and smoothing mask
• Scalp massage
• Intensive facial serum

Spa skincare at home

Use a deep cleansing balm: 

Whittlebury Hall recommends ESPA’s Nourishing Cleansing Balm for at home wedding skincare.  It is a deeply nourishing cleansing balm that leaves skin feeling soft and smooth. Skin-softening beeswax transforms with water into a rich cleansing cream, rose geranium gently calms and rose damascena helps tone and firm to leave skin feeling cleansed, comforted and beautifully supple.

For best skincare results:

Warm and soften a small amount on your fingertips before gently massaging over your face, neck and décolleté in small, circular movements. Lather with warm water to transform into a rich cream before rinsing away with a damp muslin cloth. Repeat as desired to remove all traces of stubborn make-up and leave skin beautifully clear.  Suitable for all skin types, especially mature, dry or dehydrated.

Skincare product tip: Refining Skin Polish, Skin Radiance Mask and Skin Radiance Moisturiser

All from ESPA, Whittlebury Hall recommends a combination of gentle exfoliation, nourishing face masks and an excellent moisturiser. Exfoliate once or twice a week for normal or dry skin, and once a week for oily skin, while the brightening mask will give a fresh soft look to skin - simply apply for 10-15 minutes. The moisturiser can be used morning and evening to revive dry, dull skin while smoothing and refining, for a softer, more luminous complexion.

Skincare one day before your wedding

The day before your wedding, it’s time for last minute touches to wedding skincare. Brows, nails and tan can all be done the day before so they’re still fresh and perfect. The tan will only last a week but the next day it will still be true to colour and not patchy. Lashes will start falling out with natural lash growth after a week and nails can obviously chip. One day, and everything is still shiny and new.

The spa treatments:

Sienna X fake tan:

You can do your fake tan yourself, but this is probably one of the occasions when you can let the professionals take over! Just remember to exfoliate and moisturise properly in the days leading up to your tan for an even finish. After your tan has been applied, you can continue to use a gentle scrub for three or four days afterwards to encourage a gentle fade and even wear.

Jessica Geleration Manicure: 

The 45-minute treatment includes hand exfoliation, massage, cuticle care and nail shape and finished with Jessica’s GELeration gel polish.

HD Brows: 

Tailored to you, your HD Brows Stylist will begin with an in-depth consultation to discuss size, shape and the look you want before beginning work on your bespoke brows. Custom-blended colour is applied and whether you darken, lighten or simply tone the natural colour of your brow hair, your therapist will ensure your new brows complement your look, and the style chosen for your big day. From there, they use an exclusive brow mapping formula to design your unique shape before using a combination of HD hair removal techniques to create it. Finally your brows will be perfected using our luxury make-up collection.

LaLa Lashes: 

Lash Perfect Express, apply, remove and replace application enables you to have longer, fuller and thicker lashes in only 30 minutes. Completely tailored to be as full or natural looking as you want. Unlike normal eyelash extensions, Lash Perfect Express is directly placed on top of the existing lashes; therefore, clients can be seated in a comfortable upright position.

Home skincare before your wedding

At home, it’s all about caring for those finishing touches with the right products so that they last as long as possible - after all, you might have multiple days of celebrations.

Sienna X Balance Body Wash: 

This helps to prolong the life of the tan. You can use any body wash that you like but some strip the tan too early. Balance Body Wash has been specifically designed to combat this problem; it is pH balanced to be perfectly kind to your skin and has a lemongrass and ginger fragrance. It will leave skin feeling nourished and refreshed while also helping to prolong your tan.

Jessica Phenomen Oil: 

Promote healthy nails and cuticles with this intensely conditioning cuticle oil. It will penetrate through your gel colour to keep nails healthy and strong without causing premature peeling, containing natural jojoba, almond and rice oils to heal and rehydrate.

Lash and Brow Beater: 

The secret weapon to immaculate brows, the High Definition Brow Beater tames unruly brows with its lightweight and non-sticky, clear setting gel. It holds brows in place all day long and keeps them conditioned from day to night. Apply on its own for a natural finish or over your favourite brow product for that fresh brow look at home after your High Definition Brows treatment.

Lash Perfect Lash Care Kit:

This kit contains eye make-up remover, black mascara and a finishing glaze; all the essentials to keep your lashes long and perfect!