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Getting married? Two weeks to glowing skin!
Dermatologist Dr Parul Kolhe gives you a crash-course so that your complexion is flawless for your big day.
You're getting married, D-day is just weeks away and what with wrapping up work commitments, dealing with caterers, sending out invites, planning the honeymoon and bullying your designer to finish your trousseau on time, you've just realised that you've sadly neglected your face and your skin doesn't have that 1,000-watt brilliance one expects on a bride-to-be's face.
Don't lose heart -- there are still some quick fixes to help you save the day! In the following pages, we outline a two-week regime that will have your skin shining at your wedding.
Dr Parul S Kolhe is an MBBS and holds a DDV and DNB in dermatology.
Detox, detox, detox!
Start eating right pronto -- starving to lose those last five pounds in two weeks before the wedding will only make you haggard and look five years older than your husband-to-be! Get a professional dietician to give you a detox plan.
Do it yourself: Five helpings of fruits and vegetables per day, all of different colours and at least two litres of water will make a difference. Have a huge bowl of vegetable soup every night and take an antioxidant capsule daily.
Peel off that tan
Visit a good dermatologist and get yourself a skin peel -- face, neck, back -- you name it, it can be done. A fruit peel like a glycolic peel or deeper peels like Fenol or Retinoid-based peels can dissolve superficial, damaged, tanned and roughened layers of skin, revealing a fresh glowing layer underneath.
The treatment takes 20-40 minutes and results are visible within a few days of treatment. The good news is that they're easy on the pocket as well.
Do it yourself: Use a yoghurt pack daily -- the lactic acid in curd acts as a mild peeling agent.
Iron out your frown lines
Botox is heaven-sent for quick fixes. A session takes barely 30 minutes, the results are visible from the third or fourth day onwards and the full effect comes out within one or two weeks.
A tiny dose of Botox can erase forehead lines, crows' feet at the edges of your eyes or bunny lines on your nose. It can also be used to arch your eyebrows (brow lift) or to lift the jawline, giving the appearance of a longer neck (the Nefertiti lift).
Fill in the furrows
If you have deep folds running from your nose to the corners of your mouth (laugh lines), you can opt for fillers to erase them. A protein identical to that normally found in human skin is injected under the depressions to literally lift and fill them out. The effect is instantaneous; you may experience a little redness and swelling, but it will subside in a day or two.
Hot pick of the season: Many brides are opting for lip-plumping with fillers for that perfect pout, or mid-face filling for those enviable high cheekbones. The effects last 12 to 18 months, so you look great throughout your first year post marriage.
Buff up
Skin resurfacing can be done with microdermabrasion to add that final polish. This is a great favourite with brides wanting to flaunt a smooth back in a backless blouse or choli. The face , neck and arms can also be polished -- this is usually done in combination with skin hydration, light peels like lactipeels and detox packs as part of a last-minute 'glow therapy'. It can be done as late as two-three days before a function.
Do it yourself: A daily body and face scrub with coarse besan and honey or rava, turmeric and honey can help make skin smoother.
Whether you choose to go for professional therapies or home remedies (depending upon your budget), it is always better to at least seek a professional opinion from a dermatologist beforehand. Also, do remember that your wedding photos are memories that last a lifetime. So do the best you can afford for your skin, -- that way you'll have everlasting memories of being a most radiant bride and the added satisfaction of seeing a starstruck husband!