June is acne awareness month and coincidentally, it’s also wedding season. This weekend I will be heading to NYC for my sweet dear cousin’s wedding. As a tribute to her celebration, this week’s blog is dedicated to her. I love you Jackie and I am excited to welcome Matt to the family. I know you will be an absolutely stunning bride but just to help you out in the derm department here are your do’s and don’ts for your skin the week of your wedding!

1. Do use HA5. I generally tell patients they need to give skincare products 3 months before they decide if they are “working” because our skin cells only turn over every 28 days. At this point we don’t have time for that so use HA5, it has immediate (within 15 minutes) plumping of the skin. It will help with redness, fine lines, dullness and those sleepy eyelids. So use it before the wedding as your super moisturizer and then keep using it because over time it will make you more collagen!
2. Do wear sunscreen and don’t forget it on your lips! Nobody wants tan lines, sunburn or chapped lips on the big day. And might as well add a floppy hat, sunglasses and sunsmart clothes to that order because you’re my cousin and I said so.
3. Don’t go get a facial where you’ve never had one. New products that could cause a reaction or could irritate your skin aren’t a good idea this week. If you get a rash or irritation it will be much harder to treat then it is to just prevent!
4. Do treat acne ASAP at a dermatologist. It’s too late for a lot of the effective medications but if you have an emergency pimple we can inject it with a little steroid or laser it with the pulsed dye laser to get the red out. If you are acne prone consider a blu-u light treatment. It’s quick and painless. Go twice this week and sit under a blu-u light for about 16 minutes. That will kill all the P. acnes (the bacteria associated with acne) and decrease the inflammation. This will calm down your acne and prevent additional acne.
5. Do moisturize your hair, nails and skin. Don’t go swim in a chlorine pool this week and let your hair dry and frizz. Try a leave in conditioner or condition as soon as you get done swimming. Don’t forget to moisturize your nails and cuticles. This will help prevent unwanted breaks and hangnails and promote a healthy beautiful nail for that famous ring photo! And please don’t let them push back or cut your cuticles when you have your nails done this week-cuticles are there to protect and prevent damaged nails and infection. Obviously if your skin dries out this week it could look dull, wrinkled and aged. Not to mention could crack which could introduce infection and we just don’t want to go down that path. I like a big jar of vaseline or try a jar of Cetaphil or Vanicream or even some olive oil if you want to celebrate our Maltese roots.
6. Don’t go get fillers and procedures. That was a last month or at least last week idea. Anywhere a needle goes there is the possibility a bruise can be left behind. Although bruising is unlikely, chances are you will get one because that’s how fate treats us \and explaining a bruise on your face at a wedding can get interesting.

Hope this helps anyone that has a big social event this weekend. If you have any skin emergency needs you know where I am. Come by the clinic and let us fix you up! Happy acne awareness month everyone!

“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” -Dr. Seuss

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