Photo Credit: Michael Anthony Photography
Nightmare scenario #1: You wake up with a monstrous zit.
Crisis control: Picking and prodding will only make the pimple more irritated and harder to conceal; so will over-scrubbing the area. “The best fix is to have a dermatologist give you a cortisone injection, which will help decrease inflammation right away,” says Dr. Marnie Nussbaum-Brown, MD FAAD. If you don’t have a skin pro on dial, decrease redness with a dab of either white toothpaste or Visine.
According to Jennifer Trotter from Lip Service Makeup, “If your wedding is hours away, zit medicine isn’t going to work that quickly, so you want to focus on keeping the skin texture smooth." First apply a calming cream to reduce redness like Rodan + Fields Soothe Sensitive Skin Treatment or Clinique Redness Solutions Daily Relief Cream. Then use Whip Hand Cosmetics Set the Stage Makeup Primer, which will help your foundation adhere. (Trotter uses IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness Neutralizing Correcting Cream, which contains a non-visible green tint to counteract red spots.) Blend with a dampened sponge and repeat until you achieve desired coverage. Set with micro-milled face powder.
Prevention pointers: If your skin is acting up prior to the wedding, make an appointment with a dermatologist at least three to four months before the big day. They will help you put an individualized game plan in place. Avoid doing any unfamiliar procedures or using new products the month before your wedding. You don't know how your skin will react, and it's not worth the risk!
Nightmare scenario #2: You break out in hives during your wedding week.
Crisis control: Stress is a common culprit for hives, but a myriad of other factors can also cause them, including foods, medications, allergens from the environment or underlying medical conditions. Symptoms may vary from extreme itching to swelling and anaphylaxis (a severe, whole-body allergic reaction). “Contact your physician ASAP immediately to assess the cause. Treatments may include antihistamines, corticosteroids, or — in severe cases — an emergency injection of epinephrine,” says Nussbaum-Brown.
Prevention pointers: Don't try any new products, fragrances or lotions, or eat any new foods two weeks prior to your event.
Nightmare scenario #3: Your eyes are puffy from being overly tired or — even worse — you look sickly.
Crisis control: The frozen spoon approach that you may have seen your mom or grandmother using for decades actually works. Pop two teaspoons in the freezer for 15 minutes; once they’re chilled, place them on your eyelids facing up (with the rounded part in contact with the lid).
Just a few weeks ago, Trotter had a bride who showed up to the venue in her pajamas having just arrived from the emergency room with the flu! She covered dark circles with concealer, used brightening cream on the upper eyelids to camouflage redness, applied moisturizer to her chapped nose and used a sugar scrub on her chapped lips. “Then I did a very dramatic eye but I used neutral shades to create a glamorous look that wasn’t too over-the-top. It made her illness look less obvious,” she says. Bronzer and blush faked a healthy look.
Prevention pointers: Starting two weeks prior to the wedding, try and get eight hours of sleep each night. Drink plenty of water — it's important to stay hydrated.
Nightmare scenario #4: You got sunburned from staying outside too long or forgetting to put on sunscreen.
Crisis control: Take ibuprofen immediately to help relieve the pain. Make some cold milk compresses by combining equal parts milk, ice cubes, and water. Hold them on the affected area for five minutes and repeat this three times. “The pH content of the milk has an anti-inflammatory effect while the coldness constricts blood vessels and decreases redness and swelling,” Nussbaum-Brown explains. Swap out your usual soap bar for a soap-free cleanser such as Sebamed Liquid Face and Body Wash, which is less drying. Lastly, apply a refrigerated aloe gel to the affected areas.
When it comes to makeup, you can't make the sunburn disappear, but you or your makeup artist can make it look less obvious by adding color to the white areas. Blend them in with the sunburned areas by using a custom mix of cream foundations to achieve the correct shade.
Prevention pointers: Always use at least SPF 30; apply 15 minutes before going outside and reapply every 2 hours. "No sunscreen is waterproof nor sweat-proof (even if it claims to be), so always reapply. I tend to favor mineral-based sunscreens like titanium or zinc since they are less irritating to the skin and very effective," Nussbaum-Brown says. Avoid indoor tanning, which increases the risk of melanoma (the deadliest form of skin cancer) by 75%. Love the skin that you're in!
Next: Quick fixes for skin irritation, makeup disasters, and more ►
Photo Credit: Will Pursell Photography
Nightmare scenario #5: Your self-tanner application looks less glow-y and more Oompa Loompa circa the 1990s.
Crisis control: Shower and exfoliate to remove some of the color — you may have to repeat the process several times. Trotter suggests using a subtle-toned tanning body lotion to blend any streaks.
Prevention pointer: “Don’t DIY self-tanner prior to the wedding day unless you’ve done it many times before and truly know how your skin will react and how to problem solve. Getting self-tanner all over your white dress isn’t worth a bit of glow!” Trotter urges.
Nightmare scenario #6: Your skin is incredibly irritated after hair removal.
Crisis control: “Hair removal doesn’t need to result in ingrown hair and breakouts. Breakouts can occur when you use wax or depilatory with artificial ingredients, or you shave with a dull blade,” says Noemi Grupenmager, the founder and CEO of Uni K Wax Centers. If you have an ingrown hair, she suggests using Uni K Ingrown Hair Roll-On, which helps release the hair caught in the follicle. Also, avoid aggravating the area by wearing loose-fitting clothing. Believe it or not, Nussbaum-Brown tells us that Desitin Diaper Rash Cream can also provide relief to an inflamed bikini area (assuming you don't have any allergies to the cream). If the pain doesn't subside, your dermatologist can call in a hydrocortisone cream.
Prevention pointers: Wax with an all-natural elastic wax formulated for sensitive skin. “At Uni K, technicians apply a cold pack on the waxed area, which closes the pores to prevent any bacteria from entering. Then they apply a soothing all-natural gel to reduce any redness,” Grupenmager says. If you’ve never waxed the area before, she recommends scheduling an appointment one month prior to the big day to allow the hair to get into the rhythm of waxing. If you’ve waxed before, then scheduling your session four to five days prior to the wedding is ideal.
Nightmare scenario #7: You hate the way your makeup looks on the big day.
Crisis control: “The most important thing is to keep calm. Any pro artist should be happy to tweak your look to make it perfect…Freaking out will just rattle everyone and waste precious time,” Trotter advises. Don’t just say, “I don’t like it” — determine what the issue is and communicate that so that your makeup artist can solve the problem. For example: “My eyebrows look too dark, can you lighten them?” “I don’t care for this lip color…can we go with a more nude shade?” or “I feel that I look pale, can we try more blush and bronzer?”
Prevention pointers: Even if you trust your makeup artist 100%, it’s crucial to schedule a preview to ensure that you love your makeup for the big day. You might think that you want a smoky eye or a brighter lip, but once you see it with your dress and veil, it might not work. During the makeup trial, be sure to speak up and be very clear with your artist about what you do (and don’t) like.
Nightmare scenario #8: Your mom, bridesmaid or another close loved one gets their makeup done elsewhere (or does it themselves) and isn't happy with the result.
Crisis control: “I’ve had this happen multiple times. Often, there’s no time for a total redo,” Trotter says. Her foolproof method: Take a dampened beauty blender to blend out harsh contour/blush lines or blend in unblended foundation. Remove too much brow product with a Q-tip, clean up line with a bit of concealer and brush brows into place. Blend unblended shadow, add gel liner if more is needed, and change the lip color to a more flattering shade.
Next: How to handle issues with your hair or nails ►
Nightmare scenario #9: Your hair gets frizzy and pouf-y on the big day.
Crisis control: “Even if you start the day with perfectly coiled hair, there’s a good chance that it won’t stand up against humidity. Your locks need to be in prime condition for a long day, usually at least eight hours,” says Naté Bova, a senior celebrity stylist at Warren Tricomi NYC. If you have naturally curly or wavy hair, she recommends avoiding sleek blowouts since they can easily frizz up with weather changes. Natural 'dos like beach-y waves or a chignon can actually work better with a little frizz, rather than leaving you looking messy. To tame any hairstyle, apply a hair serum or mousse formulated with keratin, such as Aviva Keratin Renewal Anti-Frizz Serum, which leaves hair noticeably more hydrated and healthy-looking. It’s also important to shield the hair with a serum that provides protection against the drying effects of UV rays and hairstyling tools.
Prevention pointer: If you have thicker, wavier hair, minimize frizz by getting a blowout the day before so that your hair and scalp has time to release their natural oils. However, if your hair is fine, you should wash it and get it styled the morning of the wedding.
Nightmare scenario #10: You hate the highlights or hair color that you just had done.
Crisis control: Did your color fall short of what you were expecting? Take it from drab to fab using the following remedies:
- If your hair is too dark: Shampoo the darkest area several times with shampoo NOT intended for use on color-treated hair. Follow with a very rich conditioner or treatment formulated for color-treated hair.
- If your hair is too light: Apply a darker shade of the same brand to your hair but keep it on for about half of the recommended time. Check your color every five minutes. Rinse when you feel your hair is dark enough.
- If your hair is too red: To tone down the red, you can try coloring your hair with a shade of brown that’s the same color level as the red shade you used. Apply the color first to the area that’s most red and keep it on for five to 10 minutes at most. Check your color every five minutes. Rinse it out when your hair is dark enough.
- If your blond locks turn green: When this disaster happens, wash your hair with ketchup. Believe it or not, the red in the tomatoes counteracts the green tint!
- If your hair has too much color: Lifting up unwanted color can be done with a simple DIY recipe. Crush a few vitamin C tablets, mix with shampoo using a 1:2 ratio, apply and let it sit on your head for at least an hour. Shampoo off, condition and repeated in a few days if necessary.
Prevention pointer: Have your hair colored a week or two before the wedding so that there’s ample time to fix any mistakes or make changes if you just don’t like the way it turns out.
Nightmare scenario #11: Your hair comes out differently on the big day than it did during your practice trial.
Crisis control: “Refer to pictures that you took on the day of your trial since you can explain much better with a visual. Always try to stay calm — the less tension between you and your stylist, the better,” Bova says. Explain what it is about the style that isn’t working for you, and how you envision the final look. A good stylist will be able to make adjustments and make it work.
Prevention pointer: You should always take pictures of your hairstyle from different angles during your trial, so that you can reference on the big day.
Nightmare scenario #12: Your nails chip or, in the case of gel, break off.
Crisis control: For a severe chipping situation, try trimming your nails down a bit, then buffing them with a buffing block to smooth them out. Apply regular polish to help cover for a short-term solution.
Prevention pointer: Do a manicure in a light color, so breaks are less obvious to begin with and have your maid of honor keep a bottle of a similar color handy in case of emergency.