Perfect wedding skin?

I have red areas, some red bumps, and a few pimples. I usually use cover-up, but I want perfectly clear skin for close-ups on my wedding day.





I just started a deep clean scrub with exfoliating beads. It seems to be helping. I'm also trying toner with salycilic (sp?) acid.





Is there something I'm missing that I should be doing? What worked for you?





What can I do for last minute breakouts? (I'm allergic to benzyl peroxide...)

Perfect wedding skin?
Believe it or not, proactiv worked for me.
Reply:it sounds like you are doing all the right things. you may want to consider an appointment with a dermatologist and no later than 2 weeks before your wedding you may want to get a facial. i don't recommend changing products 2 weeks before the wedding because of facial appointment. finally, get your makeup professionally done. i had my hair and makeup done at an aveda salon and many people commented on my skin, thinking it was perfect. the wedding photos were terrific too!
Reply:Get a prescription from your doctor for skin steroids (what ever type suits you skin, that they prescribe). I can't remember the name of the one they gave me for a mystery rash, but got rid of the rash in a day and my skin (even the parts uneffected) were just glowing. It literally looked like baby skin. No red, bumps, pores, bags or dark spots and it felt like velvet.


Its not a long term thing, just the week leading up the the wedding, but your doctor should be pretty understanding and help you out.
Reply:It never hurts to go visit a local spa and get a facial, and talk to your estetician about your skin. I would suggest and Aveda salon as their products are all natural, affordable, and work. I also love espa products, but those are only available abotu 8 places in the US so that can be difficult to find, but they do wonders. Other than that, here is my advice without actually seeing your skin.





Use a makeup that is actually good for your skin, it makes a huge difference! Since you have problems with your skin, taking care of it in the morning and night is not going to keep it perfect. If you have acne and you put makeup on top of it it is much harder for it to heal and may actually worsen your skin.





I use bare minerals from sephora and it looks amazing and my skin has been great. My sister had pretty bad acne when she started using it and it has helped her skin so much, it looks totally different in only a few weeks! I would go to sephora (since they have so many options, you can get a makeover and try it out before you buy, take home samples, etc) and describe your problem and see what makeup they recommend.





Also, exfoliating is great, everyone should do it, but how often you should do it depends on your skin type. If you are very oily and you are exfoliating deeply every day, you will actually cause your skin to produce more oil, so you should really only deeply exfoliate about 2 times a week. For normal to dry skin, you can deeply exfoliate about 3 times a week, but it varies from person to person. Also, by deep exfoliation I do not mean any at home microdermabrasion kits. Just say no to those because you do not need them. I mean a harsher exfoliant such as espa's skin polish (amazing product) If you use a very gentle exfoliation however, like dove's gentle exfoliating face wash (use it daily, love it) you can use it daily safely.





A natural alternative for breakouts is tea tree oil. The espa products I mentioned offer pure tea tree oil, or products using it, and aveda should be similar. The word "oil" may have scared you, but it is essential oil rather than the mineral-type oils we are used to, and it is amazing for your skin. Do not be afraid of essential oils. Seriously, I use it every night and products with essential oils often and I constantly get compliments on my skin.





The most important thing of all is to find something that works and stick to it. If you change it too much, even if the products are great they will not work their magic. Good luck to you and you can email me if you have any qs about any of the products I mentioned.
Reply:Water, water, water, and more water. It will help. As for the last minute breakouts I would use tea tree oil. It's a natural antiseptic. I would also recommend professional make-up for the big day. Find a salon and have a test run done before your wedding just like you will have a test done with your hair. Good luck.
Reply:I drank TONS of water 3 months before we married, and my skin was the best it has ever been in my life. I also took pre-natal vitamins, which I think helped as well.
Reply:i use proactiv! it works fantastic. Good luck.
Reply:Go see a dermatologist. They will be able to help you the most.
Reply:I have the same problem!





Here's my solution (crossing my fingers that it works): I'm going to get glycolic peels at a spa leading up to my wedding. For now, I am using Clearasil Adult Acne cream with SULFUR in it (there are two and one has the benzoyl you're allergic to) and it works GREAT. It is slightly drying if you use is daily, BUT, it has helped wonders. Sulfur doesn't cure things, but reduces redness and inflammation and eventually, voila....clearer skin.





Also, sounds funny, but once a week I use an egg-white face mask...just use the egg whites from an egg, beat it with a whisk until bubbles appear, apply it to your face or problem areas, let dry until it feels tight and wash off. I can't believe how much it really does help.





The toner you're using sounds great! Be careful with too much exfoliating, it could make things worse. I've read it can rip and pull your pores open more and cause additional problems. Yet, that's just a website's opinion! I'm not a doctor!





Finally, remember to moisturize at night before bed...something non-greasy.





BEST of luck!