We reveal the answers to popular skincare questions asked by brides-to-be – from when to start your wedding skincare, which treatments actually work and how to prep your skin for flawless bridal makeup
Skin specialist Suzanne of Glow Studio saw bride Aimee for two years in the lead up to her wedding day, helping her manage congestion and break-outs, fully locked in on achieving her best glow (Photo: David Louden Photography)
Great bridal skin isn’t created in the final fortnight before your wedding – it’s built gradually, through consistent care and smart timing.
Whether you’re considering professional facials, injectables or simply want your makeup to sit beautifully on the day, understanding what to start (and what to avoid) can make all the difference.
We asked three Scottish experts to share their guidance on creating calm, healthy, radiant skin complete with that bridal glow-from-within feeling.
For this shoot at The Signet Library, Victoria Grace emphasised bridal model Sarah's features with this bronzed glam look (Photo: Laura A Tiliman)
When should I start my wedding skincare plan?
If you’re serious about improving your skin ahead of your wedding, earlier is always better.
“Every bride deserves to feel confident, calm and radiant – not just on her wedding day, but throughout the whole journey,” says Suzanne Wilson of Glow Studio in Musselburgh.
Instead of quick fixes, her focus is on long-term skin health and on supporting brides emotionally as well as physically.
For more advanced treatments, timing matters just as much. “Ideally, you should begin planning six to 12 months ahead,” says Dr Heather Muir, medical director and injector at Your Face Aesthetics in Uddingston.
Early consultations allow time to understand goals, review medical history and take a detailed look at facial structure.
What’s the ideal bridal skincare timeline?
Glow Studio's Suzanne Wilson shares her recommended timeline for calm, confident skin:
12 Months Out
Start a targeted skincare plan to understand your skin, set goals and tackle long-term concerns like pigmentation, acne or texture with professional treatments and medical-grade home care.
3 to 6 Months Out
Refine and maintain. More targeted treatments boost collagen, hydration and clarity – this is when results really show.
1 to 3 Months Out
Focus shifts to conditioning and glow, with gentle treatments that enhance radiance and avoid downtime ahead of hens and makeup trials.
Final 2 Weeks
Keep things calm and soothing, prioritising de-puffing and glow-boosting treatments such as lymphatic drainage.
Bride Robyn immediately after her bespoke glow facial at Glow Studio: “We focused on hydration and lymphatic drainage to sculpt and naturally boost her collagen,” Suzanne explains
What skin concerns are most common before a wedding?
Wedding stress can have a noticeable impact on your complexion. Breakouts, congestion, sensitivity and dullness are among the most common issues Suzanne sees, often triggered by stress.
Her process begins with a detailed consultation covering skincare habits, hormones and lifestyle. “My aim is always to create calm, balanced and glowing skin,” she explains.
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What are the best professional treatments before a wedding?
Rather than dramatic, last-minute procedures, the experts favour gradual, glow-boosting treatments.
Suzanne’s pre-wedding heroes include gentle enzyme or lactic peels for smoothness, hydrating massage-led facials for plumpness, and Dermalux LED for radiance. She suggests monthly treatments with a final appointment one to two weeks before the big day.
For brides considering medical aesthetics, Dr Heather Muir takes a subtle approach. Her ethos centres on soft, natural enhancement.
“The goal is for a bride to look like the best version of herself,” she says. “Sometimes the best advice is to do very little.”
To boost glow, hydration and texture, she often uses medical-grade peels, microneedling, skin boosters and subtle anti-wrinkle injections. Strategic filler can restore balance “without being apparent at all”.
Heather notes that the best outcomes arise from combining skin-health treatments with minimal injectables, rather than relying on one alone.
Above all, she stresses choosing a medically led, highly experienced practitioner. “Experience matters not just in achieving beautiful results, but in knowing when not to treat,” she says.
To enhance her natural glow, bride Hannah went to Glow Studio’s Suzanne for some pre-wedding AlumierMD advanced peels (Photo: Adrian Oliver Photography)
What should I avoid right before my wedding?
This is where discipline pays off. In the final stretch, Suzanne advises keeping things simple. “No new products, no aggressive peels, no first-time microneedling,” she says. Lifestyle tweaks – better sleep, steady hydration and small daily grounding habits – also help stabilise the complexion.
Consistency at home is key. A gentle cleanser, morning vitamin C, hydrating serums, moisturiser and SPF form her ideal routine. And above all: no major changes right before the wedding.
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How should I prep my skin for wedding makeup?
According to Glasgow-based bridal makeup artist Victoria Grace, flawless makeup begins long before foundation.
“Great makeup always starts with great skin prep,” she says. Her everyday essentials are simple: a gentle cleanse, hydrating mist, serum, moisturiser, eye cream and a primer chosen for your individual skin type.
To help brides understand what their skin actually needs, Victoria recommends her “bare-face test”: cleanse, apply nothing, wait 30 minutes, and take note of how the skin behaves.
“It helps you choose products that support, not fight, your skin,” she explains.
For those seeking extra smoothness or radiance, she suggests gentle exfoliation, hydrating facials and barrier-boosting formulas in the lead-up.
On the wedding morning, layering matters: “Hydrating serums and lightweight moisturisers work beautifully under foundation, but silicone-heavy primers can clash with rich creams.”
On the day itself, Victoria adjusts her approach to whatever the skin presents: smoothing primers for texture, radiant layers for dullness, light colour-correcting for breakouts, and soothing, fragrance-free options for sensitivity.
“The goal is to enhance the skin without overwhelming it,” says makeup artist Victoria Grace
