admin

Skincare doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. Your 8-hours of nightly rest are a time of rejuvenation and renewal for your whole body, including your skin. So make sure you’re getting the most from your sleep with these bedtime skincare tips.

Double-cleanse every evening

Double cleansing in the evening washes the day away, removing makeup, sebum, sweat, dirt particles from air pollution, and dead skin cells. But you need to find a balance between effective cleaning and a gentle touch. Otherwise, you’ll strip away important oils and upset your skin’s pH level.

Use two different types of cleansers to get the best results, a foaming cleanser and an oil-based cleanser. It doesn’t really matter which order you use them in, but if you have dry skin, it’s best to use your oil-based cleanser last.

Make sure you choose a foaming cleanser that’s free of sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS). This chemical is often included in cleansers as a foaming agent, but it has a drying effect and disrupts your skin’s pH.

Finish your night-time cleansing ritual with toner, to get lots of moisture into your skin and ensure optimal pH levels. Have you ever tried a mist toner? It’s a refreshing way to get your skin ready before applying night cream.

Use a nutrient-rich night cream

The job of a night cream or night moisturiser is to help your skin heal and nourish overnight. While you sleep, the level of the stress hormone cortisol falls and your body sets about repairing damage caused during the day. You can support your skin’s repair and renewal process by applying a night cream that’s rich in nutrients.

Dab your night cream onto your face, then massage it in with circular movements. Don’t apply night cream to your eyelids, but you can apply it to the lower part of your eye socket.

Okana’s Berry Blend Intense Repair Night Moisturiser, which is 100% natural and fragrance-free, contains mixed berry juice to neutralise free radicals, macadamia oil to balance sebum production, and apricot kernel oil to slow the signs of ageing.

Drink chamomile tea before bed

Chamomile tea is the ideal evening beverage to prepare you for sleep. Chamomile contains apigenin, an antioxidant that promotes sleepiness and prevents insomnia.

It’s also good for digestive health and assists with blood sugar control, both of which will make for more peaceful sleep.

If you dislike the taste of chamomile tea, other options are lemon balm tea, passionflower tea, or any of the sleepytime teas on the market.

Read a real book for 30 minutes

It’s fine to watch a movie or series in the evening, but you need a break from the lit screen before you go to sleep. The display screens of smartphones, computers, televisions and many other digital devices emit significant amounts of blue light. Blue light inhibits melatonin production, the hormone that helps regulate your sleep cycle and helps you fall asleep.

To give yourself an hour that’s free of blue light before bedtime, spend 30 minutes getting ready for bed — maybe your beauty routine plus some yoga stretches — then read a book or magazine for 30 minutes. Certain brands of e-readers are OK, too, if you adjust their lighting right down.

Make a list of things on your mind

If you have a busy brain at night, clear your mind before bed by listing all the things you’re thinking about that might require action tomorrow.

Getting these things out of your head and onto paper helps you to enter the calm state required for a good night’s sleep.

Practise mindful breathing

Mindful breathing calms your mind and body so you can drift off to sleep easily. Try breathing in for three, holding for three, exhaling for three, then counting to three before inhaling again. Repeat this five times.

Another approach is even more controlled. Breathe in for five counts, hold for four counts, breathe out for seven counts, and repeat until drowsy.

While breathing, let you attention rest on your breath itself wherever you sense it most naturally. You’ll be feeling peaceful in no time. Mindful breathing can also help calm anxiety and stress during the day.

Change your pillow slip regularly

Your pillowcase is in direct contact with your skin all night. It absorbs things from your skin and hair all night, and they accumuate over time. Think about it, a pillowcase that isn’t changed will slowly collect:

• Skincare products
• Sebum
• Dead skin cells
• Sweat
• Dirt
• Oil
• Sweat
• Hair products

If that all sounds a bit gross, then you’ve realised why changing your pillowslip every 2-3 days is a good idea. It’s easy to do and will keep your skin clean and fresh.

Planning for your big day can be stressful, as pre-wedding jitters take their toll. As you run down your pre wedding checklist, making sure that your i’s are dotted and t’s crossed, it’s a good idea to add one more item to your already hectic schedule: a massage.

A pre wedding massage can do you the world of good and provide a much needed break from all the planning and anxiety.  During a massage session, your heart rate is lowered considerably and your brain releases ‘happy hormones’ that put you in a good mood. Many people consider massage to be a luxury, but it should actually be built in to any healthy lifestyle. Massage helps to relax the muscles, improves circulation and can aid detoxification.

You could decide to go with your partner, your wedding party, a friend or family member; however you decide to approach it, just one hour of relaxing massage will strengthen your immune system, help you recharge and more than likely provide the inspiration you need to make your day as special as it should be. At the very least, you’ll have an hour to yourself, where you can just forget about it all and relax.

Below are some more prudent reasons why a pre wedding massage is an absolute must before your big day.

Stress reliever

Are the in-laws driving you crazy? Are the contractors not returning your calls? Planning for your big day can be the ultimate test of patience; it can also cause significant psychological and physical fatigue. While there are many things you can do to stay calm and collected during the planning period, one of the most effective ways to relieve stress and promote relaxation is by taking a massage. In small amounts, stress can be useful for getting things done, but in large doses, it can be quite harmful. There are very few activities that can result in severe psychological and physical stress as when you’re planning for your wedding.

Improves sleep

There aren’t many days in a woman’s life that can pose a threat to their psychological health as the last few days before her wedding. As the big day draws closer, the sheer number of things that need doing can affect how well you sleep. Every newlywed knows the importance of catching enough sleep before the big day – not only to maintain that crucial wedding glow, but for cognitive function, improved mood and general health. Having a massage a few days before your wedding will do much to aid your circadian rhythm. Massage has been known to help improve sleep at a chemical level by increasing the delta brain waves that are connected to deep sleep, improving concentration and increasing energy levels.

Lifts mood

Different things work for different people, but sometimes, all you need is just an hour on the massage mat to lift your mood. Planning for your wedding can be overwhelming; when things appear not to be going as planned, it can have a negative effect on your mood. The truth is that a negative mood will only do more to hurt your plans than help. You could find yourself snapping at people who are only trying to help or end up making mistakes that could have been avoided. This overwhelming feeling of stress and moodiness can happen at any time while you’re planning for what should be the happiest day of your life. A good massage session will increase serotonin (the hormone responsible for regulating anxiety) and reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) in your body, effectively putting you in a happy and healthy place.

Radiant and healthy skin

Radiant and healthy skin is another benefit of massage that might not be immediately obvious. Multiple facial massages before the wedding will help in solving the problem of ‘bad skin’, which almost every bride is worried about on the big day. This type of massage helps the lymphatic system, which is the body’s waste disposal system. It also helps to improve circulation, which brings much needed nutrient rich blood to the massaged areas, resulting in healthy skin and a fresh glow.

Reduces bloating

It wouldn’t do to feel bloated during your wedding; you’ll feel so uncomfortable that you might not be able to enjoy your special day. Thankfully, certain massage techniques can help increase the metabolism of antioxidants and nutrients. When your body metabolises faster, you can easily flush out toxins and subsequently digest food better.

This process helps to reduce bloating and any discomfort that comes from improper digestion. Massage sessions can be helpful in making you feel one hundred percent throughout your wedding day. After all, there are better things to think about – such as flower arrangements and bridesmaid dresses – than the state of your stomach.

Enjoying your massage

The importance of a pre-wedding massage cannot be overemphasised. However, you’ll also want to be able to enjoy the full massage treatment and all its associated benefits. This means speaking up if you’re in an uncomfortable position or need to visit the toilet. The most important thing is that you’re comfortable enough to enjoy your massage treatment.

Massage therapists are always interested in getting your feedback, so if the pressure is not what you want or the atmosphere unsuitable, don’t hesitate to speak up. You’re meant to pamper yourself during your pre-wedding massage so don’t feel reluctant to do so.

However, understand that massage isn’t quick fix solution; it usually takes more than one session to feel the long term benefits. It’s also a good idea to have a massage pampering session a few days before your wedding, as you’ll need the benefits to be evident if you plan to be the life and soul of the party.

So, as you plan for your wedding, make provisions for a few massage sessions. Expunge your body of those toxins and put yourself in the perfect frame of mind for your big day.

Planning a wedding can be one of the most stressful times in a bride’s life and everything from the major decisions like venue and dress to the seemingly more minor decisions like centrepieces and wedding favours can seem like an incredibly daunting and induce stress in even the calmest and most composed of brides.

While it would be ideal for your day to go exactly as you have dreamed of and have been planning for, it is important to remember that you need to take the time to destress and relax during the planning to ensure the run-up to the big day isn’t engulfed by stress but rather an enjoyable and memorable experience that you will have with your other half and closest friends and families for the rest of your life.

If you’re worried that you’re the only bride who’s pulling their hair out with all the competing pressures of planning a wedding – fear not, there are a lot more brides in exactly the same boat as you.

Fortunately, there’s a few easy and proven methods to tackle the stresses of planning for a wedding and some handy tips to help your day and its run-up to go as smoothly as possible.

Planning a Wedding is Not For The Faint-hearted – and the Statistics Prove It

According to a survey done by wedding company, Zola, on 500 engaged or newlywed couples, 96% of those survey called wedding planning stressful with 40% of those surveyed even going so far as to describe it as extremely stressful.

When probed as to the biggest stressors:

• 35% stressed most about getting everything done
• 20% stressed most about managing guest lists and RSVPs
• 14% stressed most about finding a venue

Perhaps one of the most interesting statistics to emerge from the survey however was the fact that 71% of participants said that wedding planning is more stressful than one or more of the following:

• Public speaking
• Finding a job
• Having bad credit
• Applying to college
• Buying a home or moving to a new house

If you’ve been feeling the effects of wedding stress, you’re not alone. Many couples experience a high number of stress-induced symptoms when planning a wedding, as is evidenced by the results of the Zola survey, which found that of 86% who experienced on average three or more stress-induced symptoms:

• 56% had elevated anxiety
• 37% had difficulty sleeping
• 35% had mood swings
• 30% had shorter tempers
• 27% had headaches
• 15% had skin breakouts
• 12% had hair loss

Signs You’re Too Stressed

It is important to recognise that stress and pressure is part and parcel of planning for one of the biggest days of your life. It is highly unlikely you will meet a bride who has said that they didn’t find wedding planning stressful (and if you do, they’re lying). Some signs that you may be too stressed and on the verge of burn-out are:

• You’ve got wedding on the brain – you are obsessing over the minor details all day, every day from when you’re in that work meeting, to when you’re lying in bed at night even so far as when you’re in the toilet
• You start questioning all of your decisions – you want everything to be 100% right and you begin to overthink every decision you ever made
• It’s not fun anymore – wedding planning is supposed to be fun and exciting, but it feels like more of a chore now
• Your relationship with your partner is strained – you’re freaking out because your partner isn’t freaking out about all the things that could go wrong on the day and its affecting your relationship

It can be easy to lose the run of yourself and plans can spiral and become unmanageable. The best way to tackle this problem is to take a step back from the wedding and the venue picking, dress choosing, food tasting and band listening by making some time for yourself to relax. That way when you come back to it a few days’ time, you’ll have a fresh head and be able to approach your ideas much better and your wedding (and your guests) will thank you for it. Some of the best ways to beat the wedding stress include:

Get a Massage

A massage is not only a luxurious, indulgent break for both your body and mind, it also has proven health benefits and is well-recognised by healthcare professionals for its healing properties in the fight against stress, with many studies showing that massages reduce anxiety and depression.

Services like The Massage People who provide mobile massages in London and Match Skin Salon who offer Massages in Brighton & Hove are a great and cost-effective way to fit a massage in and get that golden relaxation time that your body and mind so desperately crave. What’s even better is that the therapists will always come to your specified London and address.

With loads of options of massages to choose from such as Swedish massage, Indian head massage, relaxation massages and full-body massages, it really is a relaxing experience like no other and a must for brides in the run-up to the big day. Why not kill two birds with the stone and incorporate some massages for you and the girls into your hen party or bridal shower?

Exercise

The benefits of this age-old remedy are two-fold: you’ll fight the creeping stress as well as contributing towards how good you’ll look in that dress on the day. Even something as simple as going for a walk is a great way to free your mind and will leave you feeling more focused and relaxed in the long-run (pun intended!).

Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Reserve seating plan woes and dress shade troubles for strictly the day time. Your bed is the place to be resting not planning so before you settle down for the night, put your wedding thoughts in a box, get into a comfy pair of PJs and relax so you’ll get a restful night’s sleep

Take a Break

Whether it’s rock-climbing, reading or going for a massage, set aside a few hours every week where wedding talk of any sort is under a strict ban and let your mind go elsewhere. Stick to the wedding planning in the designated hours.

And remember, no matter how stressed you are, wedding planning is a joyous occasion and a memory you’ll have for the rest of your life so make the most of the madness and try not to let the stress bog you down as your day will always be great in the end!