5 Before-Boudoir Skincare Tips
Getting ready for your first (or third) boudoir sesh? Here are some pro tips to get your skin ready to glow.
Getting ready for a boudoir photography involves more than hair and makeup on the day of your session. I recommend that my clients take the week beforehand to take great care of themselves – inside and out.
A common question I get (and a common reason aspiring clients are skiddish about getting their session booked), is “what if I have bad skin?”
First of all, nobody’s skin is “bad.” Our skin is the largest organ of the body, and is the second most complex organ besides the brain! Our skin adapts to our environment and tells us what is going on in the rest of our body. Have you ever eaten something and gotten a rash? That’s not a “problem” with your skin… that is your super smart skin telling you that you are allergic to that food! Same goes for stress, hormones, dehydration, and lack of sleep to name a few.
Taking good care of your skin means also taking care of the rest of you. Here are some pre-boudoir tips:
1. Water and Sleep are the Best Beauty Products
When our skin is properly hydrated, it stays plump, smooth and luminous. If you can, drink around 64 ounces of water a day (that seems like a lot, but it is about 8 glasses). The best quality water is spring water, not filtered water. Also, sleep is where our skin heals and regenerates itself by sloughing off dead skin cells and producing new ones. Aim to get 8 hours of sleep a night (if you’re able – having babies or noisy neighbors doesn’t always allow for this one!)
2. Stop Using Harsh Cleansers, Scrubs and Toners
That “natural” apricot scrub might be doing more harm than good. Many products you buy at the drug store are simply way too harsh for your skin. The goal is to nourish and soothe your skin rather than to remove all the “impurities” from it. When we use really harsh products, we strip the skin’s natural protective barrier (called the “acid mantle”) which causes our skin to produce more oil quickly to try to rebuild that barrier. If your skin hurts after using a product or becomes red, take a break from it about a week before your boudoir session and be gentle with your skin.
3. Don’t Go To Sleep with Makeup On
It’s a bad habit we have all done at least once. Don’t beat yourself up about it! But prior to your boudoir session, commit to washing your face twice per day with a gentle cleanser – once in the morning to reveal your freshly-rested skin, and once before bed to get your makeup off. Sleeping with makeup on can cause breakouts, blackheads, irritation and even cause our eyelashes to break off (mascara is very drying and if you sleep on your stomach, the friction can cause lash breakage).
4. Don’t Go Tanning Within a Week of Your Session
Being sunburned or burned from a tanning bed can result in photos that won’t be your favorite. A spray tan with an experienced and skilled spray tan artist is the best way to go, not just for your skin’s health but to minimize redness and unwanted tan lines. If you are all about the tanning bed, make sure that your last tanning session is a week from your scheduled session. Remember that you can always use bronzer on your face and other parts of your body, but trying to take the red out of sunburned skin or edit out peeling skin is difficult-to-impossible, adding time and cost to the post-production of your final photos.
5. Leave That Zit Alone
You might hate me for this one, but please be gentle with your skin by not picking or squeezing parts of your face. My makeup artist can cover redness with makeup, but the texture of your skin cannot be covered and will remain visible. Challenge yourself to gently treat your skin and let it heal itself before you have your session. If you have one that is really driving you crazy, put a warm washcloth on it to draw out the pressure or put a zit sticker on it to draw out the tiny infection inside. Your skin will be a lot happier (and so will you).
