A Beautiful Day

Many brides focus on venues and invitations months out while leaving beauty treatments until right before their wedding day. When it comes to hair or nails this is fine, but by waiting until the last minute, you may be missing out on some great new treatments that could help you look and feel your very best on your big day. We talked to local salon and spa experts about a few of their favorites for brides-to-be. Just remember, these new treatments require a little advance planning, so mark your calendars, get set, and go!

Slim Chances
Many brides-to-be step up their exercise routine in the months leading up to their wedding, but no matter how many Pilates or yoga classes we take, many of us still have one or two stubborn areas that won't go away. "Many women have saddle bags, lower tummy fat, or love handles they can't get rid of by working out," says Dr. Khalid Mahmud of Innovative Directions in Health in Edina. "Lipodissolve, which was recently developed in Europe, was designed to remove fat from those stubborn areas."

Lipodissolve uses two components that already exist in our bodies, phoshatidyl choline and bile salt, to break down fat cells then digest them. "We make micro injections into these stubborn areas that kill the fat cells," Mahmud says. "The inflammatory cells that are removing the dead fat cells also lay down new collagen, which results in very smooth skin."

Mahmud recommends two to three treatments for most conditions, with eight weeks between treatments. "After the last treatment, you'll need another six to eight weeks to see the full effect for each area, so you should start the process at least four months before your wedding," Mahmud adds.

Toni Hasselfeldt of Belladerm MedSpa in Maple Grove, which also offers lipodissolve, emphasizes that the treatment is for isolated areas only, about the size of two hands. "It's important to note that lipodissolve is great for spot toning if you are already in fairly good shape, but someone who is quite overweight is not a good candidate," Hasselfeldt says.

Going Smoothly
Getting married provides an opportunity to indulge in treatments that we might see as extravagant at any other time in our life. Most of us are used to shaving or plucking unwanted hair on our body, but investing in a longer-term solution like laser hair removal could lessen grooming time in those busy months leading up to the wedding and keep you looking your best through the honeymoon and beyond.

"Removal of facial hair and chin hair for wedding photos is very popular," Hasselfeldt says. Many brides also have laser treatments done in the underarm area, legs, and forearms, according to Christina Rauch of Sunbear Salon Spa & Medispa in White Bear Lake. Treatments in these areas are especially popular for brides going on a tropical honeymoon, but you'll enjoy the results well beyond that, according to Rauch.

"It may be that a hair or two sneaks through, so many women come back in a year to do a touch up, but for the most part, the results are long-term," she says. Because most areas typically require six treatments with several weeks between visits, Hasselfeldt recommends calling about seven to nine months out to set up a schedule.

A Wrinkle-Free Event
For brides looking to take a few years off their age, Botox injections can be used to diminish crow's feet or lines near the eye furrow area by relaxing the muscles that caused the squinting in the first place. "Depending on the area, Botox lasts about three to six months, and it takes up to two weeks for full effect, so we recommend that the last treatment is at least one month prior to your wedding day," says Pat Scherven of Skin Therapease in Wayzata.

According to Scherven, Restylane, which fills out the lips, is also becoming more popular among brides-to-be. Rauch likes to combine the two treatments. "Botox and Restylane work well side by side," Rauch says. "You can use Botox to decrease lines in the forehead, between the eyebrows, or crow's feet, then use Restylane to fill out any remaining lines or plump lips."

While Restylane gives a more defined look to the lips, a new filler called Juvederm has a more subtle effect. " Juvederm just makes the lips look a little fuller naturally, it's a softer look that can be used to contour and add volume to wrinkles and folds," says Kara Welle, medical aesthetician at Revessence Skin Enhancement Center in Eden Prairie.