Wedding Glow-Up - Am I Going Too Hard or Not Hard Enough?

I'll preface this by saying that I know the concept of a "pre-wedding glow-up" is not for everyone, and that society places a ton of unnecessary pressure on women to go overboard in preparation for their wedding. I completely understand the brides who want to go into their special day exactly as themselves. However, beauty and wellness have always been just fun hobbies and interests of mine, so I was excited by the idea of kicking things up a notch before my wedding! In fact, I see it as more of an exciting challenge, like 75 Hard, than pressure or obligation. So, my goal is to see how much better I can feel and look by then.

1. To start, I went to Quest Labs online and ordered myself a super comprehensive bloodwork panel, including a full metabolic/lipid panel, full hormonal panel, added a bunch of vitamin tests, and basically as many things as I could get tested for, to see what my overall health and levels were looking like. Based on my results (very informative btw, highly recommend!), I built a supplementation regimen and made dietary changes.

2. I got on a GLP-1 and have been losing my excess weight (when I started, I had a good 40-50 lbs to lose, so it's not that I was thin to begin with). I'm eating in a caloric deficit every day and focusing on high-quality, non-processed, high-protein meals. I've eliminated all processed foods, I'm not ordering takeout or eating out at restaurants (this last one only applies to the last 3 months before my wedding). Currently, I only have 2.5 months left, so I'm being extra strict about these points. I'm only eating at home so I can control the ingredients and oils and the amount of salt in my food.

3. I'm drinking hydrolyzed collagen peptides every day in my water and/or coffee, drinking 4 30 oz Stanley cups worth of water daily, each with a scoop of collagen peptides. I drink my coffee either black or add 1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk.

4. My supplement stack currently includes L-Theanine (amazing combo with my coffee), Vitamin C, Vitamin D2 + K3, Omegas, Zinc, probiotics, and Magnesium Glycinate (at night, 30 min before bed).

5. For exercise, I'm starting every morning with a brisk 30 minute walk (it does get my heart rate up a bit and I do sweat a little) and ending each day with a 1 to 1.5 hr brisk walk during which I get to 12K-15K steps, and then come back home and doing either 30 minutes of Peloton or 30 minutes of strength training, and recently, the GG Bridal Arms series. I wrap up my workout with 10 minutes on the vibration plate.

6. After my evening workouts, I prepare for my shower by dry brushing full body (yes, I wash the brush and keep it clean), and after dry brushing, I lie on a towel on my bathroom floor and give myself a lymphatic drainage massage on my abdomen, flanks, chest, arms, and legs using Bio Oil.

7. I do have specific skin issues I need to target, including keratosis pilaris on my arms and legs, and some mild back acne. So, after dry brushing + massage, I get in the shower and wash my hair first so that none of the occlusive products I use on my hair interfere with my back acne treatment. I shampoo and condition, and once I rinse it all off, I tie my hair in a loose bun and clip it up. I then apply my PanOxyl acne wash on my silicone body scrubber and get my whole back. I let that sit there for about 5 minutes while I wash my face.

8. At night, I double cleanse my face, so I start with an oil-based cleanser and then use my gentle water-based cleanser. Then, on my KP areas is cleanse with a salicylic acid shower gel. 3 days a week, I also use the First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser scrub on my KP areas. Those days I don't apply glycolic acid on my KP areas after my shower, and the days I don't use the scrub, I use the GA. For the rest of my body, I use an acidified daily cleanser that has helped me a lot with just general fresh smell without the need of perfumes or anything like that. It just helps enhance your natural odor while managing BO. Feels very light.

9. After the shower, I go to my bedroom where I have my Hooga lamp and do 10 minutes of red light therapy on one side of my body, 10 minutes on the other side, and simultaneously I do 10 minutes on my face with my red light face mask. Then, I start on my skincare routine. Since I've already cleansed in the shower, I continue with hypochlorous acid spray on my back and my face, anywhere I tend to get pimples. Once that has dried, I apply my toner and once that dries, I apply my serums or peptides or whatever actives I'm using that night. Then I seal it all in with moisturizer. Some nights I do an overnight mask for extra hydration or just a sheet mask before bed. Almost all products I apply to my face, I also apply to my neck and chest, and honestly my face, neck, and chest have been glowing!

In the morning, I do basically the same routine, but single-cleanse and no actives. And of course, I apply sunscreen religiously on top of everything.

On my body, I apply AmLactin lotion on all KP areas and a La Roche Posay body moisturizer everywhere else.

10. I recently started a couple of specific hair products, but the verdict is still out on those, so I won't go into detail about hair care. I do apply a growth serum to my brows to help fill out some sparse spots. I think I'm going to laminate my brows for the wedding.

11. As far as professional services, I've been getting 2 to 3 lymphatic drainage massages per week and hydrafacials once a month. I also get lash lifts every 6 weeks and have one scheduled for right before the wedding. I got a little bit of chin filler and a little bit of baby Botox on my forehead and get those touched up as necessary. I'm also considering a tiny bit of lip filler just for a very subtle pout. I have relatively full lips naturally, but I do like a bit of a poutier look that it can give you.

12. I just purchased all the supplies to start microneedling at home (numbing cream, alcohol pads, the pen, cartridges, serums, slips, etc) and an esthetician friend of mine is teaching me how to do it safely and effectively on my own.

13. I also have pressotherapy boots that feel amazing when my legs are sore from my long walks or workouts, so at least 2x a week I sit on my bed with my Kindle or an audiobook for 20 minutes while the presso does its thing. I also usually read while I'm doing red light therapy.

14. My arm hair is blonde, so not super visible, but I've really been loving the fully shaven ultra-smooth arm feel and I'm fairly certain I want to fully shave my arms for my wedding day. Is this weird? I just think it looks so much nicer and smoother. So I've been fully shaving my arms whenever it starts growing back.

15. One of the most important things I'm doing is committing to at least 8 solid, high-quality hours of sleep each night, which is super hard for me, but I've been working on sticking to a bedtime, not touching my phone once I'm in bed, no more doom scrolling on TikTok, and just learning to unwind at a reasonable hour.

So, what do you all think? Where could I improve, optimize, go harder? What am I missing and what has worked for you?