Award Show Skin Prep: 1 Month, 1 Week, 1 Day

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The best treatment for skin the day before [a big event] is rest. I tell my clients not to overdo it with exercise the day before. Instead, relax, go for a walk and stay hydrated.

— Mzia Shiman, owner of Mzia Shiman Spa in New York City

1 Month: Diet & Skin Care

If you have one month before a wedding, graduation or other major event, there are two main things you can do to improve your skin: you diet and skin care regimen.

With one month away from a big event, the first place to begin is your diet. Mzia Shiman, who runs her eponymous skin care spa in New York City, first advises her clients to hydrate. “I tell them to eat fruits and vegetables and drink an obscene amount of water,” she explained in an interview.

Kate Somerville, owner of the Kate Somerville Skin Health Experts clinic in Los Angeles, suggests avoiding caffeine, drinking green tea, pure cranberry juice, and again, drinking lots of water.

For dry skin, Somerville suggests adding salmon and avocado to your diet. For acne-prone skin, reducing saturated fats, and avoiding nonorganic meats, white sugar and white flour help, as does increasing fiber. Somerville also says everyone, no matter how dry or moist their skin, to stop smoking.

After you have your diet under control, finding a skin care regimen that works for your skin type is the next step.

The skin care regimens Shiman and Somerville put together for big events generally depend on skin type. For clear, young skin, Shiman begins with microdermabrasion, which smooths the surface of the skin, and follows up with a deep cleaning facial at the beginning of the month.

From there, Shiman typically does four to six sessions of oxygen treatments, a process that uses a tank of pure oxygen. “Oxygen helps the skin look plump, healthy and beautiful. And it helps makeup go on smoother,” she said in an interview.

For skin with breakouts, Shiman skips the harsher regimens and opts for four treatments of glycolic acid, which dry out pimples and breakouts. She then does one hydrating facial the week before the event and finishes off with an oxygen treatment. “With acne-prone skin, I start aggressive and then go mild,” she explained.

Somerville also is a proponent of glycolic acid, and at home, she recommends her clients look for a certain set of products to assist in the process – sulfate-free gel cleansers, exfoliators with glycolic or lactic acids or fruit enzymes and oil-free moisturizers with aloe vera or hyaluronic acid. In the treatment center, she usually has her clients go for weekly facials and an LED phototherapy treatment.

Since awards season falls in the harshest winter months, dry skin is a common issue for stars. And trying to apply makeup over flaky, cracked skin is a nightmare. Somerville has a few courses of treatment for these problems -- and most of them are pretty high-tech.

One option is an ultrasound facial, which delivers sound waves into the top layer of the skin, which improves cellular metabolism and skin texture. Microcurrent treatment is another option, which sends small electrical impulses that mimic ones already occurring in the body. This triggers a reaction in the cells to encourage the production of collagen and elastin, which help reduce drying. Somerville recommends cream cleansers, exfoliators with fruit enczymes or glycolic acid and moisturizers with glycerin, hyaluronic acid and shea butter -- which can all be used at home.

Shiman sends clients home with hydrating serums and doesn’t stray from using a little retinol, even though it has drying effects. She says that retinol helps strip the dead skin away, making the hydrating moisturizers more effective.

For an older woman, fine lines and hyperpigmentation – aka "age spots" – can be the biggest problems. Shiman uses laser treatments for both of these issues. Somerville’s staff says she uses ultrasound treatments, Red LED phototherapy and laser treatments as well.

What else can you do to change your skin care regimen? Both Shiman and Somerville are insistent that their clients avoid the sun. They tell clients to wear sunscreen with a high SPF every day, and a hat and sunglasses while in direct sunlight. Shiman won’t do any laser treatments on clients who have spent a lot of time in the sun. “I ask clients whether they’ve been unprotected in the sun," she said, "and I can always tell whether they’re telling me the truth."

1 Week: Avoid Irritation

Seven days away from an event, one might think this is when a woman should kick her skin regimen into high gear, but it’s quite the opposite. “One thing I advise my celeb clients not to do is try a brand-new treatment [a week before an event], because your skin could have a bad reaction or you may not have any downtime after, since you may experience some short-term redness, bruising or swelling,” said Somerville.

She does offer some treatments that don’t require any downtime. One is called DermalQuench Oxygen Therapy; it immediately raises hydration levels in skin, making it “supple, hydrated, smooth and dewy," notes Somerville. And a laser treatment called the Titan heats the skin and stimulates collagen, which tightens sagging and reduces wrinkles. She gives this treatment to celeb clients even the night before the awards because the results are immediate.

Shiman, on the other hand, either opts for a deep pore cleansing for someone with blackheads or bumps on the skin, or a hydrating facial for dry skin, and caps it off with an oxygen treatment. Like Somerville, she doesn’t recommend anything too extreme a week before, opting instead for treatments that are effective enough to make a difference while delicate enough to avoid irritation.

1 Day: Rest

Twenty-four hours before the Big Night, there isn’t much left to be done, but Shiman does have one suggestion. “The best treatment for skin the day before [a big event] is rest,” she said. “I tell my clients not to overdo it with exercise the day before. Instead relax, go for a walk and stay hydrated.”

Inevitably, no matter how hard a woman works on her skin, there’s a chance she’ll get a pimple. “If you have a pimple the day of a big event, don’t pick it. It’s better to wrap an ice cube in cloth and rest it on the blemish for a few minutes. The ice reduces the inflammation and redness,” Shiman said.

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