The Biggest Skin Dos and Don’ts Before a Big Event, According to a Met Gala Facialist

Whether you have a breakout before your wedding or sunburn before the Met Gala, skin emergencies on one of the most important days of your life when all eyes are on you is not ideal. Celebrity facialist Lord Gavin McLeod-Valentine says he “always applies the red carpet as the same as your wedding day,” so with the Met Gala a week out, we asked him about skin prep dos and don’ts for when those big days are around the corner.

Go to treatments ahead of a big event

McLeod-Valentine says treatment choices all depend on how invasive people want to go and how much time they have to spend. Overall, he loves skin to be clean, so he often recommends “maybe three weeks out doing something like a HydraFacial or SilkPeel.” If you’re looking to do something more intense like a chemical peel, he likes VI Peel since “it’s suitable for all skin types and tones, so you don’t have the fear around hyperpigmentation.” He says oxygen facials are a good option “to impart vitamins and hydration molecules within the skin.”

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Keep it simple

“I think the major thing I would say is to keep things very simple. Lots of people get whipped up in a chaotic frenzy because they want to try all these invasive or intensive treatments because they think that’s what people do before carpet,” says McLeod-Valentine. He says it’s one of the biggest mistakes people can make ahead of their wedding day. “The biggest mistake people can make is on your wedding day. Don’t do something you’ve never done when you’re trying to look your absolute best, and it matters most.” Rather, McLeod-Valentine recommends keeping things steady and incremental. “I keep things very simple and low-impact because I don’t want any curveballs. I never want a client to go, ‘You told me to do microneedling, and now I look deranged.’”

Massage your face

“Get really comfortable with facial manipulation around massage. I always say start to massage your face morning and night,” says McLeod-Valentine. “It helps to drain lymphatic congestion, it helps to liven the complexion and just helps get things more activated,” he explains.

What to do if you have a breakout before an event

Acne is all about inflammation, notes McLeod-Valentine, so there are a number of things you can do. Internally, he recommends taking supplements like beta-carotene, magnesium glycinate and glutathione. From a topical perspective, he recommends an exfoliating toner, like Augustinus Bader The Essence ($99), with salicylic and glycolic acid to help dry out an active pimple. 

“The major thing is not what you do but what you don’t do. No picking, no prodding, no benzoyl peroxide straight on the zit, it’s going to make it too angry,” says McLeod-Valentine. “Keeping things calm is key,” he adds. “In addition to that, do not, and I learned this from first-hand experience, ever get a cortisone shot.” People often run to the dermatologist to get a cortisone in an effort to subdue a pimple, but McLeod-Valentine warns that “the divots you can get in your skin are insane. I have one I have to get filled in. I’d never been a diverter, but it started to happen, so I really caution people.”