7 Wedding Beauty Rituals From Around the World, and the Meaning Behind Them

From olive oil in Naples to turmeric in India, brides around the world prepare for their weddings with beauty rituals that carry blessings, family history, and heritage.

The wedding day can get quite busy for most brides, who spend hours or even days getting ready, hoping to feel beautiful and relaxed when they tie the knot. For some, there are even special wedding rituals tied to their beauty routines. These seven traditions from across the world use everyday ingredients and styles to bring forth blessings, as well as celebrate family and heritage.

Olive Oil in Southern Italy

In Naples and the wider Campania region, olive oil was believed to help protect against the evil eye, and there were rituals led by older women to facilitate this. Ancient Greeks and Romans also used olive oil on the skin and even blessed couples with it as a symbol of fertility. In 2024, bride Roberta Astarita, in keeping with tradition, washed her face every morning with olive oil soap and used olive oil shampoo on her curls leading up to her wedding. According to her sister Angela, a facialist and makeup artist, the oil represents “purity, abundance, and blessing.”

Red Cheek Dots in Korea

In Korea, the paebaek is a short ceremony dating back to the Joseon dynasty, where a couple bows to their elders and serves them tea. To prepare the bride for this ceremony, makeup artist Sarah Ahn begins with a sheet mask for skin brightening, then adds a touch of blush to the bride’s face. The most striking part of the bride’s look is the small red dots traditionally painted on the cheeks. Ahn says the dots are traditionally meant to help ward off evil spirits, but these days, they can also be a sign of youthfulness and playfulness.

Hair Combing in China

In China, it is believed that hair carries a person’s spirit and energy, and combing it is a way to cleanse and balance the self. Manhattan antique jewelry dealer Christine Cheng held a traditional hair-combing ceremony on the eve of her wedding weekend. The ceremony, which is less common among the younger generations today, involved tasking a family friend, who was considered lucky, to run a gold comb through Cheng’s hair four times. With each stroke, the friend recited a blessing for lasting harmony, enduring love, a full family, and a long life together. After the ceremony, Cheng also made sweet rice balls in a rice cooker in a hotel room to symbolize unity and sweetness in marriage.

Milk, Honey, and Rainwater in Cuba

Carolina Dalia Gonzalez learned about her grandmother’s Cuban wedding beauty customs from her mother. Before her parents’ 1994 wedding in Miami, her grandmother, whom she calls Abuela, advised her mother to use a milk and honey mask on the days leading up to the wedding to brighten her skin, wash her hair with rainwater the night before for good luck, and avoid the sun until after the wedding. For Gonzalez, honoring her grandmother, a beauty pageant queen who couldn’t go a moment without her face cream, was important, and she planned to follow the same customs for her own wedding. She says the rituals connect her to the grandmother she's named after.

Fish Braids in Ethiopia and Eritrea

In Ethiopia’s Amhara region, there is a kind of braids called Asa Shuruba, with a shape resembling a fish. Dallas bride Brehan decided to style her hair with this kind of braid in honor of her Ethiopian and Eritrean roots during her reception. Growing up, Sunday evenings were spent braiding with relatives, so she thought this would be a good way to highlight her culture. Even before the wedding, Brehan practiced creating the braids, and it took four hours. She also told her bridesmaids that they would be getting braided together on her wedding day.

Henna in Mali

In Mali, to mark the start of a new chapter of life, the bride goes through a henna ceremony. Geometric patterns dominate the designs, called djabi, including triangles that represent fish and their skeletons, a symbol of strength, unity, and good fortune. Bride Fanta Diabate’s mother chose an artist to apply her henna designs, which took five to seven hours, with her close female relatives present. She also encouraged her other friends who don’t share her culture to take part in the ceremony so she can share her heritage with them.

Turmeric Across India

In India, turmeric is used in many pre-wedding ceremonies known by names like Haldi, Manjal, Halad, and Arisina, depending on the region. Writer Sara Hussain describes the Manjha ceremony, the version observed in her Muslim community, which was held before her mother’s wedding at 23. Turmeric paste was mixed with rosewater and milk, then applied to her arms, legs, back, and face. Family and friends present applied the mixture to the bride, beginning with the eldest married woman. The recipes vary per region. In Tamil Nadu they use sandalwood; in West Bengal, they use rice flour; and in Punjab, they use mustard or almond oil.

Each of these seven rituals carries something forward, whether a family recipe, a protective symbol, or a connection to the women who came before.