If you were ever in doubt of the power that hormones can have on your skin, you won't be when you're pregnant. Some may well get the radiant glow that's synonymous with carrying a baby, but others might also be dealt adult acne, heightened sensitivity and a mask of pigmentation. Boo.
To help you navigate these sudden changes of your skin, let’s look at some of the possible things that can happen and our best tips for dealing with them effectively, but most importantly, safely for you and your baby.
Yes we know this is an obvious one. Late night urges for strange foods combinations aside, make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day. Why? When you're pregnant, you need more water than the average person in order to form amniotic fluid, produce extra blood, build new tissue, carry nutrients, enhance digestion, and flush out wastes and toxins. And of course, hydration is only going to help your skin stay supple and plump from the inside out.
Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is not only good for the baby, but it will also prevent your skin from looking dull and tired.
While your body is experiencing a surge of pregnancy hormones, your skin is going to be more sensitive than ever. To prevent creating permanent pigmentation (remember most pregnancy pigmentation will fade after about 6 months of giving birth), keep your skin covered up when you’re in the sun and wear a physical mineral sunscreen. Look for the ingredients zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. These are natural minerals that physically block the sun’s harmful rays from getting to your skin and have been deemed safe to use for all, even pregnant women.
Stay away from oxybenzone during pregnancy. If a pregnant woman uses a chemical sunscreen that contains oxybenzone, she runs the risk of it being absorbed into the bloodstream, which can impact the fetus.
If you are one of the unfortunate ones who have not been blessed with glowing skin during pregnancy, do not fret. Wash your face daily with a soap-free cleanser twice a day. Be gentle when washing and drying your skin. Do not scrub or try to squeeze the zits. While you definitely want to stay away from traditional acne remedies containing retinol during pregnancy, if you’re looking for a complete skincare routine to help clear up your skin, using only organic ingredients, try our Supercharged Trio, designed with natural, active ingredients to balance excess oil, calm breakouts and flush out blocked pores.
It is common to experience itching, especially on the abdomen area as the blood supply to the skin increases, but avoid using any chemical products. Instead use natural products such as organic oils to keep your skin soft, supple, healthy and nourished, as well as a gentle body exfoliant. We love our Soften Total Bodycare Kit.
While some women experience breakouts and excess oil, others suffer from dryness, often all over your body. This can be because all the hydration in your body is being used by the growing baby.
Make sure you're "eating your water", by way of foods with a high water content such as vegetables, fruits and nuts.
Applying hydration sealing oils, like our Treat Body Oil for your whole body and our Nourishing Trio for your face and neck area, is going to help load your skin with hydration and help to seal it in by maintaining your skin barrier.
Due to hormonal changes, some women experience pigmentation on cheeks, forehead and neck. To reduce this, you can exfoliate twice weekly with a gentle alpha hydroxy acid. Studies show that AHAs can be beneficial in treating hyper-pigmentation, and they are generally safe to use in pregnancy. Just remember that hormonal changes can make your skin more sensitive than normal, so test products on a small area of skin first. Our UnMask is super gentle while very effective in buffing away dead skins and promoting the growth of new fresh cells underneath.
Changing up your skincare routine can be tough, but we know you’ll do anything to protect your little one.
This includes avoiding products that could be harmful to you or your baby during pregnancy, just as retinol.
In fact, exfoliating is one of our favourite skin tricks, and it really works.
One of the easiest ways to boost your natural glow, help clear up your skin, minimize the appearance of sun damage, and maintain a beautiful complexion is to exfoliate regularly.