Being concerned about what is going in your body and how you’re treating it during pregnancy is excellent and usually a primary focus for mothers. But skin care during pregnancy often takes the back burner and isn’t thought about as much.
Your skin is actually a big part of your body that takes to a lot of changes as well. And your normal routine of skin care likely won’t do as well when you’re pregnant because of everything that’s going on under the surface.
Skin Care During Pregnancy
There is so much that you get to deal with about your skin that not being aware without changing your routines a bit can make things drastically worse. You can have many symptoms or none, though likely at least two or three.
And it’s from those raging hormones again. But your skin can be different from trimester to trimester even. It may have that ‘glow’ people so often talk about, or it can be much worse and unmanageable the entire time. Though I think the glow is more from just being hot all the time. 🙂
Most likely, though, it’s NOT what you see in the stock photos of happy, done up mommies rubbing their bellies that have no discoloration whatsoever. And that’s OKAY, but it’s reality you get to face in the mirror each day and learn to love.
Common Skin Problems
Here are a variety of things you may experience with your skin:
- Extra Dryness: Your hands and feet, especially your knuckles can become thick and dry no matter how much it seems you butter them up. This can lead to rashes in a variety of places of all different kinds. These can range from psoriasis types that are mild, all the way to extreme conditions of red blotches and pustules that cover your entire belly or thighs. (But don’t worry, they’re quite rare.)
- Skin Tags: Have you noticed how your teeny tiny moles seem to become three dimensional overnight? Or when you’re shaving you suddenly have just rough bumps of skin? These skin tags are common on the underarms, neck and crotch. They most often fade away or fall off somewhere around your birth.
- Overall Sensitivity: Because of hormones, your skin creates increased melanin, which leads to your ability to burn in the sun much easier. It also makes your face, chest and belly more prone to patchy redness when outdoors or in harsher weather. When you continue your regular exfoliation and cleansing routine you can become more flushed looking and have your skin react to your normal cleanser in a less comfortable way.
So the top pic is of me last year a few months before getting pregnant. The bottom pic is today, 9 months pregnant. I know the lighting is different, but you can definitely see differences in skin tone and color, plus freckles.
- Darker Color: The fancy word is melasma, which simply means you’ll have darker spots of skin on your forehead and around your eyes, also from increased melanin. You may even have more distinct freckles for awhile until this fades. This is also the reason why your nipples can turn so dark when you have breast changes.
- Teenage Acne: One ‘wonderful’ thing about your first trimester is that you’ll feel like you’ve gone back years from seeing increased acne on your face, and even commonly on your back during summer months. It’s frustrating because it’s hormonal, and not necessarily from your diet or cleanliness of your face. This too will pass. But keep the concealer handy. 🙂
- Irritating Itchiness: With your belly stretching and your body expanding, your skin gets quite itchy from trying to hold in moisture but also being pulled to the limit. Your belly, breasts, butt and thighs will most often bother you immensely until things start returning to normal during your recovery. If you find that you have uncontrollable urges to scratch, especially on your limbs, hands and feet, this may indicate a different problem with our liver. Be sure to talk with your doctor if this happens.
- Belly Line: Called linea nigra, many women get that darker, more distinct line down the middle of their bellies that just fades away when your belly starts to shrink. Have you ever noticed how some belly pics have it and others don’t? There’s nothing that can be done if you do end up having it and aren’t fond of it.
I’ve got a reverse flux capacitor on my belly 🙂
- Visible Veins: Though not a direct result of changes in your skin, you’ll be able to see increased numbers of veins running all across your body, especially your breasts and belly. If you end up seeing varicose in your legs, let your doctor know right away. (More on those in this post here.)
- Stretch Marks: I saved the ‘best’ for last. This seems to be the ONLY thing that we think about in terms of what we see in the mirror, even years later. The hard part is that they’re mostly genetic, and MOST women will get them no matter what you try to do about it. So I always say what my husband told me,
“You’re a tiger that has earned her stripes.” - Trevin Prince
But that doesn’t mean that there’s absolutely nothing you can do to help your skin stay in as good a shape as it’s always been in. It just means that it may take much more pampering and care in order to do so.
What Will Help
It’s really just moisturizing and not overdoing it with cleaning and skin treatments-less is more in this case. FYI, these apply to your entire body, not just your face:
- Limit your cleaning to very gentle cleansers, or even just stick to water.
- Use cooler water and avoid taking hot showers if possible.
- Limit your exfoliation, or use a more gentle exfoliant. So instead of a sugar scrub, use a pumice stone, for example.
- Use soaps, lotions and creams that contain oatmeal; it helps with the itch.
- Use body butter that contains shea butter or jojoba oil because they work MUCH better than your artificial moisturizers that contain chemicals.
- Keep all your soaps and products as natural as possible-less unnatural irritation.
- Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize-BUT allow your skin to breathe as well (this includes your crotch).
- DON’T SCRATCH because this really only makes it worse. Plus it greatly increases your chances of getting terrible stretch marks from irritating your skin even more.
- Use a good sunblock when you’re out and about more, even on your face and arms that get more regular exposure to the sun.
Need a bit more help with your acne? Here are some natural remedies right from your kitchen from Dr. Ava Shamban.
Admire your skin for what it is: the surface of a container that is transforming life inside of you. It’s kind of like a cocoon that will eventually produce a gorgeous butterfly. It might look a bit undesirable at moments. But that is eventually shed and becomes a part of something greater.
I get these psoriasis-like rashes on my underarms through my whole pregnancy. I try to baby them, but they never seem to go away until after birth. I’ve learned that if I wear deoderant though, it makes them itchy and worse. Wierd huh?
Then when I get out of the shower, I notice that I always have these small pimple like bumps randomly scattered across my belly. The hotter my shower, the itchier they are. But if I leave them alone for an hour or two they easily disappear. Also wierd.
The Good News
All of these conditions will go away. The acne will fade once you’re about halfway through your pregnancy. The itchiness and dryness will go away after your body starts shrinking about down to size. The sensitivity and discoloration will disappear before you even realize it. And even your stretch marks WILL fade, especially the ones on your belly.
Pamper Your Deserving Skin With The Stretch Oil In This Bundle
So remember what my husband said and love your stripes. They are a symbol of a crowning achievement and nothing to be ashamed of. If what the world deems ugly comes with what creation deems perfect, then the world is wrong. Love the skin that you’re in.
Any funny skin stories you want to share?
Did you pin this? Make sure you do. 🙂
After all that, if I could tell you to invest in just ONE thing, it would be >> this bundle. It will literally save your behind. Enjoy!
Remember … you can do hard things
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After reading this article, I cannot agree with you more that taking care of your skin while being pregannt is imotant. I know family members who while their pregnancy ignored their daily skin care routines as they were involved in other things and they ended up getting darker skin and itchiness as explained in your article
Hi Jazzy. I couldn’t NOT apply an oatmeal lotion or cream daily because the change was so overwhelming and couldn’t be ignored.
I know some moms that have darker marks permanently, as you mentioned. It’s different for everyone. Thanks for your comment!
RuthM says
This is a great article, I wish I had found it when I was pregnant! I have found that my skin is more problematic since having 2 children. Its SOOO dry. No moisturiser seems to cut it.
And other weird things have happened. I have really bad cracked heels and I can’t wear earrings. I know this isn’t the topic of your article, but I was hoping you could help as you sound knowledgeable about these things. Unless you have already written an article, in which case… can you point me to it!
Thanks!
Hi Ruth. My heels get really dry and cracked when I’m pregnant too. And it continues into breastfeeding because all the moisture is going to milk and/or the baby. If your moisturizers aren’t working, opt for something more natural without artificial ingredients, has shea butter or jojoba oil; then increase your water intake at least two-fold.
When you say you can wear earrings? Do you mean that it makes your earlobes sensitive to wear them? Occasionally I have to take off my earrings and clean them thoroughly, clean my earlobes, and then not wear them for a few days for whatever I’ve got to clear up. But that’s just anytime.
Let me know if that helps. Thanks for stopping by!
G.C.Horton says
Hi Sarah!
Thanks for a very informative and encouraging post. Part of good self-care is knowing that it makes a difference. There is so much misleading information in the media about how to properly care for you skin. Most of this misleading info is probably from marketing departments at cosmetic companies. Thanks for simplifying skin care during pregnancy.
Hi GC. What bugs me is when famous brands tout their products as being all natural and nothing artificial, when they’re really not. Cosmetics are even worse because you never know what is even in them!
Thanks for your comment, please share!
My natural baby birth
What a wonderful site and very informative of the issues woman face during pregnancy it is an problem for both family members involved.
there are so many remedies on the market today that say they can help but lets face it we know what happens hormone changes and weight gain the list goes on and on
bless all the women who give birth it does a lot to them physically and biologically.
You’re quite right Fredric. There ARE many products out there that want to just cover up or limit the natural symptoms a mother goes through during pregnancy, which can be harmful in the long run to the mother and baby. That’s why I support all natural products that have no risk involved when a mother chooses to indulge, such as Earth Mama’s Pregnancy Pampering Kit .
Thanks for your comments. Have a great weekend!
Divican says
This review is so great. As I can say it benefit women on pregnancy. I am married and I am going to adverse my wife on this great tutorial and if necessary I will book mark your site for future references. And not if necessary actually I have bookmarked it.
Finally I am giving my wife your website address so that personally she will visit your website.
Thank you, Divican. I would love to help your wife if she has any questions.
I love your blog! So much useful info about pregnancy and giving birth!
Stretchmarks are really the best part of it. All other skin problems fade alway in time, but they stay forever.
I love this line by Trevin Prince, this is the attitude I try to implement in all aspects of my life.
My best wishes to you and keep up the good work.
You’re the first gal I’ve ever heard that feels her stretch marks are the best part. 🙂
Thanks for your comment, Daniela. Have a great day!
Laurine says
Hi Sarah,
I have no children, but my husband and I would love to start a family. I have friends and colleagues who have had children and some that are still pregnant.
There are so many changes that happen to your body whilst you’re pregnant. What happens to your skin is something that not many women talk about openly.
Thank you for the tips on taking care of your skin whilst pregnant. I know a lot of women who will benefit from this information (myself included when the time comes)
Cheers
Laurine
That’s wonderful if you want to start your family, Laurine. But you’re right, most moms don’t talk about the skin issues they may be having because they can be considered not as important as everything else. It’s also more associated with hygiene issues, but in reality isn’t the case here. A woman can be just as hygienic and taking care of herself well and still deal with these issues. Thanks!
That was an awesome article. There is one of these skins problems, but it is after the parturition due to the over-stretching of belly skin which can be very difficult to get back to normal.
This problem has many companies working on and making new products, but most of them just fail.
Do you know about any steps to get the belly skin to normal shape after parturition?
There are things you can do to help your belly skin shrink back down after having a baby, in fact, I’m going to be posting more about it here soon, so stay tuned. But most of the time, proper postpartum exercise and just letting time take its toll will get a mother’s belly skin mostly back to normal. It’s never exactly the same but is certainly close.
Since I’m a guy I haven’t had to worry about most of that stuff. But guys, if they grow that beer belly too fast, can get stretch marks too.
With all the things that my women friends have gone through in their pregnancies the one that is the most devastating are those stretch marks. That combined with weight gain makes their post baby tummy look like a can of biscuit popped open and then someone smeared it with grape jelly.
Husbands and boyfriends never know what to say about that so in your next post maybe you could make a list for us so we don’t get in trouble with the new mother. She’s been know to throw stuff. 🙂
Gary
my-thoughts-in-the-news dot com
Oh, your metaphor just made that realization kinda gross, Gary! 🙂
But yet, there are desperate times that can call for desperate measures. I was just telling Mahmood in a previous comment that be implemented proper post delivery exercise and just giving things time, a momma’s belly will shrink back down and the stretch marks will fade. Things look the worst during the third trimester, but they quickly look better just as fast as they got worse.
I do have a post about what not to say to a pregnant woman, and it starts with a story about what a complete stranger (a man) said to me. Maybe you can get a lot of hints from there. Thanks, Gary!
Your post on “skin care during pregnancy is important” is definitely the kind of information that all pregnant women can use to help them out. My wife would have loved to have had your information years ago while going through here pregnancy.
I’m sure this post will help many women for the future pregnancies to come and perhaps my new daughter-in-law.
Thanks, Travis. Feel free to share so we can help those that will benefit.
Hi Sarah,
As you can see I’m a guy who will not know what mothers go through during their pregnancy. But thanks for this article I know the skin problems some mothers will have during their pregnancy and what are some of the ways that can help with their skin conditions. A very enlightening post for me.
Thanks again!
You’re welcome, Jimmy. Stop by and share anytime, or let me know if you have any questions.
Hi,
Congratulations on creating such a lovely site . I started reading this post and could have kept going for ages, you have just so much good information. I have two daughters having babies in the next few months so I’ll be sure to pass on your site to them. The Earth Mama pack looks great and I will be sure to come back a little closer to their due dates and get a couple.
Deb
That’s exciting for you, Deb! Two grandchildren her soon, are they your first ones?
I love the Earth Mama Angel Baby products. In fact I have a few pregnancy kits that are excellent for helping to pamper a mommy’s skin and quell the morning sickness. While I also have a review on the recovery essentials bundle that is one of the most popular and I would never do without. I know your daughters will love you so much more for the gifts. 🙂
Have a nice day.