Pregnancy Safe Skin Care

Congratulations!!  Having a baby changes everything doesn’t it?  Where did your nice clear complexion go? Who put those bags under your eyes?  Yes, you’re in for a wild ride, but we can help- at least with your skin.

Here's the big 3 most common issues in pregnancy: 

Acne

The first trimester is the worst for this.  You know how you have to pee and/or vomit every 5 minutes?  Your skin is sort of doing the same thing- forcing everything out to make a nice, clean home for your baby. Combine this with increased oil production, and hormones, and it’s a hot mess.

Be sure to wash your face regularly, and a good scrub every once in a while is great too. Kiss Cleanser is a great choice to use during pregnancy, and it’s completely unscented.

For preventative treatment try Mama's Helper Serum .  The vitamin c helps with healing, wasabi helps kill the germs, and licorice helps with the inflammation and skin darkening. It’s also safe for breastfeeding.

There’s also the Lemon Wasabi Blemish Buster to help as a spot treatment.  It’s completely safe to use during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

The Green Goddess Mask will help pull a lot of the oil and gunk out of your skin, and the Blackhead Remover toolcomes in handy as well.  

Avoid any oral or topical retinoids, and ask your doctor about BHA or salycilic acid.  BHA’s typically aren’t recommended because they’re a close cousin to aspirin, but they may say a little is OK if you ask nicely.

Pregnancy Mask

Your skin is a lot more sensitive to the sun while you’re pregnant, and you make extra pigment when you’re pregnant- it sometimes leads to discoloration on your face called melasma. 

Prevention is the best way to handle this one.  Avoid anything that makes your skin more sensitive to the sun:  AHA’s, and bergamont, lime, and bitter orange essential oils.

Be very diligent about sun protection.  Look for sun blocks with zinc oxide, and titanium dioxide rather than just relying on the chemical ones because they’re more stable.  We make an Ultra Sheer Zinc Oxide powderthat can help a little too (it's not a proper SPF tested sunscreen, but it does have a lot of zinc oxide). A hat is helpful too.

Again try a little Mama’s Helper.  The vitamin c, and licorice in it should help a little too, but really just wear a ton of sunscreen.

There isn’t anything pregnancy safe that will help you fade it. 

Stretch Marks

Our belief is you’re either going to get them or you aren’t.  You can try to avoid them, but don’t get sucked in by snake oil salespeople and spend a ton of money.  Stretch marks are caused by the collagen layer in your skin breaking down.  Oil will make your skin more elastic, and help with the dry itchy belly, but it won’t prevent them entirely.

Our Organic Olive Oil Lotion is a nice choice for helping with the itchy belly.

Here’s a Handy Shopping list if you’re expecting:

Kiss Cleanser 
Mama’s Helper serum 
Blackhead Remover tool 
Green Goddess Face Mask 
Smooth Operator scrubby towel - great when your mobility is limited in the shower
Olive Oil Moisturizer - great for itchy bellies
Calendula Salve - great for anything really itchy, and inflamed.  It’s also a great nipple cream for breast feeding.
Lemon Wasabi Blemish Buster - great for spot treatments
Concealers - yeah, you're going to need it.
Ultra Sheer Zinc Finishing Powder -  It's not an SPF tested sunscreen, but adding some zinc oxide to your skin won't hurt.

Here’s a list of things to avoid while pregnant:

1. Retinoids or anything with Vitamin A (like retinyl palmitate)- big big big no no.  They’ve been linked to birth defects.
2.  BHA, or any sort of Salicylic Acid-  Most doctors will err on the side of caution with this one.  You can’t take aspirin while you’re pregnant, so rubbing it’s very close chemical cousin on your skin probably isn’t the best idea either.  If pregnancy acne is driving you crazy ask your doctor if it’s ok in your situation.
3. MSM- We use it in Flamout, and Super Serum.  It crosses the placenta, and the blood brain barrier.  It is a vitamin, but we’re not going to recommend something that can cross the placenta.
4. Renovage- It’s a prescription drug in some parts of the world, and there isn’t any real safety data on it regarding pregnant women.
5. Parabens- You should always avoid them, but particularly when you’re pregnant.  They’re endocrine disruptors, and high concentrations of parabens found in baby’s urine has been linked with higher levels of allergies.

 

This article was published on Thursday, September 2, 2010.