Alright, let’s get real. Pregnancy is weird. In lots of ways. But when it comes to how you look and feel, it’s really weird. One day, you’ll feel like your skin is a shade of yellow and your eyes are sunken in and you’re bloated and puffy and nothing fits right and the next, someone will tell you that you’re “glowing” and your hair has grown like an inch and your nails are beautiful and strong and you’ll be EXCITED by the fact that you can get away with wearing nothing but cotton with no judgement for the rest of the summer. <–longest sentence ever.
Anyway. Because that’s the case, I relished the days where I felt “glow-y.” And I wanted to share with you the products that kept my skin in shape (and were baby safe) while I was pregnant. As a first time preggo last year, I didn’t know where to begin. I wanted to keep my baby safe but I wanted to keep my skin together too. I was 30 when I first became pregnant, and that’s not really a spring chicken. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s still young… but those fine lines and wrinkles have been knocking at my door for years and they finally invited themselves in over recent years. I didn’t want to just welcome them in while I was pregnant (am I taking the analogy too far?!) so I looked for skin care that was safe for my baby but good for my face.
I was also concerned about stretch marks… I really didn’t want to get them. I’ve heard and read that you can be genetically predisposed, and luckily my mom didn’t really get much, but I’ve also heard that with no predisposition, you can still get them. Luckily, by using these products, I didn’t get any! I’ll explain the TMI details below.
PS – A great resource to check products and their general levels of safety is EWG.org – it gives you ratings and information on the products you search.
Below are my favorite skin care products for pregnancy!
- Kiehls Cucumber Herbal Alcohol Free Toner – I used this right after washing my face with Purity face wash by Philosophy (that is my everyday go-to and was safe for pregnancy as well). I applied a small amount into the palm of my hands and put it on as a base for my moisturizer.
- Acure Organics Day Cream Gotu Kola Stem Cell – this was the moisturizer I used every morning after the toner
- Acure organics Eye Cream Superfruit – this was my go-to eye cream for both morning and night
- Acure Organics Night Cream Argan Stem Cell – I used this at night in lieu of the day cream, following my toner.
- Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Lotion – SPF 55 – I used this stuff like it was going out of style if I was going to be out in the sun. The last trimester of my pregnancy was during the summer, and I’ll tell ya, I don’t know if I have ever been more tan by the time it was said and done (thank you, hormones, this is one of the one and only ways I miss you), but I’ll tell ya… you have to be EXTRA cautious out in the sun because of those very hormones. My skin was extra sensitive to sun and if I didn’t have SPF on, I’d quickly burn. And burn like a deep, painful, sketchy looking purple burn. Like the kind of burn that you’re thinking “huh. maybe my skin will just never heal from this.” And it’s not good for your skin! Not one bit! And it’s just another way to say hello to wrinkles and risk scary things like skin cancer. So homie don’t play that. (That’s an “In Living Color” reference for those of you born post that majestic era).
- Mothers Friend Body Skin Cream – doesn’t this stuff look like it’s straight outta the 80’s?! Well guess what! That’s cuz it is!! My MOM used this when she was pregnant with all 3 of her kids! LOL! I figured, if it worked well for her, it was bound to work for me – and it did! It’s a small container, so I would buy them 3 at a time and a little really does go a long way. I put this stuff on every. single. day of my pregnancy from the time I was like 6 weeks pregnant on. I made sure to do it after I showered, and if I remembered (which was rare), I’d put more on before bed. I rubbed this stuff all over my belly, my sides, even my bootie and inner/upper thighs (TMI but I don’t care – these things are important and people don’t just offer this information up.) I remember my mom saying that the only place she got stretch marks was on her thighs and at the end of pregnancy, so I was really lubing my legs up at the end, just to try and avoid that.
- Noodle & Boo ‘nectar’ Elasticity Oil – ok this is kind of funny. My girlfriend, Natalie, got this for me as a little pregnancy gift and I just loved it. It smells so pretty and it’s so soft and smooth and lovely. It’s like the fancy version of an anti-stretch mark cream. But I’d already doubled down on my Mothers Friend 80’s cream so I used this when I wanted to feel really jazzy, pretty, and (dare I even say) sexy. That’s so weird to say, I know. But as you can tell, I’m pretty shameless when it comes to this stuff. Just because you’re pregnant (and have another little human growing large in your midsection) doesn’t mean you can’t feel special. Or pretty. Or attractive. In some ways, I’ve never felt moreso. Pregnancy is weird, like I’ve said, and it made me feel like Wonder Woman sometimes. Like I (my body) was doing this incredible, badass thing every day. Because it was. Children are miracles. And pregnancy is miraculous. And beautiful. So I put on some special elasticity oil to remind myself of that some days 😉
Below is a photo of my face when I was 8 months pregnant, and of my belly the day I went into the hospital and came out with Miss Isla on the other side. I hope you enjoy these products as much as I did. I believe in all of these products and would recommend them even if you’re not looking for a pregnancy skin care regimen. Ok, the Mothers friend may not make the list otherwise 😉
Enjoy!
