Pregnancy can be one of the most life-changing moments that you will ever experience. And not just for your family, but for your skin too. So your skincare routine will require some adjustments.
This is a tricky thing to handle - pregnancy can change your skin a lot because of one thing: hormones. Pregnancy hormones do not just impact your mood. They affect your skin too. Here are the three most common changes in skin while pregnant:
- Acne
The change in hormone levels due to pregnancy can appear as unexpected adult acne.
- Melasma
A type of hyperpigmentation or uneven skin tone caused by changing hormones. Melasma is often called ‘the pregnancy mask’ because of how common it is during pregnancy.
- Extreme Dryness
Pregnancy hormones can also affect how much oil your skin produces. Your skin may become incredibly dry while pregnant!
Tackling these issues can be tricky while pregnant. There are some skincare ingredients that are important to avoid in your pregnancy skincare routine:
- Retinol/Retinoids
- High Concentrations of Salicylic Acid, Glycolic Acid and Lactic Acid
- Hydroquinone
Which Skincare to Use While Pregnant
So what can you actually use while pregnant? There are skincare products that are still okay to use during pregnancy, and especially to target any of the skin concerns caused by pregnancy.
How to Treat Dry Skin While Pregnant
Dry skin needs a little bit of extra help to keep that all-important hydration where it matters - inside the skin. Facial oil is the perfect thing to layer on top of your moisturizer to soften skin and prevent dryness.
Another way to get rid of flaky skin caused by pregnancy is by adding a few drops of facial oil to your favorite moisturizer, mixing the two before applying.
How to Lighten Melasma During Pregnancy
The best thing about Vitamin C serums is that they are pregnancy-safe and can help with many skin concerns - especially pigmentation issues like melasma and uneven skin tone.
A Vitamin C serum fades hyperpigmentation and evens out your skin tone by stopping your skin from making too much melanin (aka skin pigment), which leads to melasma.
How to Deal with Pregnancy Acne
Studies have shown that low concentrations of salicylic acid are safe during pregnancy. Some doctors recommend specifically 2% as the ideal percentage for pregnancy-safe skincare.
Salicylic acid helps to reduce breakouts by soothing inflammation and clearing skin of acne-causing dead skin cells. It is also ideal for making pores appear smaller!
Takeaway
There are some skincare ingredients that you need to avoid in your pregnancy skincare routine, but not all of them. Managing any skin changes during pregnancy is easy with the right skincare and know-how.
