Pammy Blogs Beauty: Dove Diaries Challenge: My Pregnancy Skincare Routine





Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Dove Diaries Challenge: My Pregnancy Skincare Routine


Hello Beauties!

The Australian fashion and beauty site 2threads recently asked me to participate in their Dove Diaries campaign. Basically this is to challenge beauty bloggers like myself to post about their beauty routines on their blogs. Since I love talking about beauty routines anyway, I am very happy to participate! Next week, 2threads will do a short feature on Pammy Blogs Beauty under their Dove Diaries tab on their site. So, be sure to share some love and head on over there (next week) to check it out!

While I don't have any Dove products in my facial skincare routine, Dove's Sensitive Skin Unscented Bar soap is my "holy grail" bar soap for the body! This bar soap lives in my shower year round. My skin is super-prone to skin allergies and this bar soap is very gentle on my skin. It moisturizes and leaves me very soft!

For my facial skincare beauty routine, I decided to focus on Pregnancy Skincare since I am, in fact, pregnant. Pregnant skin has specific needs: think hormonal changes and a need for gentle pregnancy-safe ingredients. Many standard skincare ingredients such as retinol/vit a derivatives, salicylic acid, and benzol peroxide are huge "no-nos" during Pregnancy. So, are you curious about my routine? Well, if you are be sure to continue reading this article after the page break!


My Beauty Routine Basics: Pregnancy Skincare
As ya'll know, the primary focus of this blog is beauty product testing. Since I am constantly in testing-mode, my products are constantly changing. So, it is hard to post about a basic beauty routine. So, I will post my current routine products that I always go back to when not testing out other items/brands. Since I am currently pregnant, I am posting this as my Pregnancy Skincare Routine. Many active skincare ingredients are contraindicated for pregnancy. So, my current list of skincare items are all considered to be pregnancy-safe by most sources.

I am a strong believer in taking good care of  your skin! It is the foundation of any good beauty routine. I am also a lover of "the basics". My skin is very sensitive and normally on the normal-dry side. My favorite products always seem to be items that are either fragrance free or very lightly fragranced. Pregnancy has caused occasional mild breakouts for my usually blemish-free skin. Also, my pregnancy skin is much more oily than my "typical skin". So, for pregnancy, I like products that are gentle-yet-effective. I need items that cleanse well and don't cause breakouts.

Here is my general routine:

Pregnancy Skincare:
1. Cleanser: Wash in AM and PM with a gentle cleanser.
Here are my cleansers that are in heavy rotation:
  • Belli Acne Cleansing Facial Wash: Fabulous!!! Just discovered this amazing cleanser since being pregnant. I like it so much that I might just continue to use this after my baby arrives too! It cleanses so well and has a fresh and lovely scent. (full review on Belli Skincare coming soon!).
  • Topix Resurfix Ultra Gentle Cleanser: My holy grail cleanser that I always use. It is a clear gel unscented cleanser that cleanses completely and rinses clean (no residue!).
  • Reviva Labs Cleansing Gel: This cleanser is very basic and that is why I like it! Cleanses and softens without over drying. I plan to review this soon!
2. Toner: This is a step that I occasionally skip, but usually do in both the AM and PM following cleansing. Generally, I like toners that are lightly hydrating.
  • Twinlab Na-PCA, Non-Oily, with Aloe Vera: This is my holy grail all-time-favorite toner. It is a NaPCA (sodium salt) spray that lightly hydrates. It is somewhat hard to find locally. So, I usually order online. But, you can often find this product at your local health food store.
  • Caudalie Toning Lotion: This is light and fresh. When I don't use the NaPCA, I use this! Check out my full review here: Caudalie Toning Lotion
3. Antioxidant Serum: Apply after cleansing in AM (and sometimes in PM too):
  • Your Best Face: I tend to alternate antioxidant serums from this brand depending on what I have on hand (they are all great!). Currently I am using the Defend lotion (full review coming soon). Previously, I have used Boost and really loved that too. (Check out my YBF Boost full review here). 
4. AM: Daily Lotion/SPF:
  • SkinMedica TNS Ultimate Daily Moisturizer + SPF 20: This is a fabulous SPF that contains antioxidants as well as sun protection. It is hydrating enough that I do not need an additional moisturizer. Check out my sunscreen picks for sensitive skin here
  • 17% Micronized Zinc Sunscreen SPF 30 (Private Label from my Dermatologist, I believe this is made by Topix and relabeled for my Derm): I use this one when I need stronger coverage than the SkinMedica SPF 20 can provide. This is a thick lotion with a bit of a white cast. But, the white cast is not very apparent on my very light skin.
PM: Moisturizers and/or Treatment Product: I typically use a treatment product 2-3 times per week (after a moisturizer) and a moisturizer on the other nights.

Treatments:
  • Azalex Cream (prescription cream): When not pregnant, I use Differin Cream in the evenings. But, since Differin is a no-no during pregnancy, my Derm switched me to Azalex in the PM. I use this a few nights a week (2-3 depending on if I use another treatment product, if I use this then I pair with a moisturizer). I rotate this with using a regular moisturizer and other treatments.
  • Colbert MD Daily Nutrition for Skin - Intensify Facial Discs (1x per week, rotating weeks with microdermabrasion): Oh, how I heart these! These little mini pads pack physical exfoliation and enzyme exfoliation in one super easy step. Just swipe these refreshing pads across your face and you have a treatment in less than one minute! I always follow this with a moisturizer. Check out my Intensify Facial Discs review here. 
  • Your Best Face (YBF): Prep (1x per week, rotating with other treatments): This is an amazing and vitamin packed home microdermabrasion cream. It smells super yummy and fresh and leaves my skin feeling oh-so-soft! Full Prep review here
  • Queen Helene The Original Mint Julep Masque -- 8 oz: When I do have a little blemish, I use this amazingly cheap mask as a spot treatment. Its active ingredient is sulfur, so it is totally preggers-safe! It is just a fact of pregnancy that there are VERY limited products/ingredients that you can use to treat a breakout. So, the key here is prevention. But, if you do have a breakout, arm yourself with this great mask. I apply and leave it on overnight with a dramatic reduction in breakout size in the morning Sometimes, it clears it up over night. If not, I repeat the following evening.
Moisturizers:
  • Your Best Face Hydrate B: This is a Sodium Hyaluronate based moisturizer that works by drawing moisture to your skin. This clear gel is super gentle and absolutely won't break you out. It just leaves your skin feeling refreshed, healthy, and hydrated.
  • Belli Skincare Healthy Glow Facial Hydrator: This product is very new to my routine, but I already love it and just had to include it here. It is a super fresh smelling moisturizer enriched with skin boosting vitamins. It feels very fresh going on and has not broken me out. Love it (full review coming soon!)
  • Glycolix Elite Facial Cream : If I get a dry patch, this is what I apply! Love this cream. It is my HG moisturizing cream when not pregnant. I am not as dry while pregnant, but still use this occasionally for moisture. 
Eye Creams:
Yes, I always use an eye cream, but so far, I do not have a clear front-runner favorite. Right now, I am testing out Caudalie's Premier Cru Eye cream and its pretty fabulous. 

So, that is my Pregnancy Skincare Routine in a nutshell! I hope this helps someone out there! I went through a lot of trial-and-error in early pregnancy when my skin type changed from normal-dry to normal-oily. With some minor adjustments, and with the above listed products...I have held pregnancy breakouts at bay and even gained some of those "your skin has that great pregnancy glow" compliments (lol! A pregnant girl needs those types of compliments!). :)
Photobucket
I have an opportunity to win a gift card from Dove if they
choose my feature on 2threads as a contest winner. 
There are Amazon affilate links in this post. 

6 comments:

Adriana said...

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS - how exciting! Secondly, I have a similar skin type to your non-pregnant one. It's sensitive, normal-dry. Do you recommend a gentle exfoliant as part of the daily routine (like a liquid one, for example)? Thanks :)

Unknown said...

@Adriana-Thank you! :) It is a very exciting time!!! Yes, I think a gentle exfoliant can work wonders for our skin types! Just make sure you pick one without harsh/sharp edged granules and you should be fine. Just use VERY gentle pressure. :) Thanks for all your comments!

Pregnant CityGirl said...

Wow, great post. I too am pregnant ( 30 weeks and counting!) and I blog about and try to review relevant products. I love that you have put everything down here in one go and covered all bases! Good luck with the baby x

Unknown said...

@PregnantCityGirl-Congrats to you too! Thanks so much for your comment and thanks for visiting my blog! :) xoxo

BeautyAndTheBrute said...

great skincare routine! :) im really wanting to try caudalie products!

and congrats on your pregnancy - i'm on the preggy boat too! :) will be 12 weeks this coming monday.

it's amazing what skin changes our bodies go through specially during pregnancy - it drives me nuts sometimes! :P

Unknown said...

@Khristine@MyFitBeauty-Congrats to you my dear! And, yes, agreed! Pregnancy sure can make your skin whacky! Mine seemed to level out a bit after the first trimester. Hugs!



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