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Beauty Pampering in Pregnancy:
As many of you know, pregnancy can be flat out exhausting! Your legs are aching, your skin is stretching, your skin type and hair type may have changed, and you basically can just feel achy, bloated, and tired...not to mention feeling "big". Plus, it is difficult to battle pregnancy related issues like breakouts with the restrictions of using only pregnancy-safe products. You can't use many of your usual standbys for oily skin and breakouts (no benzol peroxide nor retinol while pregnant) and body aches (Advil is another no-no).
My Thoughts on Ingredients to Avoid:
There are certainly ingredients that you have to avoid in pregnancy. These are ingredients that have been proven to cause problems. But what about the "iffy" ones? The difficulty is that there are no studies or tests of most cosmetic ingredients. Your skin is one of your body's largest organs. Anything applied to your skin has the potential to be absorbed into your system and may pass through the placenta to the baby. I categorize myself as cautiously conservative when it comes to product ingredients in pregnancy. I try to stick primarily to "natural" ingredients and steer clear from ingredients that are unknown. I think that my good friend Christine explained Cosmetic Ingredients to Avoid in Pregnancy best in her Pregnancy Skincare series on her fabulous blog 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic. Christine is a doctor (pediatric) that enjoys digging into skincare research with the critical understanding of a scientist. So, be sure to check out her post/series! :) Also, she just highlighted 8 Pregnancy Skincare Lines on babble.
My Pregnancy Skincare and Beauty-Related Routine Struggles:
I know that every woman and every pregnancy is different. So, I am going to share with you some of my particular beauty-related struggles from my current and previous pregnancies:
So, what is a pregnant girl to do? Throughout my last pregnancy as well as this current pregnancy, I have been scouring the internet, searching through local stores, and shopping my beauty stash to come up with a comprehensive resource of the best pregnancy skincare and beauty pampering products. I am using quite an arsenal of products. However, I am only sharing the best-of-the-best here! After careful deliberation and editing, I have narrowed my list down to the top 10!
So, are you curious? Please click "read more" below to see my Top 10 Products for Pregnancy Skincare & Beauty Pampering!
As many of you know, pregnancy can be flat out exhausting! Your legs are aching, your skin is stretching, your skin type and hair type may have changed, and you basically can just feel achy, bloated, and tired...not to mention feeling "big". Plus, it is difficult to battle pregnancy related issues like breakouts with the restrictions of using only pregnancy-safe products. You can't use many of your usual standbys for oily skin and breakouts (no benzol peroxide nor retinol while pregnant) and body aches (Advil is another no-no).
My Thoughts on Ingredients to Avoid:
There are certainly ingredients that you have to avoid in pregnancy. These are ingredients that have been proven to cause problems. But what about the "iffy" ones? The difficulty is that there are no studies or tests of most cosmetic ingredients. Your skin is one of your body's largest organs. Anything applied to your skin has the potential to be absorbed into your system and may pass through the placenta to the baby. I categorize myself as cautiously conservative when it comes to product ingredients in pregnancy. I try to stick primarily to "natural" ingredients and steer clear from ingredients that are unknown. I think that my good friend Christine explained Cosmetic Ingredients to Avoid in Pregnancy best in her Pregnancy Skincare series on her fabulous blog 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic. Christine is a doctor (pediatric) that enjoys digging into skincare research with the critical understanding of a scientist. So, be sure to check out her post/series! :) Also, she just highlighted 8 Pregnancy Skincare Lines on babble.
My Pregnancy Skincare and Beauty-Related Routine Struggles:
I know that every woman and every pregnancy is different. So, I am going to share with you some of my particular beauty-related struggles from my current and previous pregnancies:
- Body Aches and Fatigue: As you can imagine or relate to, pregnancy brings on the body aches and pains. Your body is expanding, your ligaments and skin are stretching, and you are adjusting to ever-increasing weight. Not to mention, your energy is zapped! Typically, I turn to expercise (walking, running, yoga, etc) to relieve body aches and pains (I have Fibromyalgia). However, my routine has been WAY off between pregnancy, moving house, and running around after a toddler. I know, I know...excuses! Needless to say, I am feeling achy and exhausted. Baths with bath salts and massages are essential for my ache-fighting pregnancy beauty routine! Side note: somehow I was much better with my fitness routine last pregnancy. I think that running around after a toddler should count as exercise, right?!?!
- Oily Scalp/Hair: I have had quite a dilemma! While my hair itself is dry and damaged from highlighting, my scalp has become very oily. The only times in my whole life that my hair/scalp becomes oily is with pregnancy. I do not have a particular product to share with you to combat this issue. I simply wash my hair more frequently and rely more heavily on dry shampoos. Normally, I wash every 2-3 days. However, with the 1st trimester of pregnancy (when I seem to have the most oil in my scalp) I wash every day (what a pain!!!).
- Oily Skin and Hormonal Breakouts: My skin seems to break out like crazy on my chin during pregnancy. Also, I become very oily in the t-zone. Typically, breakouts are rare for me. However, when I am pregnant, I am constantly battling zits. Plus, with pregnancy skincare ingredient restrictions, breakouts can be hard to treat. I will share with you my "secret weapon" for pregnancy breakouts!
- Stretching Skin: Like all preggies, I am dealing with stretching skin. Everything seems to get bigger in pregnancy...not just my belly! Stretchy skin can feel very tight, dry, and itchy. Good lotions and oils are the key to keeping the skin comfortable while it stretches. Also, I want to do whatever I can to minimize the impact of stretch marks. I was lucky and didn't get any with my first pregnancy. I know that stretch marks are primarily determined by heredity. However, I still want to moisturize as much as I can! Who knows, maybe that helped prevent their appearance from my last pregnancy!
- Lack of "Beauty Sleep": Now we all know that a good night's sleep is essential to look your best! However, the various issues of pregnancy prevent sound sleeping. While I don't have a cure-all for good pregnancy sleep...I have an amazing positioning pillow that I am going to share with ya'll!
So, what is a pregnant girl to do? Throughout my last pregnancy as well as this current pregnancy, I have been scouring the internet, searching through local stores, and shopping my beauty stash to come up with a comprehensive resource of the best pregnancy skincare and beauty pampering products. I am using quite an arsenal of products. However, I am only sharing the best-of-the-best here! After careful deliberation and editing, I have narrowed my list down to the top 10!
So, are you curious? Please click "read more" below to see my Top 10 Products for Pregnancy Skincare & Beauty Pampering!
