Pregnancy – everything is changing
Pregnancy does many things to your body. It’s a pretty amazing work of nature but it also means your hormone levels change massively during and after pregnancy. You also have to change some of your lifestyle choices, including your skin care routine to protect the baby your body is busy creating!
So what happens to your skin during pregnancy?
At Jersey Beauty Company we never get tired of saying everyone’s skin is unique, partly because we don’t think we hear it enough in the beauty industry, but mainly because it is true! So when it comes to pregnancy, it will come as no surprise that your skin may not react like any other pregnant woman’s. In fact, even your own skin might not react in the same way throughout your pregnancy. That said, there are some common things that do happen during pregnancy, so we thought we’d talk about each of them and what you can do if they apply to your skin.
- Sensitised skin – as your body is hard at work making another human body, you might find that you experience sensitivity, even if you normally don’t have sensitive skin. This is totally normal – it’s also normal for your skin to react to products and ingredients it hasn’t before now.
- Dry Skin – pregnancy can mean patches of dry or dehydrated skin. This can be from a lack of oil (dry) or from a loss of water in the epidermis (dehydrated).
- Breakouts – your hormones are all out of sync so breakouts are entirely normal, if a bit frustrating! Making sure you are cleansing (with the right products) will help to deal with breakouts and pregnancy acne.
- Dull tired skin – pregnancy can affect your sleep patterns so you might find this reflected in your skin, especially if your diet is affected during early pregnancy. Your skin can feel dull and tired and in need of some TLC.
- Butterfly mask – this is a common pregnancy skin concern – uneven skin tone and darker patches, across the eyes, cheek and nose area. It’s called a butterfly mask because that’s what it can look like you’re wearing!
This is by no means an exhaustive list of common skin care issues during pregnancy. And then of course we need to add on our everyday skin care issues, as they don’t necessarily go away during pregnancy! It can feel like an arduous task dealing with skin care during pregnancy. The important thing to remember is not to be too hard on yourself.
Mum Lou, who works with us at Jersey Beauty Company, explained how during her difficult pregnancy, it was hard to even think about skin care. Lou suffered with really bad sickness for the first three months so only really ate sugar and carbs, which had an affect on her skin. Lou was also really exhausted and spent a lot of time in bed so didn’t feel like spending a long time on skin care. The result was that three months in her skin was feeling dull and tired.
It can be hard, when you’re feeling tired and run down, to even think about looking into the right skin care products to be using. That’s why we asked skin therapist Naomi to make it simple for us and to give us her top tips for pregnancy.
What Beauty Products to Avoid During Pregnancy
There are some products that aren’t suitable during pregnancy and should be avoided. Skin therapist Naomi explains anything that over stimulates the skin is best to avoid, even if it is a product you are regularly using. Most Dermalogica products are considered safe for use during pregnancy but there are some that have contraindications and medical advice should be sought if you are unsure.
Retinol A
High levels of Vitamin A derivatives like prescription retinoids Retin-A, Renova, Differen and Tazorac should be avoided. Oral retinoids, such as Isotretinoin are known to cause birth defects and should not be taken.
Retinoids have not been shown to cause problems in their topical form in pregnant women. A new study completed in 2015 on topical retinoids in pregnancy has demonstrated no increase in the concerns and conditions usually associated with retinoid use, however, until enough data is collected to ensure safety, women are not encouraged to use retinol continuously during pregnancy.
To take the Dermalogica range as an example, anything with a high percentage of Retinol A in is best avoided. That’s products like Dermalogica Overnight Retinol Repair and Dermalogica Eye Reversal Complex. That’s because they have a very active resurfacing agent in them, explains Naomi, and your skin can’t quite cope with that level of intensity during pregnancy. It can actually make hyperpigmentation worse using those products during pregnancy.
Essential Oils
Skin therapist explains it’s the same reason why the use of essential oils for massages during pregnancy – anything that will get into the bloodstream and over stimulate is best avoided. To be on the safe side most doctors will recommend to avoid all essential oils for massage (body and skin) during the first trimester. After the first trimester it is always best to consult medical advice about which essential oils are safe and in what quantities, remembering that your skin may also be more sensitised than normal to some ingredients.
Salicylic Acid
Salicylic Acid is part of the aspirin family so in high concentrations it is contraindicated for pregnant women, mostly because doctors are unsure of its effects and ability to penetrate topically into the bloodstream.
The Dermalogica Active Clearing range have the active ingredient salicylic acid. Under normal circumstances this range is great for handling breakouts so it is tempting during pregnancy if you are experiencing breakouts to reach for the Active Clearing range. But Naomi explains that this can also actually increase cell turnover and hyperpigmentation which causes butterfly/pregnancy mask and the uneven skin tones we talked about earlier.
Detoxifying Products
Finally skin therapist Naomi suggests that a good rule of thumb for avoiding products is those that are labelled or promote being detoxifying. This means they are likely to be absorbed into the bloodstream, so baby will be exposed to them as well. Detoxes are normally great but during pregnancy we want to keep everything in for baby to grow and develop.