Post-Pregnancy Skin Care Routine

To bring a new life to the world, a woman has to go through many emotional and physical changes. Particularly, the health of skin undergoes immense changes during and after pregnancy. Getting back to normal sometimes seems like an unlikely dream.

However, the thing is, these changes are not permanent. With little personal care, women can look and feel like they were before their pregnancy. In addition, technologies like light therapy for skin have made it much easier.

This article is aimed at providing a post-pregnancy skin care routine that will help you regain your smooth, vibrant skin.

Changes You See in Your Skin after Giving Birth

A woman’s skin undergoes many changes after childbirth. While for a few the skin changes are positive, others don’t feel very happy at all. While some women are fortunate enough to enjoy the glow of childbirth throughout their life, others may experience dark circles, acne, stretch marks, pigmentation, and puffy eyes. Without care, it tends to get worse and can lead to postpartum depression.

Why Your Skin Texture Changes after Having a Baby

It can be difficult to accept so many skin changes immediately after the birth of a baby, especially if you had glowing skin during pregnancy. But after pregnancy, it causes stress, fatigue, and general hormonal imbalance, which change the texture of the skin. Postpartum acne, stretch marks, pigmentation, and skin discoloration are some of the most common skin changes to happen after pregnancy. All of this can become a thing of the past if you take a little care of yourself and follow a proper diet and postpartum skin care routine.

Cleanse, tone, and hydrate – that’s the mantra! Obviously, you are too tired after singing lullabies for 40 consecutive minutes, and you want to take a nap after your baby is sound asleep. But get up and finish your basic grooming routine at the end of the day. If you really worry about it, it takes less time than changing the diapers.
Cleanse your skin two times a day with a gentle cleanser. Helps eliminate impurities, excess sebum, and prevents acne. Post-pregnancy hormonal imbalances can lead to acne, and the only way forward is to keep your pores clean and uncovered and to flush excess oil from your skin.
Apply sunscreen to keep your skin away from sun damage. It also helps to keep acne and pigmentation at bay. Use a toner as it helps restore the skin’s pH balance. It is a requirement.
Once a week, use a gentle scrub with soft granules to remove dead cells from your skin. Helps lighten dark spots and reduce acne. But be cautious about doing exfoliation more than three times per week. You don’t have to spend time in salons to do this. Just buy a good scrub from your drugstore after consulting your dermatologist and use it liberally.
Throughout pregnancy, your body uses a lot of water and blood to support the growth of the baby, so that the skin absorbs moisture. This is why it is significant to hydrate the skin after childbirth. Use water-based moisturizers or a hyaluronic acid serum that locks in moisture and gives the youthful skin.
Chloasma is a form of skin discoloration that occurs in most women during pregnancy. Sun exposure makes these dark spots worse, so it is imperative to wear a broad spectrum sunscreen every day. Reapply two to three times, even if it’s indoors. Cover yourself with an umbrella or hat when you go out.
For dark circles and puffy eyes, make sure you drink at least 8 glasses of water and eat a healthy diet. Sleeping while your baby sleeps, although it may seem strange to take short naps several times a day. This is the best mode to get a good night’s sleep and a good night’s sleep. Apply a branded eye cream specially designed for dark circles and puffy eyes.
For pigmentation, the spots on the face will also lighten and will probably disappear after one year of birth. To make sure you don’t worsen pigmentation or get new spots, be sure to wear sunscreen every day. If you stay indoors throughout the day, use a sunscreen with SPF 15. If you tend to stay outside for more than 10 minutes, use SPF 50 or SPF 30 and cover your skin as much as possible. As a daily moisturizer, use one specially designed for pigmented skin.
For stretch marks, you should avoid it in the first place. So when you know you’re pregnant, start using an olive oil-rich moisturizer or stretch mark cream on affected areas of your skin, especially breasts and belly. Besides, you can massage your breasts and belly with olive oil regularly to keep them hydrated and prevent stretch marks. If you develop stretch marks after birth, use a reliable cream on the affected areas. One of the key steps in reducing stretch marks is eating a healthy diet and exercising. Consult your doctor whether you can do low-impact exercises such as brisk walking, light exercise, or yoga to help reduce stretch marks.
Taking care of a newborn baby (good morning, night feeding) can cause you to sleep for a very few hours a night. Lack of sleep causes dull and tired-looking skin because it is during deep sleep that the skin heals on its own. Likewise, not getting enough sleep can cause your eyes to puff up and dark circles under your eyes. Get as much rest as possible and prop your head on two pillows to help combat some of these negative side effects.

Skin Treatment

Post-pregnancy skin treatment may be necessary only if problems persist. Any treatment should only be started after consulting with the doctor. Problems like dry skin accompanied by other symptoms can be an indicator of an underactive thyroid. If your skin changes bother you and you don’t feel better even after following the above advice, we recommend you to consult a specialist.