Pregnancy Skincare!

This is such a tricky subject to cover in one post. Skin care is hard enough to figure out for anybody and when you are pregnant everything becomes 10x more confusing.

The first few months of my pregnancy my skin became very oily and quite spotty due to the hormones racing through my body. Did you know that a pregnant woman produces as much hormones as a non pregnant woman would produce in 150 years? Crazy, I know!

I will be 21 weeks pregnant tomorrow and for the past month my skin has been VERY dry, not just average dry but flaky and disgusting dry, so much so that any makeup I put on it made it look worse. FYI: The dryness was not due to the Clinique toner because I wasn't even using it. It's just the hormones going bananas. Pregnant women's skin becomes incredibly sensitive! Anyway, after discovering some Avene products I purchased last week, my skin looks AMAZING, in fact I haven't seen it look better in years.

KISSES TO AVENE!


My skin is super smooth, and all of the spots have cleared up completely. In the picture below I am wearing a thin layer of the Mac Studio Sculpt foundation applied with my fingers. The past few days I have only been applying foundation to the centre of my face like I would concealer.

The key to pregnancy skin care is to buy products with as little ingredients as possible!

CLEANSING - Pregnant women should look for products suitable for sensitive skin, hypoallergenic and non comedogenic. Here's what I use...

Avene Cold Cream Soap Free Cleansing Bar: I use this to wash my face, it's great for sensitive skin and balances the PH level of your skin.

Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser: I use this at night to take my make up off, I apply with a cotton pad and wipe away. It's a non rinse off formula so great for when you need to be quick.

Avene Gentle Gel Cleanser: I use this every other night with my Clarisonic to give my skin a deep clean.

TONING - Personally I don't think toning is essential as long as you have cleansed properly, but it's a nice treat for your skin! I use..

Avene Thermal Spring Water - I sometimes use this just before I apply my moisturiser and to freshen up and keep cool during the day.

Lush Eau Roma Water - This contains lavender and rose water and is ideal for sensitive skin. I like to use this at night time as I feel my skin really soaks it up. I also carry it in my hand bag and whip it out when I'm feeling hot and irritated.

MOISTURISING - This is my favourite part of any skin care routine as I just love a freshly moisturised face.

Avene Rich Skin Recovery cream - This is a life saver, after one application my skin looked miles better. It's amazing for sensitive and irritated skin that's prone to redness, it helps to restore the hydrolipidic film and is specially developed with a minimum of ingredients. I use it morning and night. FYI: If the foundation or TM I will be wearing during the day doesn't contain SPF when I will use a different moisturiser that does.

Avene Soothing Moisture Mask - I sometimes use this as a night time moisturiser if my skin is feeling extra dry, when I wake up in the morning my face is soft, supple and glowing. I also use it as a mask right after a shower to soothe and calm my skin. After 3 applications, the disgusting dry flakes on my face were restored to a smooth surface , a big thumbs up!

CARING FOR YOUR BODY DURING PREGNANCY

I am still vigorously using the Body Shop body butters, every time I walk past a store I pick up a new scent. My current favourite is the satsuma option, I apply this all over my body every single day after my shower.

On my bump, thighs and breast area I then apply the Neal's Yard Mother's Balm every day. I have almost finished my 1st tub, and will be picking up a 2nd tub soon! So far, so good with no stretchmarks to report, but I'm not that far stretched yet, my belly button is still an 'innie'! :)

Have you had to change your skin care when pregnant or are you one of the lucky ones that have stayed 'normal'? Also, have you tried any Avene products?