Tips for Safe and Natural Pregnancy Skin Care

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Oh those changing hormones. Have they been playing havoc with your skin? Taking good care of your skin will not only have you feeling better but may also help to keep a few of the typical skin problems of pregnancy from becoming big problems.

It is especially important right now to pay attention to the ingredients in your products and know which ones that are particularly important to avoid for your growing baby. While you do not necessarily need products created just for pregnant women, there are some advantagesto this that make pregnancy skin care easier.

Look for good quality natural or organic products with complete lists of ingredients. Also look for companies that use safe fragrances, like those made from essential oils, that are easier for a queasy expectant mom to tolerate.

What to do For Dry, Stretched Skin

A frequent complaint of pregnant women is dry, itchy skin and it seems to be worse on tightly stretched areas like the stomach. For skin that is being stretched to it's limits and feeling dry and uncomfortable try using one of the belly treatments. The companies below offer safe, natural and organic pregnancy skin care and no animal testing products.

Earth Mama Angel Baby

Natural Stretch Oil contains herbs, Borage oil, Vitamin E and essential oils to help provide the moisture skin needs and helping to prevent stretch marks. Many products for pregnancy skin care, teas to ease some of the difficulties of pregnancy, baby skin care and more. Certified organic herbs used, certified vegan, kosher and 100% toxin-free, a signer of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics.

Mambino Organics

Oh baby! Belly Butter combines butters of shea, mango and cocoa butter which many women have found to be very effective at keeping the skin stretch mark free. This product has received very positive reviews.

Mambino Organics carries a complete line of pregnancy skin care products including face, bath and body, scar treatment, firm and tone and baby care. They are certified vegan, cruelty free, fair trade supporter and a signer of the Compact For Safe Cosmetics.

Problems of Acne During Pregnancy

Women may be more likely to experience problems with acne while pregnant because of changing hormonal levels and it seems to be more of a problem early on in the pregnancy. It is important to make different choices when treating acne because some of the ingredients used as treatment can be harmful to your developing baby. Check out ingredients to avoid during pregnancy for more information. Before using any acne treatment make sure and check with your doctor.

Choosing gentle oil free cleansers and moisturizers, oil-free cosmetics and sunscreen are important. Making sure your diet is healthy and drinking plenty of water will give your skin a healthy start. But even with care acne problems may not resolve so easily. Unfortunately, there aren't very many safe solutions available but I can at least provide you with some links to sites that might help.

A few resources to help you deal with more persistent acne:

Acne and Pregnancy

Pregnancy and Baby

You may come across suggestions to use some acne products that include ingredients that are part of the ingredient to avoid list. Acne that is more bothersome may need more agressive treatment. Make sure to talk to your doctor about the safety of any products used to treat acne.

Mask of Pregnancy

Hormones again. When they act up during pregnancy they can make the skin more sensitive to strong sunlight. This may cause dark brown splotchy areas called the mask of pregnancy.

This is quite common and can happen in women of any skin color but seems to be more of a problem for women with darker complexions. It usually fades after pregnancy but with some simple precautions you should be able to avoid it.

Make sure you wear your sunscreen all the time even on cloudy days and invest in a good hat for when you will be outside for awhile. Your choice of sunscreen is important for healthy pregnancy skin care. The safest form of sunscreen is one that provides a physical block to the sun's ray's like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide and also does not contain any harmful chemicals.

Brands that have been tested by the EWG (Environmental Working Group) and have been found safe and effective can be found by checking out natural sunscreens.

One of the safest is UV Naturals. It has received the highest safety rating for sunscreens and in response to my e-mail, Dr Tony Kovacs, President of UV Naturals writes:

"Our sunscreen is completely safe during pregnancy and we recommend mothers using it if they are out in the sun. In fact our sunscreen is so gentle and safe that you can apply it to a baby under the age of 6 months".

When you read the ingredient list it is one of the few that does not contain any chemical ingredients used in other safe sunscreens. Even sunscreens that are rated safe to use contain chemicals that are considered low risk. It really depends on what you are the most comfortable with using. My tendency is to avoid chemicals if there are other effective options.

More Pregnancy Skin Care

When bathing choose a gentle body wash that does not dry out your skin and afterwards apply a good moisture lotion to skin that has been dried but is still damp.

Prior to your shower or bath try dry skin brushing. If you have never tried this now is a good time. This inexpensive and effective technique will safely remove dead skin cells and gently massage your whole body. For instructions on how to do this go to dry skin brushing.

Some pregnancy skin care products that are better for a mom-to-be to use can be downright costly, better products with good ingredients cost more. A solution might be making some of your own skin care products using simple ingredients right in your own kitchen.

Simple cleansers, masks and moisturizers can be made from fruits, vegetables and oils. Ingredients that are safe to eat during pregnancy or that you are not allergic to will make effective skin care and save you some money too.

Creams to keep your skin supple and more elastic helps to prevent stretch marks and these can be easily made at home. Skin Care Recipes and Remedies has a recipe for natural stretch mark cream along with many other skin care recipes for you to try.

Keeping your pregnancy skin care routine simple, avoiding bad ingredients and protecting your skin from the sun are the best ways to keep your skin healthy and looking good while helping to protect your baby.