Pregnancy and skin concerns

When your pregnant some things are a given.
1. You will gain at least a few more pounds i.e. baby weight, water retention / basic body fluids
2. You will be hormonally driven at times. i.e. Cry, laugh, scream or in some case all 3 at once.
3. Your skin will either react kindly or unkindly to the hormonal changes occurring. i.e. "The Glow", breakouts, Melasma, stretch marks etc.

Really, I could go on with a few more but these are the most common and why bore you or scare you with the other stuff. Since I focus on skin majority of the time, I will focus on point number three. Your skins response to being pregnant.

Keratosis Pilaris "Chicken Skin"

So far I have been lucky in the sense that my face hasn't had to many breakouts or Melasma a.k.a. "The Pregnancy Mask." Yet, I am not exactly giving "The Glow" either. What I am dealing with is the makings of stretch Marks on my belly and Keratosis Pilaris (K.P.)  a.k.a. "Chicken Skin" on my upper arms. When I was pregnant the first time around I only developed a small amount of stretch marks on my hips and they are light. After I gave birth, some exfoliation and peels, I managed to keep them from getting worse. For the K.P. I used a topical cream, Urea, prescribed by my Dermatologist which helped a great deal.  However, now pregnant with TWINS!! I know, right. They have both returned with a vengeance. I'm stretching to maximum capacity and my arms are plagued with K.P.

With that said, I have taken a different approach this time. Since I can't use peels or Vitamin A capsules or even Urea, I exfoliate my arms regularly with either an Almond scrub or Baking Soda (1 tsp) and Honey  (1 Tbsp) mix. Any scrub will do really. You just want to be able to scrub away the dry skin that develops over the trapped hair follicle. Then you want to follow up with a moisturizer to keep it from getting rough and bumpy again. It won't go away completely but it helps minimize the appearance.

The added bonus is that the same lotion I use to moisturize my arms, I use on my belly for the stretch marks. Now for the stretch marks, I have accepted that I will have some more added to my war stories of motherhood. But it does help to moisturize and to do it often. I apply about 3-4 times a day, minimum. You could very gently exfoliate the belly with Baking soda and honey as well to try help the skin regenerate while it stretches but I am not sure how well that works. I have done it a few times but I wont know the real results until post-partum. Note: If you scrub to hard you could actually make it worse because skin is so delicate while pregnant. So not to hard. My hope is that they wont be super noticeable like the first time around. If so, I may consider Fraction Laser treatments for the stretch marks.

In any case, I want to share one of the recipes I use to make my own body lotion. Through my many web surfing searches for skin care recipes and books, I found this one. I regret, I don't remember where I found it but I am using it and I love it.

Here is the recipe:

Coconut Whipped Body Butter

What you need:

1 cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon vitamin E oil (optional)
a few drops of your favorite essential oils for fragrance (optional) I skip it. Pregnancy makes oders stronger for some. I'm one of the some. 

What to do:

1. Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl. (You do not have to melt the coconut oil first.)

2. Mix on high speed with a wire whisk for 6-7 minutes or until whipped into a light, airy consistency.

3. Spoon the whipped coconut oil body butter into a glass jar and cover tightly. Store at room temperature, or in the refrigerator if your house is so warm it melts the oil.

Tip: An electric hand mixer will work, I used my Kitchen Aid mixer. It whips it up like egg whites.

Note: Your whipped coconut oil should stay relatively soft, even at colder temperatures. I noticed mine beaded into a froth of tiny coconut oil pearls that melt right into my skin.
Also try, 1/2 cup Virgin Coconut oil with 1/2 cup Natural Shea butter for a thicker consistency.

You'll notice that it may become a bit liquid with sweat like beads. That is fine. The liquid oil will soak right into your skin and the beads will melt right in as well. Trust me, this is so great for the skin. It goes on feeling greasy but after your skin eats it up you'll be impressed. I do hope that you try it out and like it as much as I do. Either way, let me know.

As always, Be Blessed, Be Happy, Be Beautiful! 

Product Review: Now Solutions Shea butter

During the winter we all suffered from slightly drier skin. In an effort to deal with the remaining dry skin from this past winter, and prepare for Spring, I purchased Now Solutions Shea Butter. Now I currently have a product I love to use but it isn't 100% natural. With my current state, pregnant with twins, I wanted to look for something natural and affordable.

Here is what they claim:

From the Manufacturer's Label:

Condition: Dry, cracked or chapped skin in need of intense repair, especially on tougher areas such as the elbows, knees and feet.

Solution: Natural Shea Butter has a rich, luxurious texture that penetrates deep to condition and moisturize every type of skin. As a natural derivative of the karite trees that grow in Western and Central Africa, Shea Butter is a wonderful emollient that's perfect for daily use. Can also be used as a scalp moisturizer.

Hexane-Free

COST: $8 - $10 online

SKIN BENEFITS:

Shea Butter nourishes the skin with Vitamins A, E and F. Vitamins A and E help maintain the skin and keep it clear and healthy. Particularly helpful for sun damaged skin. Vitamin F acts as a skin protector and rejuvenator.

Daily skin moisturizer (face and body)
Dry skin relief
Dry scalp
Skin rash- including diaper rash
Skin peeling, after tanning
Blemishes and wrinkles
Itching skin due to dryness
Sunburn
Skin cracks
Soften tough skin on feet (especially heels)
Stretch mark prevention during pregnancy
Eczema
Sun and wind protection
Reduce blemishes and scarring
Helps restore elasticity to skin

These are only some of the benefits for skin, it can also be used on scalp, hair, to treat minor burns and more.

They make note on label that it is a Hexane-Free product. So I started researching from there. Here is what I learned. "Hexane is a solvent widely used as an industrial cleaner and degreaser and is an ingredient in many consumer products. Easily inhaled or absorbed through the skin, hexane has been recognized for more than 40 years to cause long-lasting and even permanent nerve damage in feet, legs, hands, and arms." See direct link to learn more. Needless to say, I was happy this product didn't contain it. Industrial cleaner and degreaser, why would anyone w . ant that on their face?

REVIEW:

So I purchased the product from Amazon. Immediately started to use it. The product cold is very thick and grainy but does melt into skin rather quickly. I found that my skin remains well moisturized through out the day. Any redness from dry skin and itch was relieved. It also gave my skin a nice healthy glow without a greasy feel.

Though I do like the product and believe in its benefits there was one negative for me. If you don't heat it up it leaves a crumbly feeling on your skin. Kind of like you ate toast in bed. So it didn't feel so luxurious to me, as claimed. Heating it up in a separate glass bowl helps but isn't always practical.

The benefits to me still out way the small negative so I would absolutely recommend this product. Hope you will try it for yourselves and let me know what you think.

As always, Be Blessed, Be Happy, Be Beautiful!