Skincare : My Pregnancy Skincare Routine

A few months before finding out that I was pregnant, I got (bought and was sent) quite a bit of skincare products for review. However, after the positive confirmation, I immediately went online to check which products to use with regards to ingredients to embrace and those to steer clear of. To be honest, most of the articles I found didn’t do much for me as a woman of colour with acne-prone skin. So, I had to do a little experimentation (of course, a safe one) because this babe wasn’t about to let pregnancy hormones steal her shine 😀 . Remember that I mentioned getting some products prior to the test…yes, you guessed right!! I stopped using some that were part of my skincare routine and had to put the others aside.

Here’s a list of ingredients to avoid whilst pregnant:

Retinoid (Vitamin A).
High Dose Salicylic Acid.
Hydroquinone.
Phthalates.
Formaldehyde.
Chemical Sunscreen Ingredient like Oxybenzone.

Safe ingredients to use instead:

Glycolic Acid.
Vitamin C, E, K and B3.
Green Tea.
Hyaluronic Acid.
Mineral-Based Sunscreen Ingredients like Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide.

Although, some scientists say skincare ingredients can’t easily be absorbed into the bloodstream, I chose to err on the side of caution. My baby’s health and well being was more important than taking risks 😐 .

For my face, I used:

These products helped my skin stay healthy and hydrated. I had lots of dark spots (gradually fading off now) with a bit of acne here and there, on my face…all thanks to the hormones but the main focus for me was hydration, so I kept my pregnancy skincare routine as simple as possible. Dealing with the acne and dark spots was going to be postpartum. Now, treatment has begun and am starting to see results…whoop!!