How Pregnancy Affects Your Skin

With all the changes going on inside your body, you can imagine that there will be plenty of changes on the outside, right? It’s about that time to discuss skin changes. Spoiler alert: there are a lot!

Before you start to freak out, listen: most changes to your skin during pregnancy will return to normal once you are back to your old self. Most of them. We’ll point out which ones may be around for a bit.

Let’s focus on the most common changes, first.

Stretch marks

The most common (and feared) of skin changes! It’s no doubt that you are gaining more weight than normal, and in such a short burst of time. Hormones are also the cause of thinning skin… thus causing stretch marks. They may appear pink/red/purple at first, but they will fade out over time to a white/silver. There is no way to prevent them, but you can try to minimize them. Unfortunately, stretch marks will always be a part of you after they happen, but you can diminish their appearance with No Time for Stretch Marks: Intensive Repair and Diminishing Therapy. Our all-natural, non-greasy formula is safe for sensitive skin, high in antioxidants, and helps promote healthy skin cells.

Sensitive/itchy skin

Again, let’s just keep blaming the hormones. Hormone levels will leave your skin much more sensitive than usual, which may come along with an irritating itch. You may experience dryness, itchiness, the whole nine. Our advice to you is to make sure you are moisturizing up on the daily. You may also want to nix products with harsh ingredients, scents, etc. They could cause further irritation and discomfort. Your skin should go back to normal after pregnancy.

Changes in color/pigmentation

Truth be told, darkened skin and spots is often the first sign of pregnancy. Brown patches on the skin are known as chloasma. If you already have dark skin, you may notice lighter spots. Chloasma is caused by your body making extra melanin, the tanning hormone. These spots may occur until your pregnancy is over, so if you do not like the look, you should cover them up with concealer.

Spider veins

During pregnancy, there is extra blood circulation going on. What does that mean for your veins? Yes, you guessed it. Broken veins, also known as spider veins, may occur (especially if you are already prone to them). This happens due to the extra circulation putting pressure on your capillaries. Once you give birth, this should go back to normal.

Aside from the above, you may also experience linea nigra (dark line on your tummy), rashes, acne, spots… you name the change, and it is more than likely due to pregnancy hormones.

If you have a specific concern or questions, please feel free to ask us in the comment section. What have you dealt with during your pregnancy? Your insight may help out another mom – so let’s get a dialogue going!