5 Helpful Tips For Belly Skin Care During Pregnancy
23 Mar 2023 | 7 min Read
Sudeshna Chakravarti
Author | 799 Articles
Your body goes through several changes during pregnancy. After all, you are growing a little human inside of you, and your body is doing its best to adapt to their development. However, out of all the changes that occur, including acne, pigmentation, and thick or dull hair, the changes that happen to your belly skin are the most significant.
Here’s the thing: stretch marks, loose skin, or scars on your belly are normal during pregnancy and about 90% of women develop them during their gestational period. But the good news is that you can prevent these concerns by offering some extra love and care to your belly skin during this time.
We have discussed a few skincare tips that you can practice regularly and consistently to keep your belly skin as healthy as possible and prevent stretch marks or itching. So read on to know what they are, and what pregnancy-safe products to incorporate into your routine.
First, What Happens To Your Belly Skin During Pregnancy?
Before we get into some of the effective tips to keep your belly skin smooth and healthy during pregnancy, let’s look at what happens to your belly skin during pregnancy and its different causes.
As your pregnancy progresses, your body begins to expand to accommodate your growing baby, and this in turn causes your skin to stretch. This sudden change and continuous stretching and expansion don’t give your skin enough time to recover. This further causes the skin around your belly to tear and scar, and form stretch marks.
In addition to stretch marks, you may also notice a darkened line in the middle of your belly. This line appears during the later stages of pregnancy and is commonly known as linea nigra. It takes a while to diminish and can last a year or more postpartum.
What Causes Stretch Marks On Your Belly Skin During Pregnancy?
As discussed, one of the reasons for these marks is the physical stretching of your body. Some of the other factors responsible for these changes include:
- Genetics: Although this is not just specific to pregnancy, stretch marks may be heredity. If your mum had stretch marks, you are most likely to develop them during pregnancy too.
- Hormones: During pregnancy, your hormones draw extra water into your skin to relax the bonds of collagen fibres. This makes your skin prone to tears when stretched, causing stretch marks.
5 Tips To Take Care Of Your Belly Skin During Pregnancy
Proper care of your belly skin during and after pregnancy can help prevent loose skin and stretch marks. It can also keep irritation and itchiness at bay, and ensure that your skin is receiving the nourishment that it deserves.
We have discussed a few effective skincare tips that will help you take care of your belly skin during pregnancy as well as postpartum.
Exfoliate Your Belly Skin
Exfoliation helps promote the growth of new skin cells and improves blood circulation. This further reduces the appearance of stretch marks and scars during pregnancy.
However, be extremely gentle while exfoliating, as your skin belly skin is more sensitive and if you run it harshly, you may experience inflammation or dryness in your skin.
To exfoliate, you can opt for the natural body scrub from The Moms Co., which uses coffee, cranberry, aloe vera, and vitamin C to gently exfoliate and remove dead skin cells and impurities to soften your skin texture. Exfoliating regularly with this scrub can also keep your belly skin firm and tight and reduce cellulite post-pregnancy.
Keep Your Belly Skin Moisturised
Next, and arguably the most crucial step of your belly skincare routine should be moisturisation. Make sure to moisturise your belly skin twice or thrice a day to keep it nourished and maintain smoothness.
You can go for the natural body butter from The Moms Co. to soothe your dry skin and offer nourishment. The body butter is loaded with plant-based ingredients like cocoa butter, shea butter, sea buckthorn oil, and rosehip oil that offer 24-hour moisturisation to your skin and improve firmness.
Regular use of the body butter can also help soothe your dry and itchy skin and improve hydration to keep stretch marks and scars at bay.
Stay Well Hydrated
Just like nourishing your belly skin with a moisturiser keeps it well-hydrated, similarly, drinking ample water keeps you nourished from within, and its positive effects will show on your belly skin.
Hence, try to drink at least 8-10 glasses of water to replenish and strengthen your skin barrier.
Consume A Nutrient-Rich Diet
Your skin requires nutrients to maintain its elasticity, more so during pregnancy. Hence, you need to consume sufficient nutrients for your skin to remain soft and resilient. Consume a balanced diet enriched with fruits, vegetables, fats, and lean proteins to promote elasticity in your skin and encourage collagen synthesis.
Additionally, make sure to include foods rich in vitamins B2, B3, C, E, zinc, and silica to promote the growth of healthy skin cells and prevent stretch marks.
Apply An Anti-Stretch Oil On Your Belly Skin
An anti-stretch oil helps deliver intense hydration and keeps your skin firm and taut. You can use The Moms Co,’s natural stretch oil, which contains a blend of botanical oils like coconut, jojoba, olive, and almond oils to improve your skin’s elasticity and enhance collagen production to repair skin damage.
You can apply the oil multiple times a day, especially after taking a bath or before going to bed. Also, consider slathering the oil, whenever your belly skin is itching. The ingredients in the oil exhibit antioxidant properties, which help soothe dry skin and irritation.
Conclusion
Belly skin changes and stretch marks are a common part of your pregnancy journey but don’t worry, with an extra dose of TLC, you will be able to tackle them efficiently. Make sure to follow these practices postpartum too as they will help firm your skin and get rid of sagginess.
You can safely incorporate The Moms Co. products into your pregnancy routine as they are made with 100% natural and plant-based extracts and have been designed #forEveryMum to suit her #ThroughEveryChange.
Recommended Pregnancy Care Products:
Natural Anti-Cellulite Toning Body Oil
Also Read:
Retinol alternatives to use during pregnancy: Check out this post to understand why is it unsafe to use retinol during pregnancy, and which alternatives to add to your beauty routine.
How to use vitamin C during pregnancy: We have curated a detailed guide on how to use vitamin C to tackle your pregnancy skin concerns.
Pregnancy-safe skincare trends: Tap this post to know the skincare trends that your favourite B-Town mammas are trying right now!
Cover Image Credit: Freepik.com
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