Friday, December 28, 2012

Readers' Corner: My Pregnancy Skincare




Happy Friday my dear readers!  Today, I will be writing a special post on the most requested "Pregnancy Skincare Routine" that I've been doing since I got pregnant.  The readers who asked are either pregnant while some aren't, they just have strong sensitive to product scent or some have really sensitive skin!  

Please bear in mind that the products listed below are used based on my continuous product testing and I did ask my Doctor regarding some of the products used below!  If you are pregnant and has sensitivity to certain ingredients, it is very important to ask your doctor, they are way more professional than I am!  :)

It is funny how our body works, as soon as I got pregnant, no matter how much I would like to use my regular skincare regimen, my strong sensitivity to product scents puts me off and it was automatic for me to use the least products possible!  I call my Pregnancy Skincare Regimen the "Evolution of Man" stage!  I started from the super basic "water only" cleansing routine then slowly improving as my morning sickness subsides!  

First 2 Months ---
I cannot stay inside a washroom without the urge to throw up so I always try to be as quick as possible when I brush my teeth and wash my face.  My skin survived 2 full months of just plain water and scrubbing my face using my Konjac Sponge! (Please read past review HERE.)  It was a big surprise for me that I did not have breakout at all!  My skin looks okay, not at its best but I can face anyone with bare face at this stage!  




2nd to 4th Month Pregnancy ---
With all the throwing up and the "almost not eating and drinking anything stage", the stress around my skin is starting to show up and my skin is getting much drier than ever!  I was alarmed so I rummaged through my beauty stuff and went for Dove Beauty Moisture Facial Cleanser which I have used even before I got pregnant.  I went ahead and checked with my Doctor and I was told it was alright to use such product!  It doesn't hurt that the scent was very mild and it doesn't bother me at all!

For the next 2 months, I survived using only Dove Beauty Moisture Facial Cleanser without following up with Toner and Moisturizer (not my choice, my body can't take the added steps)!  My skin wasn't perfectly moisturized but at least, it wasn't as dry as it used to be! 



Same as the skin on my face, the rest of my body turned really dry, scaly and very itchy!  The itchiness was starting to bother me so I've decided to muster up the strength sniffed body products that wouldn't turn my stomach around!  The 2 winners?


Both products have done a great job in easing my skin's supreme dryness and thankfully, no allergic reaction was seen!


From 4th month onwards ---
Though my morning sickness officially left me the moment I hit 20th weeks (5th month pregnancy), I was starting to feel a bit better on my 4th month, lesser headaches, lesser nausea and throwing up.  I have decided to inject better skincare into my daily routine.

Daytime 
  • Shiseido The Skincare Extra Gentle Cleansing Foam
  • Shiseido The Skincare Day Moisture Protection - I don't use this on a daily basis, only when I plan to go out as it has SPF15.  I don't use sunblock as of the moment so I'm depending on this.
  • Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion - I like using a good amount of this especially on the dry patches around my face before powder foundation application.  Without this, my skin looks dry and flaky!
  • Neutrogena Lip Moisturizer - this lip product has been a life saver for me, my sister-in-law gifted me this as I can't seem to use any flavored lip balm during my first trimester!  Though this is not the most moisturizing lip product I've used to date, it still helped me go through the day without having cracked and bleeding lips!

Nighttime
  • Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser - Since I'm done with my Dove Facial Cleanser, I have changed it to Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser for its basic benefits, facial cleansing + moisture!  So far, I do have random tiny breakouts but it doesn't stay longer than 2 days!
  • Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Skin Relief - since I wasn't able to repurchase this, I'm glad I have a sample size of this which lasted me months!  I use this heavily only at night time as a "face mask" and wake up with super relaxed and moisturized skin.
  • Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream - I haven't been taking much care of my eye area since I got pregnant and my lack of sleep has been putting a toll on my under eye area!  My bags are dark and very obvious!  The insertion of Estee Lauder ANR Eye Cream would give me the aid I need under the eye area! 
  • Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream - I had a hard time using this product on my lips as it has a tiny hint of scent that puts me off at my most sensitive stage, but the funny thing is, I can actually accept the scent during night time before I sleep so I took advantage of this to moisturize my lips as this is the best lip product for me (as of date).

And of course, the moment I hit my 2nd trimester, I've changed all my regular body products to Palmer's!  Thanks to friends who gifted me this and I also purchased a couple so it's going to be months until I will be able to finish all these!


And just to be sure, I keep a huge bottle of Apollo Pure Petroleum Jelly to remove lip products, eye makeup and moisturize my heels and elbows!  
 


To my mommy readers, do you have any specific products you swore by during pregnancy? 
I'd love to read your list!

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!
 

10 comments :

  1. Congrats Nikki! :D It's good that you didn't break out much. My first trimester was awful, super dry skin to the point that everyone was insisting we're having a boy. :P

    Since then though, I've subsisted on Cetaphil for cleansing and Moroccan Argan Oil for moisturizing. The combination worked well naman, skin adjusted by the second trimester.

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    1. Aawww O didn't breakout much but I did threw up a LOT! hehehe Thanks for sharing!!!

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  2. Oh! Yes! For pregnant woman it's absolutely nesessary to have lots and lots of body care products!
    Take care of you and your baby boy :)

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    1. Thank you Anastacia, I used to think pregnant days will be "BYE BYE" to everything beauty and skincare related :D

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  3. Palmers Organics smells best for me :) I love it :D

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    1. Thanks, I was able to use Palmer's on my 2nd trimester, the first was very bad I can't use anything with scent!

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  4. Im 7th Month pregnanr righr now. Im also USe palmers skin therapy oil but now i change it with ristra strecht mark cream. This cream do a better job than palmer'S and doesnt feel sticky at all!

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    1. Congratulations on your pregnancy! I guess we're almost the same no?

      Ristra Stretch Mark Cream? Where did you purchase it?

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  5. what other affordable easy-to-to-find brands of skin care products for pregnant women could I find locally?

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    1. There's not a lot of FOR PREGNANT WOMEN skincare out there but try to get those that works for babies, like that of Dove, Nivea Babies, etc... If you're unsure, do what I do, I take my products and show it to my Doctor just to make sure :D

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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to comment your questions, suggestions and just anything you may want to say! Keep smiling and stay happy!