Your Essential Guide to Postpartum Skincare
For many of us, pregnancy brought healthy, shiny hair and glowing skin. (And an adorable, chunky baby, which is a pretty good deal!) But what about after we've given birth and the influx of estrogen and hormones is over?
Similar to our pregnancy skincare, postpartum skincare can be tough to navigate because we want to have an effective postpartum skincare routine while also ensuring that the products we use are safe for baby.
As our bodies recalibrate after creating a new life, our skin often bears the brunt of this adjustment period. Our post-pregnancy skin has been stretched more than ever, so new skin issues like stretch marks and looseness are common. While pregnant, we may have developed darker skin pigmentation, or melasma, and some of us may have experienced breakouts we haven’t seen since middle school!
While every woman’s skin journey during pregnancy looks a little different, our postpartum skin issues vary as well. And the go-to skincare routines we had pre-pregnancy or during pregnancy might not effectively address our new postpartum skin.
We also know that new moms have a ton on their plates! That's why we created an essential guide to postpartum skincare, including products to avoid while breastfeeding and products with ingredients that are safe and effective in addressing the most common postpartum skincare issues.
What Postpartum Skincare Products Should I Avoid While Breastfeeding?
Topical skincare products that are perfectly safe—and even recommended by dermatologists, like sunscreen!—may not be advisable during and after pregnancy because they can pass into breast milk. This is why it’s important to speak with your physician to determine the best skincare routine, including any new supplements you may begin taking, while you’re nursing.
Some common skincare products that breastfeeding moms should avoid adding to their postpartum skincare routine include:
- Chemical-based sunscreens
- Salicylic acid
- Tretinoin and Tazarotene
- Topical corticosteroids
- Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs)
- Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHAs)
- Parabens
- Phthalates
- Retinoids (Not the oral Vitamin A form)
What Are the Most Common Postpartum Skincare Issues After Pregnancy?
- Loose skin
- Dry skin
- Oily skin
- Acne
- Darker skin pigmentation (melasma)
- Stretch marks
- Newly sensitive skin
Tips for a Healing Postpartum Skincare Routine
1. Up Your Collagen to Boost Skin Elasticity and Smoothness
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, making up our tendons, ligaments, fat and skin. Collagen is what gives our skin its suppleness in our youth, but as we age, our bodies produce less of it. And when we are breastfeeding, we can be especially susceptible to the risks of inadequate collagen availability. Lower production of collagen leads to drier, less pliable skin, which can be a problem when we're pregnant and our skin stretches majorly!
Adding collagen to your postpartum skincare routine can provide needed support to your skin cells to help boost collagen production and support the regeneration of new skin cells so the skin’s ability to stretch and bounce back is enhanced—this is especially important while breastfeeding since the skin continues to be stretched. Improved bone health and stronger hair and nails are also benefits to consider.
Our tropical fruit–flavored Power Within Skin & Scalp Collagen Gummies pack 96 mg per serving of beneficial marine collagen types I & III to help replenish collagen levels for overall wellness from the inside out—super-important post-pregnancy!
2. Add a Probiotic to Support Healthy, Glowing Skin
Balanced healthy gut bacteria is important because researchers have discovered that our gut is our "second brain." So much of our overall health is contingent on a healthy gut microbiome, and this includes skin health! Disruptions to our gut bacteria are linked to skin inflammation and irritation, including hormone-induced acne related to pregnancy.
Adding a skin-supporting probiotic to your postpartum skincare routine can help you focus on inner health, as well as outer health! Using billions of gut-healthy bacteria and Better Not Younger's plant-based proprietary blend of antioxidants, our new You Glow Girl Probiotic Skin Supplement was designed to promote a healthy, balanced gut microbiome, which supports bright-looking skin for a post-pregnancy glow!
Plus, vitamin C (in this probiotic) helps the body synthesize hyaluronic acid more efficiently, and hyaluronic acid (also in this probiotic) is required for collagen production—you can see how the skin-boosting ingredients in our supplements work hand in hand. And antioxidants like amla, kiwi and quercetin help reduce oxidative cellular stress from free radicals and environmental factors to support healthy skin!
3. Take a Vitamin-Rich Supplement to Balance Skin Tone
Try adding a vitamin- and mineral-rich supplement to your postpartum skincare routine to support your body with its post-pregnancy healing while also improving your skin’s health and diminishing unwanted discoloration for more even-looking skin.
For a healthy option to nourish and support hair, skin and nails, we love Significant Other Hair, Skin & Nails Supplement, a delicious, easy-to-take strawberry gummy packed with biotin, vitamin A, B12 and folic acid.
4. Moisturize with a Butter-Based Cream
If you find yourself dealing with loose skin, stretch marks or very dry, itchy skin after pregnancy, your new best friend for postpartum skincare is an ultra-hydrating butter-based cream. Body creams and lotions with shea butter and cocoa butter help hydrate parched, over-taxed skin on our postpartum bellies—and hydrated skin helps minimize the appearance of stretch marks. Creams with natural ingredients like caffeine or aloe vera can also help skin appear firmer and more even.
Note: There's little research to support topical creams as a reliable way to get rid of stretch marks (though they can help minimize their appearance). To get rid of stretch marks, you'll need to discuss more targeted options with your dermatologist.
5. Don't Forget Scalp Care
It's no secret that our hair and skin change a lot with pregnancy, and this includes the skin on our scalps! Hormonal fluctuations can give rise to an increase in sebum leading to oilier strands, our pores can become clogged, and build-up from styling products can accumulate on our scalps. This makes a weekly scalp detox a good plan of action during and after pregnancy.
And if you’ve begun to see some postpartum shedding, you’ll want to show your scalp some love with our Superpower Hair & Scalp Duo. Our award-winning Superpower Fortifying Hair & Scalp Serum is designed to rebalance scalp oils and support healthy follicular activity without making strands appear oily.
Plus, the Superpower Liquid Comb Massaging Serum Applicator helps invigorate and increase nourishing blood flow to the scalp, while delivering the perfect amount of Superpower serum evenly over the scalp!
Better Not Younger knows that being a new mom is a full-time job, and you're juggling a lot of responsibilities right now! That's why we developed our supplements to support busy women who want to prioritize their skin, scalp and hair health while on the move! Whether you want to add an easy-to-take supplement or a revitalizing scalp treatment to your postpartum skincare and hair-care routine, we have all the products you need, specifically designed to help mature hair and skin look their best!
Tell us: Did you develop a postpartum skincare routine that you loved? Share your postpartum skincare tips in the comments below!
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