What To Expect When You're Expecting
Pregnancy is a time to be glowing and vibrant during a beautiful phase in your life. Knowing that a little bundle of joy is coming isn't only exciting, it's a learning experience. You can learn a lot about your body and its reactions to pregnancy along the way, too, especially when it comes to your skin. Unfortunately, not everything your complexion encounters during those nine months is pleasant. In fact, there are sometimes things that you're not always warned about. Here, the common skincare issues that pregnant women may not be warned about ahead of time.
If you suffer from adult acne, then you're unfortunately used to dealing with this skin blunder by now. But if not, then this obnoxious phase from your teenage years can likely make a comeback during your pregnancy. Unfortunately, the products that worked wonders back in the day may have very different results thanks to harsh chemicals and astringents. Try going the natural route via organic skincare products and a healthy diet.
You may or may not notice that your freckles, dark spots or sun spots are suddenly getting even darker during your pregnancy. Don't worry though, this is apparently fairly common and normal for plenty of women. This all has to do with hormones of course. Estrogen stimulates the production of pigment in the skin, hence the increased visibility of existing spots.
Again, these are also believed to be caused by changes in your hormone levels and will eventually fade after pregnancy. Do not, we repeat do not, attempt to address with laser treatments!
A lot of pregnant women may feel itchier than usual, which is actually very normal. While it's common, it's also important that you don't ignore a rash if you see or feel one. It's likely just dry, tense patches of skin but more serious conditions can be underlying beneath what looks like a normal rash. Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy (PUPPP) is a rash that starts off in stretch marks and makes women face extreme itching that can feel unbearable. Good news: It can be treated safely with oral medication and is not harmful to your baby.
Again, hormone fluctuation can be the cause of this one. Skin tags are small projections of the skin and during pregnancy, they're fairly common on the abdomen or groin. Some women also find them on their breasts and underarms. Those near the stomach area may not become noticeable until after you've already given birth. A safe natural remedy to use during pregnancy is tea tree oil.
