pregnancy face. what do you use to keep your skin under control?

[scarletsmommy]

I am not sure if this is the place to post this but I am desperate for help. My face looks like it did in high school. It's either broken out or on it's way to breaking out. I have been moisturizing with Oil of Olay Total Effects Anti aging Anti blemish but am not impressed.

What works/worked for you? I would like to keep it under $50 for a complete regime, but am willing to spend more if it will REALLY work.

I am also willing to change foundation if you think that will help. (I have been using L'Oreal Infallible Makeup.) But it has to have sunscreen. TIA!!!

[jillc]

Hi,

I know this isn't the kind of help you're looking for, but thought I would commiserate. ;(

With both of my pregnancies, I have broken out a lot during the first trimester. With my DD, it was REALLY bad & I cried a lot & wanted to hide at home. Thankfully, beginning in the second trimester, my skin cleared up & became better than it has ever been in my life. It stayed great until she was several months old.

Now I'm in the 1st trimester of my second pregnancy & am breaking out again. But not nearly as bad as 1st trimester w/DD (Thank Goodness!). Am hopeful that I will once again be enjoying great skin in another month or so.

Don't know what stage you're at, but thought I would share incase it makes you feel better. I hope you find something that works for you.

Best,
Jill

[eWal0828]

Hi there!
I feel your pain...with this pregnancy, my skin has been unbearable! I actually went to the derma doc for some advice - it was horrible! She prescribed some topical solution for a spot-treatment...BUT her best advice was to go with a very simple cleansing and moisterizing routine. I put away all my fancy face products and started using Cetaphil for a face cleanser and a gentle Oil of Olay moisterizer with sunscreen. It took some time (2-3 weeks) but it has TOTALLY helped my skin.

Good luck!

Erin
Mom to Jackson 10/21/04
Soon to arrive...Reagan edd 6/17/06 (being induced this week, though!)

[asha]

I hear you on this.
I am a light brown skinned person, I am from India. When I was pregnant with DS, my skin color became really dark. It was really bad, every one would ask me what happened to my skin. It was almost like a quote of paint on my face. No matter what I did, the skin color just kept getting darker. DH and my entire family wanted to get some pictures taken. Thanks to my skin issues, I dont have a single picture from when I was pregnant. Sometimes when I think about it, I feel really bad.

A friend of mine saw me on Thursday evening. DS was born early morning on FRiday. This friend came to see us again on Sunday morning.
Her first reaction was "Wow! The face paint is gone!!!" Immediately after birth, my skin started getting better. In three days, my skin was back to my original color and was actually glowing like never before.

It is just hormones. In my case, no creams, face wash, sunscreen etc helped in anyway. Just had to wait till DS was out.

Hang in there mama. You will get through this.

[tina-t]

In the middle of my pg, I switched over to Mary Kay Timewise (comb. skin) for the cleanser and moisturizer. I also switched to Bare minerals for my foundation. My skin started looking better!

[writermama]

One of the best things you can do is make sure you're drinking lots and lots of water. This pregnancy, I've been getting the breakouts every time I get dehydrated and/or stressed. I have to drink more than 64 oz a day to keep them away.

The breakouts are probably caused by the hormones (as was the skin darkening or "mask of pregnancy" the PP talked about), so complicated blemish or skin lightening products probably won't help -- many include irritants that can cause normal skin to break out worse, and pregnant skin can be rather unpredictable.

As the PP suggested, a simple cleanser like Cetaphil is a great choice (one of the best products on the market and darn affordable at that). Use moisturizer only on parts of your skin that are actually dry -- if your forehead is dry but your nose is oily, just put the moisturizer on your forehead. Gentle exfoliation may help with blackheads and some blemishes (baking soda made into a paste with Cetaphil is a gentle and cheap exfoliant), but they may also do best if they're just left alone.

Good luck and hope this helps,

[pharmgirl789]

Since I have been pregnant, I have been using the anti-aging line from Arbonne International. This stuff is amazing. I had problem skin before I was pregnant and thought that it was going to just get worse, but my skin hasn't looked this good in 10 years!!! Arbonne is a pure, and natural line from Switzerland and doesn't contain any mineral oil. Mineral oil is basically clogging your pores and not letting anything out!!

A lot of the cheap skincare and makeup at the drugstores have mineral in them. Check out the ingredients before you buy anything. Hope this helps.