Yeah, there’s nothing like having a baby to bring you back down to firm reality. Especially when it came to my skin, I was firmly reminded that pregnancy skin was temporary. One day I had plump healthy, acne-free, “glowing” pregnancy skin, then Teddy makes his debut and I’ve never more closely resembled a zombie. New baby on top of it being the dead of winter meant that I was sallow with some serious baggage under my eyes. It’s probably a good thing that there aren’t many pictures of me from this time.
However once the tumult of a new baby died down a bit, granted it was a couple of months, I was able to start getting back into the swing of life and my skincare routine. RIP my pre-baby skincare routine that was about 7 steps and included face masks multiple times a week. Those first few weeks, I was lucky if I even remembered to wash my face twice a day, let alone use all the various lotions and potions I was accustomed to using. Having a baby forced me to dial everything back to only the necessities.
That being said, in the past five months, I’ve been able to hone in on what I need to do to keep that faux-pregnancy glow alive even on days when sleep is at a premium.
What is the “pregnancy glow”?
So what causes that pregnancy glow in the first place? Well, it’s a variety of factors but for me, it all came down to having increased blood volume. Since your body carries more blood and fluid around during those nine months than normal I ended up looking more flushed and pink than I normally ever would. Looking flushed = looking healthier.
It also didn’t hurt that pregnancy finally cleared up my acne as well. Who would have guessed that after years of dealing with hormonal cystic acne, pregnancy would be the time when it cleared up? Not me!
How I Kept Up My Pregnancy Glow After Baby
Alright, so about that glow. Aside from using a highlighter, which I’ve yet to learn how to do successfully, there are basically three things that I need to keep my pregnancy glow alive these days.
1) Beauty Counter Overnight Peel
I discovered BeautyCounter while I was pregnant and it really did make a world of difference in my skin. I was transitioning to clean skincare and decided to give them a try after discovering how easy they made it. No guesswork, no reading ingredient lists.
Anyways, love song aside. Their #1 cult product is the overnight resurfacing peel. I swear this has become my secret weapon when it comes to better skin after baby. I noticed a difference in my skin within the first use. My pores were less noticeable and my skin felt smoother overnight.
I still use this overnight peel twice a week in order to keep my skin in check. When I fall off the bandwagon for a week or two, I can see and feel a difference. Makeup doesn’t go on as smoothly and I’m more prone to breakouts since it’s not there to take care of any surface layer clogged pores.
2) 5 minute “mom makeup”
While I’d love to be able to be completely makeup free, sleepless nights make that near impossible. However, I’ve whittled down my daily makeup to just a few products that help my skin look healthier by evening out my skin tone, lightly covering any blemishes, and brightening under my eyes. The end result is some light coverage that still looks like skin.
I start with Supergoop Mineral Matte sunscreen followed by the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Aging Perfector. This combo smoothes out my skin tone without too much coverage. Under the eyes and on any blemishes I use the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Brightening Eye Perfector. I finish off my skin with the Neutrogena Healthy Skin powder and Tarte Amazonian Clay blush (in color “exposed”).
If I’m in the mood I’ll also use a healthy amount of mascara although I’ve been leaving it off more often than not for a very natural summer look. For lips, I use the BeautyCounter Sheer lip in shade ‘Rose’ which acts as a tinted balm. I’ve actually been leaving off lips entirely these days since I spend so much time kissing Teddy’s sweet chubby cheeks during the day.
3) Drink Tons of Water
This one seems straight forward but it’s actually one of the hardest for me to actually execute. While I was pregnant, it was easy to sit at my desk at work and just sip on water all day long. I used to easily drink upwards of 90 ounces a day. Now that I’m home with Teddy, it’s a lot harder to constantly drink water. However, when I’m really intentional about keeping a water bottle next to me at all times I quickly notice an improvement in my skin.
