When we’re pregnant, our skin goes through amazing stages to compete with those crazy hormones and can sometimes take its toll on our skin. And then our gorgeous bundle of joy arrives and yet more craziness happens. Trying to cope with little sleep, and up and down diet, feeling stressed and getting used to a body that has to keep up with appearances whilst dealing with the demands of a new family, it can all become a bit too, hectic. Whilst we struggle to find the time to keep our skin in tip-top shape, we reach for the sugary, high-carb snacks and too much caffeine to keep us in the moment.
Whilst pregnant I found my hormones to be all over the place, all the time. I had terrible psoriasis through stress before I was pregnant, which miraculously cleared up throughout my pregnancy. My diet took a huge tumble and anything remotely healthy was replaced with salt & vinegar crisps, to ease my terrible morning sickness, and sugary snacks to give me a boost. Although my skin looked bright, cheery and I glowed, all the radiance I needed, my skin would eventually turn a few days after labour. When I had Emily, my skin was all over the place. I committed to dosing myself daily in body creams, face creams, serums for day and night, hair packs, you name it, but still, I had flaky patches, dull skin and my hair looked crap as I tried desperately to find a routine as a new mother. All the creams, serums, gels and whatnot quickly disappeared as I struggled to cope with little sleep.
Now that Emily is over a year old, I find the time that I didn’t have before, to look after areas that I may have neglected throughout the early months of Emily’s life. I now make time to look after my nails, my skin, my lips, my face and my body. There may be areas for improvement still to come, but I’m back to eating 3 meals a day (with the occasional snack or two -don’t judge me!) and making sure I’m getting my daily nutritional benefits.
But looking after my health doesn’t just mean what I put in my body. I am now fully committed to what I put on my body a lot more than I used to. Before pregnancy, I wasn’t so bothered, but now, I make sure everything I put on my skin, hair or nails is good for me. It’s good to feel good and feel good.
Eye Q – My eyes are pretty much tired most days and I find if I don’t drink enough water, my eyes ache just as much. It’s pretty important to make sure my eyes are always looked after. I wear glasses and sometimes feel the odd eye-ache coming on, but a few slices of cucumber seems to work the trick in the bath or when having a snooze. It helps to soothe my eye area and it really does work.
Helpful hands – My hands are drier than they have ever been before. My mum doses her hands in cream but her skin is incredibly dry due to a lifelong eczema skin condition. My sister is the same. I’ve never had eczema, so thankfully never had to bother with hand cream, but since Emily was born, my hands get dry and sometimes need a little booster.
Getting lippy – I’ve never been one to use lipstick and that won’t change now, I find them drying which doesn’t help when my lips get dry a lot as it is. I’ll admit I used to pick at them when I was younger rather than moisturizing them, but I always make sure I have my trusty vaseline lip balm on me at all times, to keep them poutiful.
Skin Deep – My skin never used to be this dry but before I used to use just any old face wash and be terrible at taking my make up off. Now, I can’t afford the same luxury with my skin. Instead, I use an expensive face wash daily and although it costs a hell of a lot more than I ever would have dreamed to spend on a face wash, it does wonders for my skin.
Hair wear – I find washing my hair therapeutic. My mum is a hairdresser and I’ve always admired how well she massages each part of my head, something I never could do myself. But now that I’m a mum, finding time to relax is difficult, so if I can do it whilst washing my hair, then I’ll do it.
It’s so important to feel confident too. I also make this happen with my makeup routine. I don’t always wear makeup, Emily likes to help herself to my make up bag, on a few occasions, eaten parts – thanks, Emily!- but when I do put on my makeup, it makes me feel confident. It gives me the boost I need sometimes. This is the same with my skincare routine. Looking after my skin has become something so important to me and it reflects it what I eat, trying to lose weight and feeling good in my own skin. It’s funny how I wasn’t remotely bothered before, but having a baby really changed that for me. That’s a good thing, right?
Missy, Me & Him 