I think I’ve posted enough about my struggle with my pregnant skin. At 25 weeks pregnant I have finally found a skin care routine that doesn’t make me want to claw my skin off (whether that be from itchiness or from breakouts). Here are the products I am absolutely relying on:

First things first – I also upped my water intake and have been getting somewhat more sleep in the last little while, so I’m not accrediting all of my improvements to these products, but the combination definitely helped.

You will notice that I do not use all of the products in their original intended use, as I bought them and they didn’t work the way I was hoping, and re-purposed them to another body part so I didn’t waste the money or product.

Face

For my facial routine, I have noticed a significant difference in my skin since I started trying new products to tackle my pregnant hormones. I’ve had to become a more diligent person when it comes to my daily routine, any slip up and well, breakout city. This is a picture from my original struggles, before starting this intensive routine.

It may not seem like much, but I was plagued with so many other health problems in high school, that my body decided to spare me the acne phase and I have always had pretty clear skin with the exception of a few nasty blackheads on my chin or forehead. My cheeks were also intensely raw with little whiteheads and flared up worse whenever I wore makeup or had a particularly sweaty day.

One thing you will notice below, I do not use any exfoliating products on my face, I used to, but I found them way to rough for how futile and sensitive my skin had become. For a gentle exfoliation, I gently rub a wash cloth over my face and lips, and if absolutely necessary, exfoliate with a little bit Epsom salt and water.

Here’s the routine:

Morning – wash face with Rebels Refinery Face Wash, moisturize with PreventAge. Usually I let this sit for a good half hour before applying makeup, because I find if I don’t wait long enough, then my makeup feels sticky due to the gel quality of PreventAge. I am working on actually wearing SPF every day (I know.. it’s important!) and I swap it out for moisturizer if it’s a particularly sunny day or I plan on being outside at all. I often just don’t wear makeup, because I fell out of the habit early in my pregnancy, plus it is a lot of work for the fact that I’m not doing much more than a natural look anyways. I then swipe on lip balm as I usually don’t have the patience for lipstick!

Night – wipe any makeup off with baby wipes (baby isn’t even here yet and they are already a staple in our house!) or coconut oil and wash face with Rebels Refinery Face Wash, I honestly LOVE this face wash, and I was never really into gel cleansers before my pregnancy. I always used exfoliating or cream based face washes. I then moisturize with Aveeno night cream, because it’s gentle on my skin and I don’t wake up feeling like a grease ball. I usually swipe on a layer of lip balm just to be safe.

Face wash: Rebels Refinery Advanced Clear Skin Face Wash (link to my review)

Day Moisturizer: ItWorks! PreventAge Day Cream Gel

Night Moisturizer: Aveeno Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream

Lip Balm: Burt’s Bees Nourishing Lip Balm with Mango Butter

Makeup remover: Equate Unscented Baby Wipes or Coconut Oil

SPF: Hawaiian Tropic Weightless Face Sunscreen

My skin isn’t flawless yet, but it is not nearly as angry, I took this on June 10th after my morning routine, and decided not to wear makeup, and while there is a little bit of redness, I am happy with the progress on my face!

Body

My body routine is pretty simple, I moisturize my body (at least) twice a day, I shower 3-4 times a week, I make sure I am wearing SPF if it’s warm enough to show skin and I use a charcoal based deodorant.

Two of the products below I use on different body parts than originally intended, but they serve their purpose now. I bought the ItWorks Facial Cleanser in hopes of using it to tackle my pregnant acne, but it was just TOO DRYING for my skin. I asked my consultant what she thought and she said to try it as a body cleanser and see if that worked for me, and it did! I was in the beginning stages of seeing some body acne (very common in pregnancy) and it nipped that right in the butt! It wasn’t drying at all for my body skin, but I was moisturizing so consistently that there wasn’t really a chance for my skin to dry out.

I bought the Burt’s Bees Hand Salve while I was still struggling with my pre-pregnancy eczema (which has essentially disappeared for now), but the formula was just too greasy to use on my hands. Even using it overnight, it didn’t absorb enough and I felt the need to scrub it off my hands if I had to do anything. So I started using it on my feet on days I was wearing socks, and it made such a difference on my feet! It softened that winter hardness off my feet and made them so smooth! I would definitely recommend trying the hand salve on your feet!

I also don’t use a stretch mark cream for my ever expanding body – my pre-pregnancy skin was SO sensitive and constantly itchy, I made the conscious decision to stick with the same lotion I’ve been using. I just switched my routine to twice or three times a day as opposed to once, and I haven’t noticed any stretch marks as of yet!

I decided to make the plunge into more natural products during my pregnancy (with some fails I will admit), and when you are switching from traditional antiperspirant to a natural deodorant, your body goes through a detox period – check out the post about it here! 

Cleanser: ItWorks! Facial Cleanser Gel

Moisturizer: Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion

Feet: Burt’s Bees Hand Salve

Deodorant: The Takesumi Detox Bamboo Charcoal Deodorant

SPF: Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Lotion Sunscreen

My skin has been so much happier since taking on this routine, and it has honestly saved my sanity! Yes, it can be a lot of work, but putting the work in has meant that I’m not nit-picking over my skin (I’m already doing that to my body in general) or scratching my skin raw from being so itchy!

Mamas! What skin routine saved YOUR sanity during your pregnancy?! Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

Amanda xo.