In my last blogpost I wrote about what you should watch out for in skincare during pregnancy or while you are nursing. I received a lot of questions about what to do with your skin after pregnancy and nursing. So let’s discuss just that:

Getting your skin back to looking vibrant and healthy after giving birth and nursing can take up to 3-12 months, that’s a fact! Your body needs time to recover and let go of pregnancy hormones and this will affect your skin, you may even experience discoloration and break outs you are not used to. This is all normal and your skin will return back to normal, if you stick to a strict regimen!

 The cornerstone of your skin health after pregnancy should be a Vitamin C based product. You’ll need a serum containing Vitamin C to counter any hyper pigmentation that may have occurred during your pregnancy.   It’s important that you choose an oil soluble vitamin c, not an acid, as the oil acts like a lipid into your dermis, an acid may be too harsh for your skin.

Lipids are essential components of your skin and play a significant role in the skin’s barrier function as well as an important role in cell-to-cell signaling. In other words, lipids will help your product get into your dermis.  The molecular structure of oil soluble vitamin c is larger than acid and moves into your dermis slower, and as they slowly move into your dermis, elastin and collagen are building up, creating that healthy, full, vibrant look.

This is all a bit technical but the results of using oil based Vitamin C products or any other products that contain cold pressed oils speak for themselves.  

Using these oil based products is not a quick fix, like some acids, but the longer term effects are worth it, you are not thinning out your skin and you’ll thank yourself later as your skin is aging. 

You can use a Vitamin C serum both morning and night but I especially suggest using it in your night time routine as it will help heal your skin from any environmental damage that may have ocurred during the day.

Following your vitamin C serum you could apply my Apple Stem Cell Moisturizer, this will add a protective layer of probiotics, anti-oxidants and of course, hydration! Your skin may be depleted after pregnancy so adding moisture and protective ingredients should be a part of your daily regimen. If not using this moisturizer, make sure you find a good crème without glycols and alcohols as these ingredients will take much needed hydration away from your skin and we do not know if they leave our body, yikes. 

If you feel like your skin is oily, you could take a little less of the Apple Stem Cell Moisturizer and add in a few drops of the Be Clean Elixir as this will add increased anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory agents. You are still getting the oomph from the apple stem cells, which you will love as you’ll be losing the baby weight and those wrinkles can start setting in!

For daytime, reapplying sun block throughout your day is another vital step in your regimen.  I always recommend a natural Zinc sunscreen with at least a 5-20% zinc in it.  Most of my clients are on Jane Iredale’s mineral powder or Epicuren’s Zinc SPF 27 crème. 

In short ,you’ll want to pay extra special attention to your skin after pregnancy and be in it for the long haul as it may take up to a year to get your best skin back!  Getting regular facials during and after pregnancy also helps get your skin back to good health quicker.