New mum skincare
Breastfeeding or not breastfeeding, while you’re recovering after bringing a wonderful bundle of joy into the world your skin will probably be the last thing on your mind! With another human to take care of, sleep deprivation and raging hormones, being a new mum can take its toll on our skin as our body and mind get used to this new routine.
However, you can still give your skin what it needs with a simple, easy routine, some brilliant results driven products, and a beautiful, skin loving ritual that may just make you feel like YOU again.
How being a new mum can affect your skin
After you give birth, your body starts to produce different hormones and this can have a knock on effect on your skin.
Inflammatory acne flare ups can be a common concern when your hormones are unbalanced. Your skin may feel angry, inflamed and unsettled. For example, cystic breakouts, white heads and increased congestion are some of the characteristics when hormones are driving your breakouts. You'll tend to find them around the lower face, chin, jawline and lower cheek areas.
If you experienced hormone related hyper-pigmentation (melasma or chloasma) in your pregnancy, it can remain postpartum but should begin to fade over time.
Disrupted sleep, stress, and breastfeeding can mean that your skin isn’t getting everything it needs to thrive and this can leave it looking and feeling lacklustre. You may notice your skin is dryer, more dehydrated and not as glowy as you wish!
What can I do to help my new mum skin?
To care for your skin at this busy time, try to stick to a simple routine that you can squeeze in morning and evening. It doesn’t have to be a 12-step, just a cleanse, hydrating serum, and nourishing cream will help to keep your skin on an even kilter.
Ensure your diet is delicious and diverse, you will be giving the lionshare of nutrients to your baby through breast milk so it’s important to boost your nutritional uptake to compensate for this. Freezing chopped fruit and vegetables that you can blend up into a nutritious smoothie is an easy way to do this.
Go outside! A brisk walk in fresh air will boost circulation, assisting nutrient delivery and toxin removal, and help to reduce stress levels that can contribute to lack of sleep and overproduction of oil. Absorb your surroundings and take some deep breaths.
How can treatments help?
A great tailored treatment will be able to target any breakouts that you might experience post-birth, deliver much needed nutrients to the skin but most of all is a well deserved, delicious, relaxing treat. Our Gently Does It treatment is safe for both pregnancy and breastfeeding and helps to nourish and rebalance the skin if it’s feeling sensitive and in need of some extra love. We can also incorporate LED light therapy into the routine which can reduce acne causing bacteria, pigmentation, and encourage collagen production.
For melasma, we recommend two approaches, depending on which kind of treatment is best for you. The first is our Ultra Synergy which incorporates microneedling. Microneedling is great to help lighten pigmentation, and is suitable for melasma as it doesn’t involve heat. We love lasers for pigmentation, but they are not possible for melasma as it’s triggered by heat.
Another option to discuss with your Dermal Therapist is our Glow and Go facial, where we can do a peel that specifically targets melasma. Great if you would prefer not to go for microneedling!
What products support improvement?
Less is more when it comes to your skincare routine. Multitaskers are your go to, cleansing balms which double as exfoliators, oils which can be used as serums and hydrators. Cosmetics 27 Cleanser 27 is a rich balmy cleanser which contains micronised bamboo that gently exfoliates the skin at the same time.
For pesky breakouts, Cosmetics 27 Pure 27 serum is a breastfeeding safe acne fighting serum, which also helps with skin barrier function and pigmentation, with its zinc gluconate and niacinamide.
If you have melasma or post-inflammatory pigmentation as a result of acne, Synergie’s Enlighten Serum is formulated with ingredients to reduce existing pigmentation, and also interrupt the process of melanin production to prevent future pigmentation from forming. Win-win!
As always, remember to follow up with a broad-spectrum SPF - we love Odacité Mineral Drops SPF 50.
In the evening, incorporate nourishing and hydrating creams and overnight masks into your routine like Synergie MasquErase or Esse Cream Mask that will do the hard work while you sleep.
