When I became pregnant, my face changed a lot. I could no longer use face cleansers for acne because certain chemicals they use to fight acne absorb into your skin and can cause birth defects in the first trimester. So that turned my entire skin care regime upside down.
To top it all off, my skin suddenly became very dry and flaky, yet I still had acne. Very complicated to deal with, but I managed to find a system that works for me.
I wash my face once a day instead of twice a day now. I use St Ives Apricot Scrub mixed with a little warm water and I massage it into my skin for about 1-2 minutes. This reveals a whole new layer of fresh skin that isn’t dry or flaky. This also helps to get rid of anything on my skin that might be clogging the pores and causing any extra acne (besides hormonal acne). I rinse it off gently with warm water and then pat my skin dry with a clean towel to get rid of any excess moisture, but not enough to actually dry my face off completely.
Now that I am in the second trimester of my pregnancy and it’s safe to use acne products, I started using an astringent three times a week, after washing my face with the apricot scrub. I use Neutrogena Clear Pore Oil-Controlling Astringent. I gently dab it on with a clean cotton ball or smooth it on my skin with my finger tips. It helps to keep the pores closed so that they don’t get clogged. It is also formulated to instantly remove and control excess surface oil to treat and help prevent breakouts.
I let that dry and then apply Olay Sensitive Skin Moisture Therapy Lotion to lock in the good moisture. This keeps my skin looking fresh all day. It’s a light lotion so it doesn’t cause breakouts. This moisturizer penetrates quickly and gently, providing your skin with an immediate surge of active moisture to soothe away dryness with no greasy feel. It’s just perfect.
If I plan on wearing makeup that day, I wait about 30 minutes after washing my face and applying the lotion before I start putting my foundation on. This allows for the lotion to soak into the skin.
That’s my face cleansing regime now that I am pregnant. What’s yours?