While many women glow during pregnancy, other women may not be so lucky and suffer instead from pigmentation, patchiness and break-outs. HEALTH gets set to find out how to deal with this…
Overview
Many changes in our skin during pregnancy are triggered by an upsurge in female sex hormone levels; estrogen and progesterone. Some women’s skin will suddenly become dry or oily and even more common skin reactions are acne breakouts and skin rashes while some women can also develop pigmentation.
According to Natasha Bennett, Operations Manager at Dermalase Clinic, there are some very specific problems that occur during pregnancy. These include the following:
- Pigmentation/Melasma: These are brown marks or patches which appear on the skin. Melasma, tells Bennett, is very deep pigmentation and is sometimes called the butterfly mask due to the shape it can form on the face during pregnancy.
- Treatment/Prevention: This, says Bennett, can be treated with light facials and sun screen to protect against harmful UV light however it is best to wait until after the pregnancy and treat the skin with bleach-free treatments such as AFT, Dermamelan mask and The Perfect Peel.
- Stretch marks: This is when the collagen fibers in the skin have snapped due to pressure from the skin stretching to accommodate the growing baby, explains Bennett. They start off as reddish or purple in colour and if left untreated can become a silver color.
- Treatment/Prevention: Prevent stretch marks by using a good body oil or moisturizer during the pregnancy and then post pregnancy a combination of C02 Carboxy Therapy and Clearlift non-ablative laser will aid in removing them further.
- Acne: Due to the rise in hormones, Bennett explains that some women will suffer from outbreaks and possible acne during the pregnancy period.
- Treatment/Prevention: Gentle facials such as Nimue Advanced Rejuvenation will help to control acne and post pregnancy. Theraclear and AFT are recommended.
What to Avoid During Pregnancy:
- Lasers, although have not been shown to cause any harm to an unborn baby, should not be used as the incidence of pigmentation can be increased.
- Botox should definitely not be injected during this time as although safe, pregnancy is not the correct time for using advanced techniques.
- Injectables such as fillers.
What is Safe?
For fresher skin, fruit peels can be indulged in safely and without any harm to your developing baby. Fruit acid peels lead to uniform exfoliation of the surface layers of the epidermis that can help achieve skin renewal. These peels are often used to treat sun damage on the face, hands and larger body areas such as the arms, back and legs with no downtime.
