As I’m on a bit of a skincare-posting roll, here’s all of the my pregnancy posts that has been lingering in my drafts folder. Due to the fact a few of these products have been featured elsewhere, and I didn’t want to repeat myself…
But it’s good to have all of my pregnancy spot-busters all on a single page – this is for the people who end up plagued with hormonal breakouts within the first (or any) part of pregnancy and don’t understand what an earth they can use to sort it all out.
During my first trimester, when my skin felt horrible, I cleansed with First Aid Beauty’s Deep Cleanser (lb18 here*) which seemed to help with clogged pores but didn’t let it rest dry and tight on rinsing. It’s a gel-like formula but contains red clay for balancing and deep cleansing the skin – easy to rinse off, if you want a quick cleanse on a time-poor morning.
I also relied quite heavily on the 9 Oil Cleansing Tonic from brilliant MV Organic Skincare (lb57.50 here*) – that one featured in my Cleansers with Added Benefits video and post – it’s more treatment oil than cleanser, while you press it into your skin having a warm compress rather than “washing” by using it. It’s gorgeous, and seems to work wonders on temperamental, hormonal skin.
The main thing, I believe, is NOT to strip the absolute life out of your face with harsh, stripping cleansers. Be gentle, and even if your skin feels oily, resist the temptation to “dry it out”. The FAB red clay cleanser above is about as gel-like washy-wash as I’ll go…
Then the treatment Blemish Serum from Pai, lb42 here*, is soothing and gorgeous on aggravated skin and doesn’t contain anything controversial in terms of pregnancy-safe ingredients. Same with the Kypris Moonlight Catalyst – that one is not specifically aimed at breakouts or hormonal skin, but it was magical on mine, brightening and clarifying overnight. You can read about both of these products in this article on powerful pregnancy skincare.
The Pai serum can be quite hydrating – which is unusual for spot stuff – but if you want to continue the theme, with a lightweight-but-potent moisturiser, then I can recommend the Toleriane Fluid from La Roche-Posay. A strong favourite of mine for a long time. It’s currently a tenner on Escentual here*, as they have their French Pharmacy promotion running and lots of brands have a third off. Small bargain!
Lastly, the Freederm spot gel (here*), as suggested by dermatologist Dr Sam Bunting whenever we did our Q&A on pregnancy skincare. This does work, and it’s free from salicylic acid, so if you’re pregnant you can zap those blemishes without worrying about ingredients.
And a final reminder to wear a good SPF (loads of posts here) and, as you’re wearing an SPF, make sure you cleanse thoroughly at the end of your day. I find SPF a total b*stard to get off, also it won’t help your spot situation if you end up clogging your skin by using it due to inefficient face-washing!
