Looking After Your Skin During Pregnancy
Patches of skin could darken during pregnancy, due to hypersensitve skin pigmentation.
Your skin is extra sensitive during pregnancy and you could experience higher levels of melasma.
Melasma is when the pigmentation of your skin darkens in patches, especially on the face and arms.
This darkening of the skin is called the “pregnancy mask” because it most often affects the face. It happened to a friend of mine and really did look like she was wearing a mask because it covered her face but leaving spaces around the edges.
If I hadn’t have seen the effects on my friend, I probably would not have known about changes to skin pigmentation during pregnancy. As someone with very sensitive skin, I made sure to cover myself up well and protect myself from the sun.
Why Do Skin Pigmentation Changes Happen During Pregnancy?
- Melasma can be triggered by the increase in estrogen and progesterone hormones or by exposure to the sun.
- The ultraviolet rays of the sun can cause melanocytes to produce more of the pigment melanin
- This in turn causes melasma to develop.
- Make sure you cover up well, especially your face and arms. I love to wear big straw sunhats.
- Use a high factor sun lotion to avoid hyper skin pigmentation.
- IMPORTANT – check that you are using toxin free skincare. Everything you put on your skin gets soaked into your bloodstream and transferred to your baby. Our Oh My Mama Body expert midwife Marianne can help you with advice about skincare products, follow the link to arrange a free call with her