Pregnancy and Skin

 Pregnancy brings with it a lot of changes in the body. We are so worked up with the morning sickness, growing bump and water retention that we totally forget about the changes our skin undergoes.

Hyper-pigmentation is a very common problem during pregnancy. You get dark circles under your eyes, big dark patches on the cheeks, darker underarms, and your neck and genital area also darkens. These dark patches on the skin are called melasma or chloasma. This is called mask of pregnancy. During the second trimester you will notice a dark brown mark on the stomach.

But there is nothing to take tension about these marks because these marks disappear few months after post birth. But you can always prevent hyper- pigmentation from getting darker. Protect yourself from direct sun rays as sun darkens pigmentation and always protect yourself from sunscreen. Always wear full sleeved clothes, sunglasses and if possible us an umbrella. Daily microfoliants brightens the skin and removes dark marks from the skin.

Most women get stretch marks during pregnancy. These stretch marks starts showing during the second trimester when you start putting on weight rapidly. If you are lucky the stretch marks disappears, but if you continue to gain and lose weight it is difficult for the stretch mark to vanish. So it is important to keep your weight under control. During pregnancy it is difficult to keep weight under control, but you should rub vitamin E oil so that the stretch marks fade away easily. To get rid of stretch marks it is important to consume vitamin C, E and Zinc.

Due to hormonal changes and stretching of the skin, the skin tends to become delicate and prone to allergies. During pregnancy you may find the face wash that you have been using for ages is just not working on you and your skin is breaking up into rashes and there may be itching also. Identify the product that is causing the itching and stop using it immediately. Protecting yourself from sun and weraing loose cotton clotes is very important because synthetic or silk dresses may cause itchiness of the skin. Buy loose underwears and trousers so that you don't feel uncomfertable. Keep your skin clean and always use a sunscreen before going out in the sun.

Varicose vain is another common problem during pregnancy. Though these varicose vains disappears after pregnancy, but sometimes they become really painful. So it is advisable not to put on too much weight during pregnancy. The heavier you get the more this problem gets agrravated.