In the mild San Francisco Bay Area, where it's a cool 63-degrees right now, it's hard to believe it's really summer. But we know all you ladies out there are likely suffering through sweltering heat and humidity...with a very sweaty, heavy baby bump if your are pregnant during summer!
To keep cool and practice safe skincare during pregnancy, here are our top tips to keeping that glow.
The Spoiled Mama's Top Pregnancy Skin Care Do's & Don'ts: Pregnant During Summer
Tip #1: Drink your water!
It's easy to become dehydrated during the summer, so keep your skin plump, happy and youthful by guzzling the standard eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. If you're pregnant during summer, add another 8-ounce glass for each hour of light activity. This will not only keep your skin happy, but it will also help deliver all the necessary prenatal vitamins to your baby.
Tired of plain water? Try flavored waters, milk, juice, and tea, which all count towards your daily fluid intake. Just stay away from sugary sodas and coffee, which can further dehydrate you.
Tip #2: Relieve tired cankles & swelling with pregnancy swollen feet relief
Edema occurs when excess fluid pools into your limbs, and it's a common -- and sometimes painful -- phenomena that happens to third trimester and postpartum moms. Since hot weather causes your body to expand anyway, the overall effect can be very uncomfortable for the new mom.
To combat pregnancy edema, try The Spoiled Mama's Happy Legs gel for quick pregnancy swollen feet relief. Infused with cooling cucumber and aloe, the lightweight gel is a great treatment for swollen feet during pregnancy . For an extra punch of relief, keep a bottle in the fridge and apply the cold gel liberally onto affected areas. Finish by elevating your feet to help flush out the fluids from your legs.
Other tips if pregnant during summer? Make sure to wear loose clothing, drink tons of fluids to reduce water retention and engage in light activity to get your circulation going.
Tip #3: Slather on the SPF
We all know how harmful the sun is by now. However, did you know sunbathing can darken new pregnancy stretch marks and exasperate your pregnancy melasma, aka "the mask of pregnancy"?
To keep your skin healthy, make sure to slather on SPF 50+ every time you leave the house. Even on cloudy or overcast days, the sun's harmful UVA and UVB rays penetrate the atmosphere and can do irreversible damage to your skin. Make sure to reapply every two hours, and pop on a cute hat to help keep you shaded.
Too late? If you become sunburned, don't fret! Immediately apply The Spoiled Mama's Tummy Butter for Stretch Marks , which contains tamanu oil to help repair damaged skin and jump-start healing.
Tip #4: Feed skin from the outside in
Hot weather sucks out the moisture from your skin, leaving your body parched, dry and itchy. Along with proper water intake, feed your skin with a moisturizer that is made especially for safe skincare during pregnancy. Our favorite times to apply a moisturizer is after a shower (while skin is still slightly damp), and right before bed.
If you have normal skin, go for a lightweight pregnancy oil like The Spoiled Mama's Bump Gloss. This pregnancy stretch mark oil consists of more than 10 cold-pressed oils and is lightly scented with relaxing lavender. For dry skin, opt for a heavier formula, like The Spoiled Mama's Tummy Butter for Stretch Marks. Made from a nourishing cocoa and shea butter base, this belly butter helps add elasticity and bounce to your dry summer skin.
