As a mum-to-be, you want to do everything you can to keep your baby safe which is why you are careful about your diet during pregnancy. While what you put in your body is important, you can’t ignore what you put on it! A lot of cosmetic products contain chemical preservatives and fragrances that are absorbed by your skin and enter your bloodstream. This is why a lot of women are turning to DIY skin care products that they can use without any worry throughout their pregnancy and after. But sunscreen is the exception to this trend.
Do Not Make DIY Sunscreen
While it’s perfectly safe to make your own face wash, moisturiser, face mask and other skincare products, the one thing you don’t want to try to make on your own is sunscreen. You will find plenty of recipes for sunscreen online but none of these can provide adequate protection. A study on 15 homemade sunscreen recipes found online discovered that the maximum SPF in all of them was under 6 – which is extremely low considering that the recommended SPF is 30 or higher.
There are plenty of effective sunscreens in the market but not all of them are equally safe to use while pregnant. For example, chemical-based sunscreens often contain oxybenzone which is absorbed by the skin but mineral-based sunscreens are not absorbed and form a protective layer to shield your skin. This is why you should compare the top pregnancy-safe sunscreens that have been vetted by real moms and parenting experts to help you make a decision.
Choosing the Right Ingredients
Many DIY skincare recipes require multiple ingredients, many of which cannot be preserved for more than a few days in the fridge. This means that you have to constantly make small batches of each skincare product which is time consuming and tiring. When you’re pregnant, you’re already dealing with morning sickness, body aches and other issues and you just don’t have the bandwidth to prepare elaborate skincare products. The good news is that you don’t need to!
You can make a gentle cleansing face wash with just one ingredient – chickpea flour. Research shows that chickpea flour is high in saponins which is a natural detergent and foaming compound. You can keep a small container with a little chickpea flour in your medicine cabinet. Whenever you want to wash your face, take about a teaspoon of this flour into your palm and add a little water to make it a thin paste. Gently massage your face with this paste and then rinse it off to get rid of oil and grime.
If you have oily skin, you can add a few drops of lemon juice to the mixture to help break down the excess oil. Similarly, instead of trying to make a complicated moisturiser, you can apply four to five drops of oil to your face after you’ve washed it. Oil is an occlusive which means that it forms a barrier over the skin to trap in moisture. If you have oily skin, you can use argon oil which reduces sebum production but if you have dry or sensitive skin, you can use sweet almond oil instead.
A weekly hydrating face mask will help to keep your skin clear so you can show off your pregnancy glow! Add equal amounts of chamomile tea and honey to a bowl with 2 tablespoons of oats and mix thoroughly until it forms a smooth paste. If you have oily skin, you can use fresh tomato juice instead of chamomile tea. Apply the mask to your face and leave it on for about 30 minutes or until it starts to dry out and then gently rinse your face and moisturise with the oil of your choice.
Natural Skincare Ingredients to Avoid During Pregnancy
We tend to assume that all natural ingredients are safe during pregnancy but this is not true, especially for some essential oils. It’s important to note that many essential oils are perfectly safe to use during pregnancy but there are some oils that could pose a risk to an unborn baby. Research shows that some of the natural compounds found in oils such as anise oil, sweet fennel oil, bitter fennel oil, parsley seed oil and parsley leaf oil among others could have a negative impact on the baby. This is why it is important to talk to your doctor before adding any essential oils to your pregnancy skincare routine.
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