What looks like it might be dark spots in this picture is actually dry, flaky skin that even my terrible camera can pick up

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So, I recently had a little bundle of joy; A “bouncing baby girl” as they call them. This pregnancy was very difficult, as my morning sickness did not begin to subside until about 6 months in. Even then, the sickness did not completely go away. I was always nauseous and exhausted from growing a human, taking care of another little human, working full time, and just plainly not getting enough sleep. With all of these ailments, I at least had 1 redemption: my skin! My skin was near perfection! I didn’t have any blemishes, my skin was as smooth as a soon-to-be-born baby’s bottom, and all of my hyperpigmentation was fading. Those hormones were finally starting to benefit my vanity.

After months of effortlessly flawless skin, I had a beautiful baby. But somewhere between 2-3 weeks postpartum, all hell broke lose and I got a pimple… and then another one… and another. Those hormone levels were officially dropping, and they were taking my beautiful skin with them! I was a bit upset, but not worried because I had been living with moderate acne longer than I had not been, so I knew exactly what to do for these breakouts. About a week later, however, I realized that this postpartum skin was…different. It wasn’t the oily skin that I was used to. I now have dry patches covering my cheeks and forehead that become so parched that they begin to itch and burn. It’s ridiculous.

When I spoke to my doctor at my postpartum check-up appointment she told me that, because of this serious dip in my hormones, I was essentially like I am going through menopause. She stated that there really wasn’t much that I could do to make it go away, but there were things that I could do to treat the discomfort until my hormones (and skin) got back to normal: use a gentle cleanser, moisturize, and use a sunscreen. I decided that I would of course take her advice, but take it up a notch.

My Postpartum Skin Care Regimen

1. Cleansing- I will definitely be cleansing with a gentle cleanser because I don’t think that my skin will have it any other way. My 2 faves are are the unscented Alaffia Authentic African Black Soap, and the Philosophy Purity Made Simple One Step Facial Cleanser. Both of them are cleansing enough to clear away any dirt, oil and makeup without overly drying the skin.

2. Gentle Exfoliation- With an emphasis on the gentle. I won’t be using anything that contains abrasive beads or granules in it to make sure that I am not further irritating the skin. Instead, I’ve got a really cheap face spin brush that I’ll use on the lowest setting.

3. Toning- I’ll be toning specifically with rose water since it is known for its soothing, hydrating, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory properties (source). Those qualities are exactly what I need with this new angry skin of mine.

4. Masks- I will be using a moisturizing mask at least once a week. While I’ll definitely be on the hunt for some store-bought masks that get the job done, I will also be DIY’ing it. I’ll be using ingredients such as honey, aloe vera, shea butter, avocado, and vitamin E, all of which are known for their moisturizing and skin reparative properties.

5. Moisturizing- This one will be a bit tricky for me as I typically only use very lightweight moisturizers with an emphasis on it not being greasy and making sure that it will mattify my super oily skin. Now I need something that is a bit heavier and more moisturizing than mattifying, but still not too heavy and greasy. I still have to be mindful of the fact that summer is quickly approaching so a heavy moisturizer just isn’t going to work. I also can’t use anything that is so heavy that it will clog my pores because I, of course, have still got major breakouts popping up. AY DIOS MIO!

Help me out ladies! Did you have any significant changes to your skin postpartum? What did you do to combat these changes?