pregnant? swear by products for that dry, itchy s-s-stretching skin

One of the first things I noticed pretty soon into my pregnancy was dry, itchy skin. Of course itchy skin meant stretching skin and stretching skin = the possibility of…STRETCH MARKS! I immediately starting thinking about what I needed to do ASAP to prevent them. Although I read online, in books and heard from my experienced mommy friends that most of this I wouldn’t be able to prevent – that it was totally going to be up to my genetic makeup whether or not I too would be inflicted and have to face those ‘stretchy’ reminders of turning into a glowing butterball – I knew I had to at least try find that perfect product.


Well, I have to admit…I never found that magic lotion, oil, cream. But what I did find were several fantastic products including some for those who are looking for moisturizers on a budget, these helped me get through that period of insanely dry, itchy skin. I still use each of these even now. What’s more…I have no stretchmarks from my pregnancy. YES!! I’m not sure what part of that can be attributed to my genes or the lotions, oils and body butters I slathered on everywhere (focusing mainly on belly, hips and thighs). I’m not saying any of these totally prevents stretch marks but they’re worth a try and hey, at the very least…you’ll have super soft skin!

moisturizers

My must have body moisturizer list:

Bio-Oil

Moisturizing oil that smooths and tones scars, stretch marks and uneven skin tone. Also effective for aging and dehydrated skin. It has been assessed has safe for pregnant women to use.

Fantastic moisturizer. I loved the way Bio-Oil felt on my dry and itchy skin, left it supple and super soft. Not greasy and absorbed fast. The scent grew on me too. I used this mainly on my belly and even noticed the difference it made on an old appendectomy scar. So much lighter than before.

Kind of expensive. I’ve only found it at Costco once and stocked up. Who doesn’t love saving some cash?

You can also check it out here.

Neutrogena Sesame Seed Oil

Delicately light sesame formula that instantly vanishes into the skin, sealing in moisture.

My skin drank this oil up. I used it all over my body – sometimes lathering it on before my shower and sometimes after. If after, don’t completely towel dry so that the moisture from the water allows the oil to works its magic even better. LOVED the scent and my skin felt moisturized, soft and silky.

Check out Neutrogena Seasame Seed Oil here.

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Tummy Butter for Stretch Marks

Body butter cream which helps to prevent and improve appearance of stretch marks naturally with organic ingredients with a special combination of cocoa butter, vitamin E, collagen and elastin and shea butter, lavender and soybean oil.

This proved to be a thick buttery cream that really helped to relieve the dry patches on my belly. I used this exclusively on my tummy area, hips and thighs every night – well that’s until I was introduced to Mama Mio (we’ll get to that in a second). Anyways, it’s best to use this at night since it’s so thick and the scent was a little stronger than the other products I used. Cocoa butter is not my favorite scent but this is bearable.

Click here to learn more.

Mama Mio Tummy Rub Stretch Mark Butter

Deeply hydrating mix of shea butter, borage oil and wheatgerm oil to increase skin elasticity. Free of colorant, parabens, petrolatum and sodium laureth sulfate. All Mama Mio products are clinically and safety tested.

Ok can I just say that if it weren’t for the steep price tag, I would have used ALL the products in this line during my entire pregnancy! I can’t say enough…I loved, loved, LOVED this lusicous cream because of the way it felt, the delicious scent…because and BEST OF ALL that it’s free of all those nasty hard to pronounce ingredients.

And click here for Mama Mio!

So there you have it, my go to list for staying soft and moisturized. Have you tried any of these? If not, try one or all four. What are your favorite moisturizers during pregnancy? Don’t forget to let me know what you think. Also check out Chai Momma Puja’s informative post on what worked for her stretch marks too.

-Shraddha

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