How I Prevent Stretch Marks During Pregnancy

Today I wanted to quickly talk about this big old pregnant belly of mine and go over my pregnant belly care routine. I attribute doing this belly care routine daily to the lack of stretch marks on my currently 34 week along belly, and I wanted to share!

Stretch marks are something I’ve struggled with in the past especially on my hips and thighs, and I know that genetically I am prone to them. Because of that, I really prioritized a good stretch mark belly care routine from almost the very moment I found out I was pregnant. And I believe it’s made a huge difference.

So let’s get into it!

Step 1 may seem super basic but it is to hydrate, and to hydrate consistently. I drink 3-4 of these Starbucks tumblers full of water each day and while I’ve noticed a lot of positive results from doing so, I have also noticed that my skin seems to be more elastic than normal.

So this routine really starts in the shower each evening before bed. Even if I’m not washing my hair I’ll always have a body shower in the evening. And when I’m just doing a body shower step one is always lightly cleansing my body all over with an ultra-nourishing body wash – currently we’re using the Bioderma Atoderm Shower Oil and it’s amazing. Pregnant bellies can feel super tight by the end of the day and this soothing shower oil instantly melts away any feelings of tightness as it’s massaged into the skin. Plus it rinses off really nicely and leaves skin feeling super hydrated without any residue.

And then I would just rinse my body as I normally would.

Step 2 is to exfoliate gently. You can exfoliate however you like but I thoroughly enjoy using the coffee grounds from our morning batch of fresh coffee. I just scoop it right out from the coffee filter each morning and save it for my shower later in the day. I mean first of all it smells amazing, but fresh coffee grounds actually make for an amazing exfoliator. The sand like texture of coffee grounds works to gently remove dead skin cells, which in turn helps to rejuvenate the skin and boost circulation. Plus, the massaging action helps to stimulate blood flow which is extra helpful for expanding belly skin.

After rinsing and drying off it’s time to move on to the final step.

Step 3 is to apply pure, organic rosehip oil all over the belly. I use the Sukin Certified Organic Rosehip Oil.

Rosehip oil is chalk-full of antioxidants, fatty acids and vitamin A which all work together to improve skin texture and tone, reduce pigmentation and generally just increase the skins’ ability to produce new skin cells. I did a lot of research on what products to buy that would actually have the best chance of keeping my stretch marks at bay, and rosehip oil was highly recommended all across the internet, as well as by my dermatologist.

I’ve also been applying this rosehip oil to the older stretch marks on my thighs and hips and have noticed a pretty drastic reduction in how harsh they appear, plus it has made the surrounding skin much softer and more hydrated.

Something I want to emphasize is that I really take my time massaging this rosehip oil in to my belly skin. I normally do this step in bed while watching an episode of a tv show, and continue the massage for between 10-20 minutes. This helps to make sure the rosehip oil is thoroughly massaged in to the skin, and the massaging action does also help to improve skin elasticity. Studies have also been done that show that the massage is actually great not just for mum but for baby in the womb, helping to familiarize baby with mum’s touch. And that’s super cool!

As always, thank you for visiting the blog today and everyday, I really appreciate it. Xx Julia Rae