Wednesday, January 30, 2013

A budget for your pregnancy Pt 2: Beauty!

As your body grows and starts to change you still want to feel good about yourself don't you?

Of course!!

Your beauty routine for day in and day out may change as your hormones will most likely be changing your skin, hair, nails and physical appearance. Something that's not always easy for us ladies.
Well, is it ever when those changes are really drastic?
Not usually.

Being an Aesthetician I found myself researching and analyzing each change seeing as pregnancy books aren't too detailed and some don't offer the best advice when it comes to our skin and it's sometimes vast changes... One said to avoid scrubs and masks to lessen irritation. Well, if you use the wrong types you will cause some angry skin issues for sure! However, with the correct type it'll be quite the opposite and you'll have happy results vs unpleasant.

Let's dig in shall we?



Pregnancy beauty budget 101:

** Is your current skin care routine working? 

Yes?
Wonderful!

No?
Not unusual at all :)

If you're breaking out, it may be time to invest in some acne safe products to help balance out your skin topically. Many acne products use ingredients such as Salicylic Acid (BHA Beta Hydroxy Acid) or Retinol A commonly used for treating various types of acne and these should be avoided!
A couple other commonly used and that should be avoided are,
Benzoyl Peroxide, Accutane, and Hydrocortisone.

Search out as natural and as organic as possible!

**But be warned, not all natural and organic can be used...
Some essential oils used to treat acne aren't safe for pregnancy.
http://www.essentialoils.co.za/pregnancy.htm


The one company I like to use Juice Beauty has a pregnancy safe kit you can buy that's about $216.
Which is awesome but kinda expensive if you're trying to stay low key for other items needed. 
Either way you're probably looking at something around $100 or above if you're really wanting to care for your changing skin.

I had to devise a totally new way to take off my makeup at night and revamp some of my products.
http://shannonaestydiygoodies.blogspot.com/2012/09/deeper-nightly-diy-facial-cleanse.html
(My new pre cleanse routine for removing my makeup! It's been a true skin saver this pregnancy!)

I went to websites like vitacost.com and found great ways to save money on my skin care as well! That's what I use for nearly every product I have right now other than a few things that turned out cheaper at Target or that the website didn't have that Target did. (I'm trying to avoid Wally World when I can help it!)

And the same goes with if you're skin is feeling dehydrated vs hydrated now. There are things you may need to look into...You might need to not only amp up the water (Which is a HUGE thing we know during pregnancy) but you may need some serums and moisturizers to help feed your skin doubly during this hormonal time. Again, I find that either Juice Beauty or Vitacost.com has some of the best options/deals!

http://www.juicebeauty.com/

http://www.vitacost.com/

I can't put a price tag on what I've spent because I've probably spent a little more than planned only because I was really into researching and set on finding something that would help! I'm pleased to say I did and have a renewed confidence in how my skin's looking these days vs when I first started out.

The highest I paid for an item?
I can tell you that!
Nothing over $40 was my rule.
And when you know how to research or who to talk to for all the deals/savings can get even better!



** But my body needs some TLC too!

SO true and here are just a couple things you can do to help...

Any lotion containing the following ingredients are awesome for a pregnant woman's body! And what you want are both lotions and oils right now. Esp since your skin is about to do a lot of stretching and it's not always in your belly... Weight gain and water retention can contribute to those little things we call stretch marks. (Not to mention genetics don't always help) They can appear on your upper arms, belly, bottom, breasts and legs. But there are ways to either avoid or lessen them, even help heal your skin to it's best possible condition afterwards by using these following ingredient infused lotions and/or oils. Vitamin E, Coconut Oil, CoCo Butter, Shea Butter, Olive Oil are wonderful for you! I picked two just to keep things really simple, I went with the vitamin e and coconut oil. Both provide me intense hydration and they don't break the bank!
I pay under $20 for both.

Ingredients to avoid are sometimes hard on a tight budget because you really don't want to spent double digits on an 8 oz bottle of lotion do you? But there are ways to stay healthy non-the-less! Try to avoid anything with Parabens, Phthalates, Mineral Oil, 1 4 Dioxane, Bleach, Synthetic fragrances etc.

** You mentioned makeup removal but failed to mention makeup!

My rules are simple.

Keep it under $15 for your foundation and don't let your routine become anymore detailed than what you truly want it to be! I have become so lazy I just don't feel like doing much right now so all I use is a tinted moisturizer (when I'm needing to go somewhere and I want more coverage), powdered spf 30, concealer, blush and mascara. Simple and satisfying!

I avoid the following ingredients... Talc, Bismuth Oxychloride as my 2 biggest!
But there's more to keep away from http://www.organicmakeup.ca/ca/cosmeticsAvoid.asp

If I'm feeling sassy and in need of something extra I have fallen in love with those black marker-like eye liners for doing my pinup or even just a real simple lash enhancement line across my lid. They save me time, mess and they wash off MUCH faster than any gel liner I've ever used!

That's my little extra fun thing I will never live w/out again :)
That and a nude-ish pink lip liner to help polish off my sometimes very tired self!

** Hair care!

This has been my lax side of things... I really wish I could tell you I'm not using something with sulfates or a synthetic fragrance in it but, ugh, not so... I have gone the super cheap route as I just couldn't get myself to spend more than $3 a bottle haha I just make sure I don't wash my hair every day if I can help it, I don't get it in my eyes and I try to wash and rinse as fast as possible! But if you do want to avoid a key thing or two try to avoid any sulfates, synthetic fragrances, dyes etc...

I've only had my hair colored twice and the first round I waited till my 2nd trimester for pictures and the second I had done so my hair looks refreshed for baby when he comes! In general, I'd say not to dye or to make it as far between apts as possible and never do it in the 1st trimester. Make sure the area has good air flow too so you can avoid those fumes as much as possible.

** Nails!

Avoid anything with strong fumes for the 1st trimester if you can and make sure if you decide to have them done that there's air flow for that as well! But do treat yourself to mani's and pedi's as they will do more for you than you ever thought possible. :) I've been a pedi girl this pregnancy!

And just remember cuticle oil and hand lotion! 
My hands have been SO dry this pregnancy and those are 2 thing I always have in my purse.

Well, that's my breakdown for what I think or feel is valuable to a woman when she's pregnant and needing some beauty updates or changes. Hope that helped and I didn't confuse you too much ;) My train of thought seems to become more and more fuzzy as I get closer to my due date. So close now!!!

Have a wonderful evening,
Shannon <3 





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