Safe Skin

Because some topical ingredients get absorbed into the bloodstream, there are some you want to avoid," says Leslie Baumann, a professor of dermatology at the University of Miami and author of The Skin Type Solution (Bantam, 2006)http://www.babycenter.com/0_safe-skin-care-during-pregnancy_1490031.bc .

"Everything you eat, apply, or come into contact with may affect not only you but also your baby," says Sandra Marchese Johnson, a dermatologist with Johnson Dermatology in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Most pregnant women are careful as to what they eat, but not so cautious when it comes to what is applied on their skin, our largest organ. As Dr. Leslie Baumann stated these beauty creams may pose a danger to your fetus if absorbed through your bloodstream. Throughout my pregnancy my skin has been a catastrophe. I went from oily all over to flaky dehydrated dry skin. My skin has an overwhelming amount of black heads and pimples on my chin and jaw line. In my quest for perfect skin, I asked my doctor if there are ingredients I should avoid. Perhaps I did not ask the right doctor because she said, “Any cream that is not safe while pregnant shouldn’t be used when you are not pregnant.” I was really bewildered. What about all these things people say to avoid? I did my own research.


Retinoids:
Avoid products that contain vitamin A and it's derivatives (retinals, including Retin-A, and retinoids). A vitamin-A derivative in Accutane, which can cause major birth defects. Vitamin A in high does can be toxic pregnant or not.

Salicylic acid/ Benzoyl peroxide:
BHA, or beta hydroxy acid, is a form of salicylic acid and is used in some topical exfoliants to reverse signs of aging. Salicylic acid as well as Benzoyl Peroxide is used to kill bacteria for acne/break outs. Even though pregnant women get hormonal breakouts, this ingredient seems to be the only ingredient unanimously across board that we need to steer clear of. However, Alpha hydroxy acids, sometimes listed as AHAs, glycolic acid, or lactic acid, are said to be safe, but I find dubious.

Soy:
"Soy can make the 'mask of pregnancy' (dark splotches on facial skin) worse.” Although soy creams are plant based there is an ingredient called isoflavones which cause estrogenic effects in the body. One of my favorite skin care lines called Fresh is soy based, which I will now avoid during my pregnancy.

Essential Oils:
There again no evidence suggesting that oils are dangerous, but oils tend to penetrate deeper into the layers of the skin. I even read Almond oil can be toxic. My favorite body products from L’occitane are the Almond Shower Oil and Almond Supple Skin Oil. Now, I am in search of body products that will hydrate and help with stretch marks.

Hair removers:
Avoid depilatories (cream hair removers) because these chemicals seep deep into the pores.

Self-tanners:
Self-tanners are not dangerous per say, but layering chemicals that will sit on the skin for hours may not be a good option for the baby.


Hair dyes:
This is the one thing that is a biggie for me since my hair turns gray every two weeks. I waited till I was almost five months to dye my hair. There are no studies that concretely state that hair dye are harmful, but these chemicals can absorb through the scalp. Hair dye is so controversial because some believe it is not safe for women who or aren’t pregnant. I even heard there is a link between hair dyes and cancer. However, this one practice I may not be able to give up.

Nail polish:

Three ingredients to avoid in your polish are DBP, formaldehyde or toluene . “Try colors from Sally Hansen -- last year, the company announced plans to remove all three chemicals from their products.”

It's a Girl!

I found out on January 11, 2012 that I am having a girl or at least they are 90% sure of it. The baby did not want to open her legs at all. Travis, my husband stood there like a proud dad, “That’s right you don’t open your legs for nobody,” said Trav with a smile on his face. Christina, the sonogram technician and I just laughed. Travis and I have picked girls names carefully. As a young girl, I wrote up names of baby names that I liked (god knows why I did that). I went back to this list and there were names like Tatiana, Thalia, Katelyn, etc… I just did not like any of these choices anymore. As an adult I loved the name Chloe, but I feel that my mom would have a hard time saying this with a Spanish accent. I will continue to explore different options, but I think we have picked our names and sticking to it. Yesterday, I had co-workers ask me these options and I received bad feedback. One girl even went as far as laughing in my face and shaking her head vigorously. I was highly offended and embarrassed. Choosing a name for your child is personal and that is not the reaction you want. It is equivalent to someone saying your kid is “breathtaking” or plain old ugly. I would like to tell the world everything I am experiencing with this pregnancy, but that incident has really shied me away from saying anything personal. However, I did get great feedback from my sisters and my dear cousin—that was great. Feedback is always awesome minus the malicious intent.

The Nitty Gritty

I discovered that there are a lot of pregnant women who do not reveal the truths behind embarking this motherhood journey. From my experience the appropriate color to link it to is gray which means sorrow, security, maturity, and dependability. It connotes responsibility and conservative practicality. It also imparts emptiness and detached feelings. Pregnant women’s hormones make them feel happy and sad- a sadness that leads to nonsensical tears. Today I cried because my bra and underwear were not in perfect accordance, as nothing fits I am left with limited options. My emotions have been a blended mix of indifference and happiness. Often times people have asked, “Are you happy?” I guess that question arises from that indifferent feeling. I never feel good. I either feel horrible, bad, or okay. Five months later and my food still will not stay in my system and I feel entirely too weak to make the bed at times. This is the sorrow feeling. However, I feel more secure in my marriage as my husband tries to cater to his wife’s pregnant needs. I am completely depended on him and love that his excitement keeps him taking care of me. I feel responsible for another life and conservative in my choices. I am in control of what I eat, drink, and put in my body. I will never comprehend pregnant women who smoke or drink alcohol, feeding this defenseless baby poison.

There are also physical attributes that change. My skin and throat feel like the Sahara Desert begging for some hydration 24/7. My back and neck pound with ache. My sides and abdomen cramp and when I walk I cannot breathe fluidly- the huffing and puffing looks like I am in Lamaze class. Everything is in excess or deficient. I cannot go to the bathroom in days and some days…well you know the rest. I find myself having to floss twice and much and q-tips are in high demand. These excess elements coincide with the aforementioned. I also have “silky throat,” a yucky yellow colored flam feeling in the back of esophagus that makes me feel nauseous. I wish that I could say while you are experiencing all these symptoms people are always sympathetic. However, I discovered that while living in New York and having to take the train during rush hour, it is every man for himself. Two days ago, I took the train and made eye contact with the man sitting in front of me. He looked down and saw that I was pregnant. I tried to make the contact again, but his guilty eyes skipped rapidly until he felt very “drowsy” all of a sudden and closed his eyes his ride home. Despite everything I have gone through I love the idea of being a mother and starting a family. This makes me love and appreciate my mother a little more each day!

I'm Pregnant!

The sudden kick and flutter movements, the wave of nausea, your head feeling like you are in a whirl wind are the wonderful feelings of motherhood to be. I am 20 weeks and 3 days. Pregnancy has been quite an experience. The minute I found out I was pregnant through an at home pregnancy test, I was more in tune with my body. A few weeks prior to finding out, I thought I had the flu. I was fatigue, warm, and could not get out of bed.

The first trimester, was the worst feeling of my life. It felt like I had a permanent hang over. I woke up barfing and went to bed the same way. I was overwhelmed with feelings of sadness for no reason. I stopped cooking, cleaning, and doing homework from my Event Planning course. I couldn’t even go to work because of the weak feeling in my legs, the weight loss, and my pressure was little lower than usual. I had no choice but to take a few weeks off from work.

My second trimester came rather fast. I went back to work feeling refreshed. I had more energy and was able to keep most of my food in my digestive system where it belonged. My tummy was finally poking through and I was off that awkward in between stage. The influx of-Is it a boy or girl kept pouring in! I’ve been told that I have that “glow.” Although all the symptoms I felt in the first trimester have not departed, I am slowly am finding myself being able to be me again. The zombie stage and sluggish mannerism is slowly by surely fading away. A new wave of symptoms are now arriving.