In My Pregnant Skin

Hey.

I have something super duper exciting to tell you!  Well, it might not be super duper exciting for you, but it is for me, so fake your enthusiasm if you must.  (I also noticed, by the time I finished, that this is really lengthy.  Sorry.)

First I must tell you that I naively entered this pregnancy thinking that I would enjoy a "pregnancy glow."  We've all heard of it.  A pregnant woman gets to enjoy radiant, glowing skin and thick, fast-growing, luscious, hair.

LIES!

Ok, ok, maybe those aren't lies for everyone.  Maybe some women really do enjoy such changes, and to them I say, "You lucky duck."

This girl has been experiencing the complete opposite.  Not only am I having more breakouts than normal (like ALOT more), I have this super fun rash around my eyes.  Luckily it's not itchy, but I'd still rather not have a raccoon mask of little red bumps, thank you very much.

I'm going to attempt to be incredibly brave and share some hideous skin pictures with you today.  A couple weeks ago I sent these to Katie through Facebook messenger with the message: Don't ever get pregnant- this will happen to you:

Ok, that might be a little harsh, but seriously.  These are even terrible quality from my dark room and don't show the extent of the damage.  We are talking big clusters of enormous mountains on my jawline, clusters on my upper chin, a few to several Mount Kilimanjaros on my forehead (thank goodness for bangs-amIright?) and the aforementioned rash spreading from my eyelids, down to my cheeks.

Not cool, Baby J.  Why would you do this to your loving mother who is just trying to carry you the best she can and plans to spoil you with snuggles when you finally arrive??

So you see, this has been fairly traumatizing for me.  I know I probably sound a little melodramatic, but seriously- I sit here and think about it all. freaking. day.  It doesn't help that they tend to be painful too.  Just a little salt for the wound to my vanity.

Well, you know what a person does when they have a problem like this...  

They scour Pinterest for a remedy.

And scour I did.  But before I tell you that, I'm going to give you a riveting little complexion background.  (Again- try to contain your enthusiasm.)

Looking back, I was incredibly lucky during junior high and high school.  I rarely had breakouts, and when I did, it was one zit.  (The horror!)  

(This was technically during my first year at SRC, but it was before my problems began.)

I didn't experience any issues until college.  Things really started acting up when we went to TIU.  Ashley and I both found that our skin was changing, and it was probably due to diet, and we suspected the water as well.  

(Notice the state of my first chin.  A couple big-uns.  This picture was also just an excuse to show you how adorable my husband was in college.)

I thought things were about as bad as they could be because I had never had problems before, but boy, was I wrong!  I'm sure I only have myself to blame, as after college I got in a nasty habit of tanning on my lunch break from work, and I didn't clean my makeup off.  That is my guess, anyway, as to why my skin got really awful.  (Also the fact that I was drinking alo-hot of pop.)

(I actually had trouble finding a photo that would show you how bad it was because I edited them as much as I could to hide my skin!  You can see how splotchy it is and the several large ones though.)

 

(I'm not even kidding you- I would make pictures look like this to hide my skin!  Like these are what normal pictures look like.  Jeepers- nice try Aim.)

Well, at this point I was at my wit's end.  I would literally cry over my the state of my skin.  One Sunday afternoon Dad and I were watching T.V. and a Proactive commercial came on.  You've seen them.  They seem like the perfect fix.  So I did it.  I called right then and there and ordered some Proactive.  And I couldn't wait for it to come in.  

The first time I washed my face with it, it was magical.  My skin felt so soft and smooth.  I would say, within a month, my face had mostly cleared up and healed from it's previous state.  I remember after about a year of using it, I was talking with Aunt Diane about it, and how I hadn't had a (sorry-gross) pop-able zit since starting it.  It was glorious.  

(Just in time too- who wants to have nasty skin when they're getting engaged and married and having their picture taken all the time.  Look at that glow!  I'm lusting over my complexion in this picture.  Also- check out my husband.  He's so hot.)

Ahem.  However, over the past two years, I've started noticing more and more breakouts.  It got so bad in the fall, that I decided to switch to this natural black soap I had heard rave reviews about.  Little did I know, the massive breakout I was experiencing was probably an early pregnancy symptom, since it occurred about two weeks before I found out I was expecting.  Although I was still experiencing breakouts, my skin seemed healthier, if that makes sense.  It was less dried out, plus I had heard that you shouldn't really use the heavy chemical stuff on your skin when you're pregnant, so it seemed like a good time to switch.  

I started using the black soap, along with witch hazel for astringent, a clay mask once a week, and stuck with my mom's moisturizer that she makes because I love it.  All fairly natural stuff.  And it seemed to do pretty well for awhile.  Then the rash started.  And the huge zits came back.  And by the time we came home from our Christmas break, I was in tears over the state of my skin.  Again.  (See the first photos.)

So the scouring of Pinterest began, and I found some more natural remedies that people swore by, and decided to try them.  (Their photos should take you to their pages.)

First, I started using Grapeseed Oil as my nighttime moisturizer.  This did not seem to help.  

My face was still incredibly dry, which I've learned from lots and lots of reading causes you to break out more and have even oilier skin.  No good.  Then I came across this one, and she had such great results, I had to try it.  I finally got around to it this week: the oil cleansing method.  Sounds crazy right?  But read her post, and it makes sense.  

So, I started this, and right away, my face felt good.  Soft and healthy, albeit still covered with breakouts.  I only did it at night, and still used my Grapeseed Oil as the nighttime moisturizer.  I even ran out to Jered, and at great risk, said, "Look!  It looks better!  Doesn't the rash look like it went down already?"

(You see, my skin does this really neat trick, where if I even think, "Oh, it's starting to look clear," within hours, I will feel a big one revealing itself.  You think I jest, but Jered told me a couple weeks ago, before we went out, that my skin was looking clearer, and while we were at the movie that night, the pain of a new one on my forehead started.  If it wasn't so annoying, it might actually be a cool trick.)

But it didn't this time!  However, my skin during the day still felt extremely dry.  Not as bad as it had been for the last couple weeks (painfully tight), but still not great.  So I thought it still wasn't going to work.  

So a few nights ago, I switched my evening moisturizer.  I started using Coconut Oil.  

I kid you not, the next morning there was a noticeable difference.  The areas on my skin that were normally dried out by morning, were still soft.  Scabs (gross, I know) that I had the night before were practically healed.

Now, full disclosure, my skin has not completely cleared up (I still look like I have a raspberry on my jaw from the everlasting cluster,) but even Jered is amazed.  He said I could quote him as saying, "You went from having mountains to little hills over night."  He's so sweet. Ha.  Aaaaand, after three days of thinking, and both Jered and I saying that it looks better, no new zits.  Miracle?  Or Coconut Oil broke the curse?  I don't know, and I don't care.

I truly wish I had taken a before and after photo.  Sorry.

If you are interested in trying it out, Pinterest has a bajillion links to different Oil Cleansing Methods.  What I have done is this:

At night:

+  I mix about 6 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil with 1 tablespoon of Cold-Pressed Castor Oil.  (After reading the update made by the girl in the second link, I decided on that lesser amount of Castor Oil because she said the original mixture dried her face out a little too much.)

+ I follow her directions with massaging the mixture onto my face (about a quarter-sized amount in my palm).  Then using very warm/hot water, I cover my face with a soaked washcloth to soften the oil, then proceed with rinsing the washcloth and wiping my face until I feel it is cleaned off.

+  After patting my face dry, I use a bit of Coconut Oil instead of my usual moisturizer.

In the morning:

+  Rather than washing, I've just been rinsing my face off.

+  I still use my witch hazel as an astringent, but if I feel my face is a bit on the dry side, I skip it for the day.

+  I then finish with my mom's moisturizer.  (Maybe after this weekend I can share the recipe with you.)

+  If, after finishing my makeup, I see any spots that look a little dry, I dab a little Coconut Oil on them, and then my face is still moisturized by the end of the day without being greasy.  Awesome!

If you've stuck around long enough to make it here, you are a trooper!  Way to go, you!

Now, while I can see a major difference, what about those pesky big ones?  Well, I'm majorly thankful to my cousin, Kristen, who is an Essential Oils guru and is going to give me a mixture to try out and see if we can't knock them out as well.  I'm very hopeful.

Well guys, this turned into a way, way, way longer letter than I thought it was going to be.  Hopefully it wasn't too rough for ya. 

Oh- real quick- yesterday in the wee hours of the morning, I was woken up by Baby J.  It was so weird, my stomach was jutting out and hard as a rock.  He/she must have been turning around or something.  I tried to wake up the Mister so he could check it out, but he wasn't all about waking up in the middle of the night.

Ok, you made it.  All the way to the end.  Congrats, and have a good weekend!

Aim