Remember the days of being devoted to a beauty routine? Perhaps you spent hours straightening or curling your hair when getting ready for a night out, or luxuriating in long baths, massages, or pedicures on a regular basis? Now, as a new (or not so new) mom, you are lucky to enter the bathroom alone or grab a three-minute shower.
“I would have never — and I mean never — appreciated what a fantastic thing it is to actually use the bathroom without anyone screaming, crying, or banging at the door,” says Andrea Tate, a mom of two toddlers from Bergen Beach. “These little things make you feel nuts.”
Let’s face it. Part of the high stress level of new motherhood comes from a loss of liberty, from a lack of freedom to go out alone, and the inability to get a decent night’s sleep. One of the most immediate ways these omissions reveal themselves is on your skin. Skin tells the tales of sleepless nights, inadequate nutrition, and sheer exhaustion most commonly in the form of breakouts and dryness.
“When my son, who had colic, was born, I couldn’t figure out what made me look so tired,” says Andrea. “Then I realized my face was blotchy and breaking out. I had basically forgotten to even wash my face some days, let alone do the half-hour bedtime skin ritual I used to do before I became a mom.”
So how do you obtain time for yourself and institute a skin regime? According to Dr. Christine Choi Kim, a board-certified medical and cosmetic dermatologist, all you need is just 15 minutes a day to keep your skin fresh and protected.
Take your makeup off every night
If you manage to apply makeup to your face in the daytime, no matter what else you do in the day, take it all off at night. Dr. Kim, who received her dermatologic training at Weill Cornell Medical Center-New York Presbyterian Hospital explains, “Before you go to bed, remember to remove your makeup thoroughly. Sleeping with a layer of sebum, sweat, and makeup can cause pores to become congested, leading to acne breakouts.”
Dr. Kim suggests using convenient makeup remover wipes that are easy to toss in your purse and are also perfect for travel. They can be found in any beauty aisle and are inexpensive. Of course, good-old soap and water work just fine. (Just remember the following tip!)
Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize
There is, perhaps, nothing that screams tired more than scaly, dry skin. It not only feels terrible, rough, and itchy, but it looks awful, and yet it is so simple to avoid. The key is prevention.
“Invest in a good hand cream and make a point to use it after every hand washing,” says Dr. Kim. That adds up to multiple times a day for moms, but consider that every time you change a diaper or make a meal and wash your hands, you are losing moisture, so it is necessary to replenish each time. “Constantly washing hands, cooking, and laundering can dry your skin to the point that a rash called ‘hand eczema’ develops. For severe cases, you may need to use a cortisone cream for several days.”
Apply sunscreen
Unless you are allergic, it is vital to use sunscreen every day to protect against skin cancer, advises Dr. Kim.
“Make sure you put on a product with SPF 30 or higher before you leave the house! This can be a simple sunscreen, or you can also try a BB cream that includes antioxidants and a tinted moisturizer — perfect for a natural, everyday makeup look!”
The key is to develop a routine, so that your skin-care regimen become a part of your typical day, because being a more relaxed and satisfied mom who cares for herself will only yield the very best for your baby.
Danielle Sullivan, a mom of three, is a writer and editor living in New York City. Sullivan also writes about pets and parenting for Disney’s Babbl
